Tim O'Brien, author of "Trump Nation: The Art of Being the Donald," said he believes most of the president's tweets against the media are driven by self-preservation.
His comments came Monday during an interview on CNN's "New Day."
"In Trump's case, I think there's usually two ways of understanding what motivates what he does: Either self-preservation or self-aggrandizement," he said. "It's usually not strategically driven. I think in the case a lot of this is coming out of self-preservation."
Trump posted a 28-second video on his Twitter account Sunday The New York Times noted.
The clip portrays him wrestling and punching a figure, whose head has been replaced by a CNN logo.
It appears to be an edited clip from an old appearance of Trump in WrestleMania, an annual professional wrestling event, the newspaper said.
Meanwhile, O'Brien said the probe into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election is likely driving some of the president's decisions.
"I don't think it's necessarily even collusion or obstruction that preoccupies him," O'Brien said. "It's the money trail and what it might say about his business relationships and his past financial dealings."
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