President Donald Trump should give his staff a heads up when he plans to make controversial tweets like he did on Saturday morning, alleging that former President Barack Obama ordered Trump Tower wiretapped during the election, conservative commentator Michael Reagan tells Newsmax TV.
Besides leaving his staff scrambling at unexpected controversies, Trump also killed the positive coverage he had been getting all week for his generally well-received joint address to Congress, Reagan said Monday on "The Steve Malzberg Show."
"If I was a member of his staff right now, I'd be breaking his thumbs," Reagan said. "That's what I would be doing to stop him from tweeting behind their backs with things that are, in fact, going to change the narrative of what's going on."
Reagan called Trump's tweets "absolutely stupid politically," adding that "I'm sure his staff is trying to figure out what in the world do we do to stop him from using those thumbs at 6 a.m."
But Reagan did have praise for Trump's revised travel ban, issued Monday.
The new ban removes Iraq from the list of six other countries with ties to terrorism. The original ban has been tied up in the courts, with opponents saying it amounts to a ban on Muslims since the countries targeted are majority Muslim.
"They did learn a lot from the absolute messed-up rollout," Reagan said. "Iraq now is off the list because they are working with the United States of America to be able to vet better those who are coming to the United States as they help us in the war against ISIS."
The new ban is unlikely to bring out the protests at airports and in the streets as did the original order, he said.
Reagan also was asked about his vow last week to boycott CNN and MSNBC over ads they are running by his half-brother Ron Reagan on behalf of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
"One of the conversations I had with my dad late in his life was the fact, we talked about Ron and his atheism," the son of former President Ronald Reagan said. "My dad grabbed my hand, we were at a family dinner, and said my hope and prayer is that Ron and [sister] Patti [Davis] really accept Christ as I have and you have."
The former president would be appalled at his son's ad and is likely "crying in heaven" over it, Reagan told Newsmax.
"If Ron wants to be an atheist, fine, but then to shove it in your face with, 'I'm an atheist, life-long atheist; I don't mind burning in hell.'"
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Hatred for President Reagan is the real reason the ad, that was rejected by multiple other networks, is being run, he said.
"I think it's just a back-sided hatred of Ronald Reagan, and this is the way they want to get back at my father," he said.