Trump calls Carl Bernstein ‘total nut job’ after CNN analyst’s ‘homicidal president’ charge

President Trump called Carl Bernstein “a nut job” during an interview early Tuesday after the CNN political analyst referred to him as “homicidal.” 

“I know Carl Bernstein a little bit; he’s a nut job. He’s been a nut job for many years,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” hosts Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade.

“I don’t have a lot of respect for either of them, frankly,” he added, referring to Bernstein’s former Watergate reporting partner, Bob Woodward, whose forthcoming book is critical of the president.

“He was a total nut job and I see him,” the president said of Bernstein. “He’ll say anything. No matter what you did. Like today, I’m doing a great deal with Israel. No matter what you do, with some of the fake news, it doesn’t make any difference.”

Bernstein told CNN anchor Anderson Cooper late Monday that Trump’s indoor rally in Henderson, Nev., over the weekend, where some in the crowd did not wear masks, was a “homicidal assembly” to help the president get reelected.

Bernstein, a staunch Trump critic who oftentimes referred to allegations against the president as “worse than Watergate” during impeachment hearings, charged on CNN that Trump is “willing to sacrifice” the lives of his supporters by holding an indoor rally.

“Let’s be very clear in what we’re looking at here: We are witnessing a homicidal president convening, purposefully, a homicidal assembly to help him get reelected as president of the United States instead of protecting the health and welfare of the United States, including supporters whose lives he is willing to sacrifice,” Bernstein said.

“Here is this president, who staked part of his presidency on the right to life particularly of the unborn, and every day he has sacrificed the lives of thousands of Americans because he is unwilling to deal honestly, forthrightly, meaningfully with the gravest domestic crisis in our post-war history in this country,” he continued.

“He’s abdicated his responsibility and the result is the most grievous felony committed by any president in our history, probably, and now we see it in front of us tonight, this homicidal assembly that the president of the United States has called his supporters to be sacrificial lambs. It’s astonishing,” Bernstein concluded.   

Crowd awaits start of Trump rally inside manufacturing plant in Henderson, NV., outside Las Vegas. It’s the 1st indoor rally for Pres Trump since June 23. Only some supporters wearing masks. None are observing social distancing. Trump Campaign says all received a temp check. pic.twitter.com/rwhZmO64Sv

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) September 14, 2020

The Trump campaign promoted the Henderson event by mocking protests while urging supporters “to gather peacefully under the 1st Amendment” to hear the president speak.

“If you can join tens of thousands of people protesting in the streets, gamble in a casino, or burn down small businesses in riots, you can gather peacefully under the 1st Amendment to hear from the President of the United States,” the campaign said in a Sunday statement leading up to the rally.