Donald Trump 'under major illusion and power mad', former White House adviser warns

A former White House adviser has described Donald Trump as “power mad” and highlighted a pattern in his approach to foreign policy.

Robert Kagan, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute who served as a White House adviser before Trump’s first term, argued that the 47th President is operating under the illusion that the United States is “all powerful.” According to Kagan, Trump tends to target countries that are unable to retaliate, citing examples such as his threats toward Iran and his actions in Venezuela.

Speaking on Channel 4’s The Fourcast podcast, Kagan said:

“Trump is simply power mad. He wants to get as much power for himself. He is under the illusion that the United States is omnipotent and that if he just sends an armada some place or threatens a tariff, the rest of the world will simply comply… He is only using military power against people who can’t shoot back.”

These remarks came as Trump renewed his threats toward Iran, announcing that U.S. naval assets, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln, were being deployed to the region. The president’s warnings come amid escalating tensions following Iran’s crackdown on protesters, which human rights organizations estimate may have resulted in 5,000 to 33,000 deaths.

Trump has previously stated that he would intervene if protesters faced violence. When questioned by reporters aboard Air Force One about his strategy, he said:

“I certainly can't tell you that, but we do have really big powerful ships heading in that direction, as you know. I can't tell you, but I hope to negotiate something that's acceptable.”

Iran, however, has responded firmly. State media reported that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned of a regional conflict if the U.S. initiates an attack, stating that Iran will respond decisively to any aggression.

Concerns over Trump’s decision-making have also intensified due to questions about his cognitive health. A recent study by The New York Times found that Trump spoke approximately two million words in 2025, compared to 800,000 in 2017. Journalist Susan Glasser suggested in The New Yorker that this could indicate “the world’s most consequential case of untreated logorrhoea,” a condition characterized by excessive and often incoherent speech, usually linked to health issues though the White House has denied any problems.

As recently as October 2025, White House physician Dr. Sean Barbabella stated that Trump’s cognitive health was “perfectly normal.”