Donald Trump's 'fitness' to be president openly questioned

James Clapper, the former US director of national intelligence and retired lieutenant general, has openly questioned Donald Trump's fitness to be president.

Mr Clapper described Mr Trump's address at a rally in Phoenix on Tuesday night as "downright scary and disturbing" and that the president may be "looking for a way out".

"I question his fitness to be in this office and I also wonder if he is looking for a way out," Mr Clapper, who has served both Republican and Democratic administrations, said.

He added that Mr Trump could be a threat to national security.

"I worry about access to the nuclear codes if he decided to do something, in a fit of pique, to tackle Kim Jong-un... It's pretty damn scary," he said on CNN, the news network that had come under particular attack from the president during his speech.

Mr Trump defended his response to the Charlottesville white supremacist violence at the rally.

He blamed the "crooked media" for misrepresenting his response to the violence, that left an anti-fascist protester dead. The president had said that "many sides" were to blame.

Mr Trump re-read his three statements in response to the violence in Phoenix - but did  not repeat the "many sides" remark.

He said, getting visibly angry, that he had "openly called for healing, unity and love" in his responses. 

After the speech, CNN's Don Lemon described the president's address as "total eclipse of the facts".