Frank Bruni: Donald Trump ‘Needs a Soul’

New York Times opinion columnist Frank Bruni dropped by the set of Morning Joe on Thursday. And while Joe and Mika suggested earlier in the program that they didn’t want to wade into analysis of President Trump’s mental state — we got pretty close.

Bruni, however stole the show, saying that the root of Trump’s problems may be that he simply lacks a soul.

Joe got things going by suggesting Trump’s erratic behavior both on Twitter or in his infamous Tuesday press conference might come from his profound personal insecurity.

He even pulled his own version of “many people are saying”

“Some have suggested he’s extraordinarily insecure. Maybe he’s so extraordinarily insecure that the very controls that General Kelly has put on the White House staff actually challenged his — I don’t know exactly what — his ego,” said Scarborough. “And so he decided to act out in the most horrific way and show the world he was in charge. Just like a toddler showing that they could put their hand on a burning stove to prove that they were in charge.”

Now Scarborough comparing the president to a toddler would probably have been our headline and earned him another place in a Sean Hannity clip reel. But Bruni one-upped the MSNBC host when he suggested that the president’s real problem was his soul.

“I love this word systems. This president doesn’t need systems. This president needs a soul. That’s what it really boils down to,” said Bruni. “They can bring in all the adults — and I love that we even talk in that language — we’re talking about a president who needs minders, who needs adults that can keep doing that. They can develop these new systems, they can’t change the man. They can’t change the product. And that’s the problem here and that’s the problem going forward and that’s the problem until this whole thing is over.”

[image via screengrab]