--- title: Donald Trump Unleashes Twitter Ire at James Clapper description: President Trump turned his Twitter ire to former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper after he questioned his fitness. canonical: https://time.com/4914130/james-clapper-donald-trump-fitness/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-24T16:18:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-08T09:30:57.008Z article:section: Politics og:title: This Former Official Questioned Trump's Fitness for Office. So Trump Tweeted at Him og:description: "I don't know when I've watched something like this from a President that I've found more disturbing." og:url: https://time.com/4914130/james-clapper-donald-trump-fitness/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57865ebec0da2c7b/6988d08f196cf4b17d040775/gettyimages-689402354.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Meet the Press - Season 70 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Former Official Questioned Trump's Fitness for Office. So Trump Tweeted at Him twitter:description: "I don't know when I've watched something like this from a President that I've found more disturbing." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57865ebec0da2c7b/6988d08f196cf4b17d040775/gettyimages-689402354.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Former Intelligence Official Questioned Trump's Fitness for Office. So Trump Tweeted at Him > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=b961c6d9-01e1-4e97-83ca-5b606d03b046&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Donald Trump on Nuclear Weapons [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump on Nuclear Weapons](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/1PwxZnjP.m3u8) (2:43)  _Published 2017-08-24. Donald Trump on Nuclear Weapons_  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Aug 24, 2017 4:18 PM UTC Donald Trump on Nuclear Weapons  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Aug 24, 2017 4:18 PM UTC Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper questioned Donald Trump’s fitness for office, so the President fired back with an angry tweet Thursday morning. Clapper drew headlines Wednesday after questioning Trump’s mental state following a [77-minute rally in Phoenix, Arizona,](http://time.com/4912055/donald-trump-phoenix-arizona-transcript/) where the president threatened a government shutdown, criticized Republican senators and argued that the media is unpatriotic. “I don’t know when I’ve listened and watched something like this from a President that I’ve found more disturbing. Having some understanding of the levers of power that are available to a President if he chooses to exercise them, I found this downright scary and disturbing,” [Clapper told CNN’s Don Lemon](http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/23/politics/james-clapper-trump-phoenix-rally-don-lemon-cnntv/index.html) Wednesday evening. “Are you questioning his fitness?” Lemon asked. “Yes I do,” Clapper said. “I really question his ability — his fitness to be in this office — and I also am beginning to wonder about his motivation for that.” The following day, Trump fired back, noting the controversy over Clapper’s testimony to Congress that the U.S. was not collecting data on millions of Americans, which was later disproved by documents leaked by Edward Snowden. Clapper [has said he misspoke](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/james-clapper-says-he-misspoke-didnt-lie-about-nsa-surveillance/). “James Clapper, who famously got caught lying to Congress, is now an authority on Donald Trump. Will he show you his beautiful letter to me?” Trump tweeted at 9:15 a.m., the sixth of seven Twitter posts he wrote or shared that morning. Shawn Turner, Clapper’s spokesman, said the letter Trump was referring to was the note he had prepared for the winner of the Presidential election, that was handed to to Trump with the presidential briefing the morning after he had won. Clapper had prepared nearly identical notes for Trump and Clinton, Turner said. Both contained congratulatory sentiments and reiterated the values and commitment of the intelligence community to holding truth to power. Turner said Clapper, who was unavailable to speak with TIME, had no comment on the President’s tweets this morning. ## Transcript [00:00] As far as nuclear is concerned, this country, us we need a [00:04] shield because Russia is unstable. We need [00:08] a [ UNKNOWN ] defence shield. Donald Trump has long [00:12] been fascinated by the power of nuclear weapons. In one of [00:16] his first major interviews on politics, Trump told a reporter [00:19] from the Washington Post in 1984, that his dream was to [00:22] become the lead negotiator for the U. S. on a nuclear arms [00:25] deal with the Soviets. It would take an hour and a half to [00:28] learn everything there is to learn about missiles, he said. I [00:31] think I know most of it anyway. Trump usually credits that [00:35] knowledge to his Uncle John, a physicist at MIT. Having [00:39] nuclear, my uncle was a great professor in scientist and [00:42] engineer Dr. John Trump at MIT. Good genes [00:46] very good genes okay? But to critics his understanding is [00:49] thin enough to be a serious concern. At a 2015 debate in [00:53] the Republican Primary, Trump seemed stumped by the [00:56] concept of the nuclear triad, the defense system in which [00:58] the US maintains missiles that can be fired from land, sea, [01:01] or air. That is the single biggest problem that our country [01:05] faces. Of the three legs of the triad though, do you have a [01:08] priority. Do you want to go to Senator Rubio after that? To [01:11] me, nuclear, the power, the devastation is very important to [01:15] me. And he's made some provocative comments about [01:17] nuclear weapons over the years. Let me talk about some of [01:20] the issues. One is North Korea and you say that you, as [01:23] President, would be willing to launch a pre- emptive strike [01:27] against North Korea's nuclear capability. First, I'd [01:30] negotiate. I would negotiate like crazy and I'd make sure [01:33] we tried to get the best deal possible. And can you tell the [01:37] Middle East we're not using any nuclear weapons? I would [01:38] never say that. I would never take any of my cards off the [01:41] table. How about Europe? We won't use them in Europe. [01:42] I'm not going to take it off the table. You might use it in [01:44] Europe? No. I don't think but I'm not taking-- Well just say it. [01:48] I'm never going to use a nuclear weapon. I. In Europe. I am [01:50] not taking cards off the table. I'm not gonna use nukes- [01:52] Okay. But I'm not taking any cards- Okay, so trouble is the- [01:55] During the campaign, both Hilary Clinton and Barack [01:57] Obama argue that he shouldn't be trusted with the nuclear [01:59] arsenal. A man you can bait with a tweet, is [02:04] not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons. [02:07] [ APPLAUSE ] Apparently, his campaign has [02:11] taken away his Twitter. If somebody can't [02:15] handle a Twitter account, they can't handle the nuclear [02:19] code. But now that Trump is president, he's continued [02:23] making provocative comments about nuclear war. North [02:26] Korea. Best not make any more threats to the United [02:30] States. They will be met with fire [02:35] and fury like the world has never seen. 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