Donald Trump admits to 'psychological problems' in newly released tapes

Over 15 hours of newly released tapes from the Howard Stern show appear to have revealed President Donald Trump's deep insecurities.

Unlike previous Presidents who weren't reality TV personalities, (though Reagan had General Electric Theatre), there are countless hours of seen and un-seen footage that can help give insights into Mr Trump's life before the White House.

When President Trump was just 'The Donald', a rich businessman living in New York City, he made multiple appearances on the Howard Stern shown.

In fact, according to Newsweek, Stern is the journalist who has interviewed Trump the most - more than any single political reporter or newscaster during the presidential election.

The conversations, run from 1993-2015, and during the election Stern refused to replay them on his show.

Newsweek, using the audio recordings of the show on FactBase, has found the moments where the President appears to reveal his deeper insecurities.

The audio recordings were sent anonymously to FactBase, who subsequently catalogued them, before making this archive of Trump's thinking available to the public.

Germophobia

According to Newsweek during one interview Trump admitted he washed his hands 'as many times as possible' in a given day.

Stern said 'You realise that’s a psychological problem.'

Trump replied 'It could be a psychological problem,' but said he had not sought therapy or psychiatry to cope with it.

No. I like it. I like cleanliness. Cleanliness is a nice thing. Not only hands, body, everything.

At another moment, Trump admits he avoids touching his children when they are unwell.

When he has a cold, I just, you know, I keep him away from me.

Touching Melania in public

Guests on the Howard Stern Show are frequently probed about their sex lives and other topics such as which celebrities they would 'bang'.

Speaking about his wife, and now First Lady Melania, Donald Trump admitted to 'feeling her up' in public places.

During the interview that took place in 1999, Stern asks if Trump has 'ever felt her up in public?'

Trump replies, 'Yeah', before going onto say,

I'm very well behaved, actually, and almost always I'm very down the middle.

Ivanka 'looks down on me'

Speaking in 2004 about her dating someone from Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump and Stern joked about having children who are more 'blue blooded' than they were.

I think my daughter looks down on me, She said, 'Oh my God—'

Melania's body

Speaking in another interview, Trump talked about his wife's physique.

You know she's naturally in good shape. Absolutely. She's a very beautiful woman. Considered one of the great beauties of the world. So I don't know how I got her because, you know... Beauty doesn't matter to me.

On these last five words, Trump apparently added emphasis and raised his eyebrows, according to a transcript published on Mashable.

Terrorism

There were other parts of the interviews that revealed some of the President's interesting ideas. A little under a month after the 11 September attacks in 2001, Trump had this suggestion:

You have a red button in the plane, and the pilot has a huge problem in the back. He's got two or three terrorists, you know, crazy...He presses a button and sleeping gas comes out, the entire back of the plane goes to sleep.

Women's accents

Comparing Donald Trump's wives was another returning topic during his Stern Show appearances.

Discussing her accent, and that of his previous wife Ivana, Trump said:

Yes, it was amazing, and then one time I woke up that [sic] it was terrible, I couldn't stand it.​

HT Newsweek, Mashable

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