Donald Trump is ‘narcissist’ who is worse than Richard Nixon, says former labour secretary

Robert Reich is a vocal critic of the President

Mr Trump pointed to recent poll which showed that 53% Americans believe he is a strong leader (AFP/Getty Images)

Donald Trump is “narcissistic, xenophobic, paranoid, vindictive and thin-skinned” – and even more so than former President Richard Nixon, according to a former US Labour Secretary.

Robert Reich, who served under Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997, wrote a blistering essay about the Republican tycoon on his Facebook page, blasting his “failure to accomplish little or any of his agenda” in his first 100 days.

“We have before had presidents such as Richard Nixon whose personality defects harmed their presidencies and tainted the office of the president,” he wrote.

“But Donald Trump is in a different league altogether. He exhibits the opposite of every civic virtue ever encouraged in our school rooms, town halls, and churches.”

Mr Reich, a consistent and vocal opponent of the President who also worked under Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, accused Mr Trump of “degrading” the Presidency and of causing “vast harm” to the US. His words come days before government funding expires and threatens a shutdown due to growing rifts between Republicans and Democrats.

He claimed Mr Trump was a “vulgar” person who invited members of the Tea Party to the White House, a “chronic liar” who made Americans suspicious of each other and fuelled racism.

“Prior presidents have embellished the truth or, occasionally, lied about a particular important thing, such as the existence of weapons of mass destruction,” he wrote. “But before Trump we have never before had a president who chronically lies, whose lies have become an integral part of his presidency even in his first 100 days.”

Mr Reich did not fail to mention Mr Trump’s alleged conflicts of interest between his family businesses and his White House duties, his “cruelty” towards refugees and his attacks of the judiciary and journalists who disagree with him.

The former Labour Secretary has previously accused the President of behaving like a sociopath and threatening the “core institutions of American society”.

The latest survey from ABC News / The Washington Post found that the President has the worst approval ratings at 100 days in office than any President since 1945, but that 96 per cent of his supporters would vote for him again today.

Mr Trump picked up on the news, tweeting that the same survey was “wrong” on the 2016 election and that 53 per cent of those surveyed believed he was a strong leader.

“New polls out today are very good considering that much of the media is FAKE and almost always negative. Would still beat Hillary in popular vote,” he tweeted.