Former DNI James Clapper says Donald Trump is looking for a way out of office

| 1:11 am EDT August 23, 2017
Dear Palmer Report readers, we all understand the difficult era we're heading into. Major media outlets are caving to Trump already. Even the internet itself and publishing platforms may be at risk. But Palmer Report is nonetheless going to lead the fight. We're funding our 2025 operating expenses now, so we can keep publishing no matter what happens. I'm asking you to contribute if you can, because the stakes are just so high. You can donate here.

In the hours after Donald Trump’s groundbreakingly jarring and bizarre speech at a Phoenix rally, numerous political commentators on both sides of the aisle were either outraged or taken aback or both. But the most stunning analysis of the night may have come from James Clapper, the recently Retired Director of National Intelligence, who served Presidents of both parties, when he appeared on CNN around midnight on Tuesday night.

James Clapper said it was the most “disturbing” thing he’s ever seen from a U.S. President, and he went on to express pointed concern about the fact that Donald Trump has access to nuclear launch codes. Clapper has tried to avoid partisan politics since he retired in January, and in fact it’s been difficult to decipher whether he might be a Democrat or a Republican himself. But his remarks on Tuesday night were stark. And then he made an assessment which will see quite a bit of analysis in the coming days.

Clapper stated that he thinks Donald Trump may be “looking for a way out” of the presidency. This appeared to be based solely on his own assessment of what he’s seeing play out, and not based on any inside information. But Clapper has spent so much time working closely with so many Presidents over the years, he’s in a prime position to spot this kind of thing when he sees it.

This dovetails with Palmer Report’s reporting from Monday evening which quoted an inside source as saying that Donald Trump is in preliminary talks about the possibility of resigning (link). And as Palmer Report has previously explained, despite Trump’s “campaign rallies” he’s not really running for reelection (link). Events like Phoenix are aimed at creating the appearance of a reelection campaign, so he can fundraise for it and then pocket the money.