'Off his rocker': Critic who believed Trump could get no worse blown away by latest acts

A frequent Trump critic wrote Saturday that she believed Donald Trump could not debase himself any further than he already had since returning to the White House.

But his acts in recent days has proven her way off point.

"It seems etymologically, metaphysically, geologically and ethically impossible that President Trump could reach a new low," columnist Maureen Dowd wrote for the New York Times Saturday.

"But he has."

Top of Dowd's list of actions that left her incredulous was Friday's posting by the president of an extremely racist video showing Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. Trump took it down after massive outcry, including from some in his own party.

But on Friday night, he refused to apologize and admitted he was the one who posted it.

"The man who pushed the despicable 'birther' conspiracy is still at it, using a racist meme from a far-right Pepe-the-frog-loving acolyte," Dowd wrote.

"Like many of Trump’s actions, it was both shocking and predictable. President Trump continues to establish new standards for inappropriate conduct. Every week reveals fresh evidence of his unfitness for office, from crude attacks on adversaries to attempts to brand every institution with his name."

As Trump's spokesperson Karoline Leavitt responded, "Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public," Dowd hit back.

"Well, Karoline, I think Americans do care that your boss is a racist and off his rocker."

The assertion, she said, was backed up by the other actions Trump took in the last week.

At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump made a revealing admission about his 2020 election response. He stated: "You know, they rigged the second election. I had to win it, had to win it. I needed it for my own ego. I would have had a bad ego for the rest of my life. Now I really have a big ego, though."

Strategist David Axelrod interpreted this as an acknowledgment, Dowd wrote. "His ego could not handle the fact that he lost, so he had to pretend there was a voting crisis. The world is still paying for that."

Trump also shocked with a spiky reaction to Speaker Mike Johnson's request to say a prayer — at a prayer breakfast. Trump said, 'Excuse me? We're having lunch in the Oval.'"

Trump's pattern extends beyond rhetoric. He has applied his name to numerous federal properties and is attempting to leverage congressional funding to rename additional institutions. The administration threatened to withhold billions for federal projects unless Democrats in New York and Washington, D.C. helped rename Penn Station and Dulles Airport after him.

And when CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked about Trump's connections to Jeffrey Epstein following file releases, Trump criticized her demeanor rather than addressing the substance, telling her "it was time to move on."

“'His presidency is enclosed in a bubble wrap of darkness and hatred and resentment,' Rahm Emanuel, who served as Obama’s chief of staff, told me," Dowd said.