Trump lashes out at George Conway, who has been questioning the president's mental health

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Tuesday called the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway "a total loser," responding to mounting questions by George Conway about the state of Trump's mental health.

A total loser!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)

"A tota> loser!" Trump wrote in a tweet that also included an assertion by Trump's re-election campaign manager that George Conway was motivated by jealousy over his wife's success in politics.

George Conway, a conservative lawyer, responded to Trump just a few minutes later, writing on Twitter: "Congratulations! You just guaranteed that millions of more people are going to learn about narcissistic personality disorder and malignant narcissism! Great job!"

George Conway has been a persistent critic of Trump's policies and actions, frequently going on Twitter to question whether the president is operating within the Constitution and other accepted boundaries. But the criticism recently has become more personal.

Congratulations! You just guaranteed that millions of more people are going to learn about narcissistic personality disorder and malignant narcissism! Great job!

— George Conway (@gtconway3d)

Tweet> on Monday included images from the American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders." In addition to the manual's cover, Conway highlighted pages that include diagnostic criteria for "narcissistic personality disorder" and "anti-social personality disorder."

His tweets followed a weekend in which Trump went on Twitter several dozen times, airing grievances related to "Saturday Night Live," decisions made by Fox News executives, the Russia investigation and John McCain, the late Republican senator from Arizona.

George Conway has also asserted on Twitter that Trump's "condition is getting worse" and that "there are now fewer people in the administration able to contain the president and act as a check on his worst impulses."

Presented with her husband's concerns Monday, Kellyanne Conway dismissed them.

"No, I don't share those concerns," she said, speaking to reporters on the White House driveway after having done an interview with Fox News from the North Lawn.

"I have four kids, and I was getting them out of the house this morning to talk to the president about substance, so I may not be up to speed on all of them," Kellyanne Conway said, referring to her husband's tweets.

Later Monday, Brad Parscale, Trump's campaign manager, pushed back, referring to George Conway as "Mr. Kellyanne Conway" in a tweet.

"Now he hurts his wife because he is jealous of her success. POTUS doesn't even know him!" Parscale wrote.

His tweet was included in Trump's reaction Tuesday.

The Conways, who have been married since 2001, have publicly positioned themselves on opposite sides of issues related to the president with increasing frequency.

While Kellyanne Conway often appears on camera to defend Trump, George Conway delivers his criticism through op-eds and social media.

He, for example, has argued against Trump's assertion that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's Russia investigation was "unconstitutional" and that Trump exceeded his powers last year by installing Matthew G. Whitaker as acting attorney general without consent of the Senate.

George Conway has also publicly accused Trump of lying about payments made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult-film star Stormy Daniels to buy their silence about alleged affairs with Trump.

And sometimes Conway has needled Trump for more mundane matters, such as his misspelling of "hamburgers" as "hamberders" in a tweet after a visit to the White House by the Clemson Tigers football team in January.

After Burger King poked fun at the president for his mistake, George Conway wrote in a searing tweet: "Think of how much of a laughingstock a president has to become to have *Burger King* make fun of him. Sad."

Until Tuesday, Trump had been relatively restrained in his criticism.

He did, however, refer to George Conway as "Mr. Kellyanne Conway" in an exchange with reporters in November after Conway questioned Whitaker's appointment.

"He's just trying to get publicity for himself," Trump said. "Why don't you do this, why don't you ask Kellyanne that question, all right? She might know him better than me. I really don't know the guy."