There's a lot of stuff in this post, so apologies in advance for any editing errors. I tried, but I've only got so much time, you know?
How have you managed to avoid it? That aside, they do. To the media. Obviously no one listened, thought they were being hyperbolic, it was just "politics", sour grapes, was lost in the "big news" of the day. Whatever. It literally cannot be that Trump is an obdurate moron. It's just minor news. Our Dear Leader is the bestest smartest guy ever, surely! He's playing 5D chess! If he's so dumb, why is he rich? The crap I see on socials from the randos is gob-smacking.
Former Lawyer, Ty Cobb (about the Daniels case)
"A good lawyer, when his client insists on doing something really stupid, throws his body in front of the freight train and prevents it. That's harder to do with Trump than many..."
------------------------------------------------------------ ---------
Assorted quotes from Former National Security Advisor, John Bolton,
"Trump doesn't understand what NATO is".
“I think his behavior alone is troubling enough,” he continued. “To be a fascist, you have to have a philosophy. Trump’s not capable of that.”
“You know, Adolf Hitler wrote a profoundly troubling book called Mein Kampf, ‘My Struggle.’ Donald Trump couldn’t even read his way all the way through that book, let alone write something like it,”
------------------------------------------------------------ ----
Former Chief of Staff, John Kelly:
...Trump “seemed to have no appreciation that top aides were supposed to put their pledge to the Constitution — and, by extension, the rule of law — above all else.”
From NBC
WASHINGTON — White House chief of staff John Kelly has eroded morale in the West Wing in recent months with comments to aides that include insulting the president's intelligence and casting himself as the savior of the country, according to eight current and former White House officials.
The officials said Kelly portrays himself to Trump administration aides as the lone bulwark against catastrophe, curbing the erratic urges of a president who has a questionable grasp on policy issues and the functions of government. He has referred to Trump as "an idiot" multiple times to underscore his point, according to four officials who say they've witnessed the comments.
---------------------------
Former Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson (the one who plausibly denied calling Trump a moron on the grounds he called him a "fucking moron". speaking of his strained working relationship with President Donald Trump during an interview with Bob Schieffer of CBS News. Tillerson went on to call Trump a “pretty undisciplined” man who “doesn’t like to read” and “doesn’t like to get into the details of … things.”
------------------------------------
Former Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis (from Business Insider--there's a lot more there)
On a president being tough and keeping the peace, Mattis said: "Not with the current occupant. He doesn't understand. He has no mental framework for these things. He hasn't read."
-------------------------------------
Former Director of National Inteligence, Dan Coats
"To him, a lie is not a lie. It's just what he thinks. He doesn't know the difference between the truth and a lie.")
-------------------------------------------------------
There's lots more. This isn't remotely comprehensive or smattering of one-offs. All very reminiscent of Fran Lebowitz quip about Trump (who she's known from way back in the day),
""You do not know anyone as stupid as Donald Trump. You just don't.”
But surely hyperbole, jealousy, or just politics. Couldn't be the obvious stone-cold truth, could it?
