Former CIA Director Leon Panetta said Wednesday that "all of us to some extent understand" former DNI James Clapper's concerns about President Donald Trump's access to the nuclear codes after his Phoenix speech Tuesday.
"But the reality is that there are an awful lot of procedures and checks that are involved that are built into the procedure before it even gets to the president," Panetta, who served under former President Barack Obama, told Wolf Blitzer on CNN.
"This president, like every president, has to look at what is history going to say about his presidency.
"If he were to do something stupid, there is no question that history would probably identify this as the worst presidency in our history," Panetta said. "I don't think Donald Trump wants to go down in history with that as his label."
Clapper told CNN early Wednesday that Trump speech at the Phoenix Convention Center was "downright scary and disturbing."
"I really question his ability to be — his fitness to be — in this office," Clapper told Don Lemon. "I also am beginning to wonder about his motivation for it.
"Maybe he is looking for a way out."
On President Trump holding rallies now that he is in the White House, Panetta told Blitzer he should abandon them altogether.
"He wants to go back to that constituency that is his base that's narrowing — to reinforce his sense that somehow he's succeeding in what he's doing.
"To some extent that's a little dangerous.
"I would rather him go to the American Legion," Panetta continued. "I would rather him go to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I would rather him go to places like the NAACP.
"I would rather that he go to the chamber of commerce, to businessmen, and talk about the future of this country.
"That's where presidents should go, not kind of reliving the last campaign," Panetta said. "That campaign is over.
"He's now president of the United States.
"What he should be doing is focusing on getting something done for this country."
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