This is the week that we learned that there are a group of senior staffers within the White House and administration who are actively working to circumvent President Donald Trump's wishes under the belief that to do what he wants at all times would endanger national security.
Stop. Go back. Read that first sentence again.
Donald Trump
Political Figures - US
Companies
Continents and regions
Eastern Europe
Europe
Government and public administration
Government bodies and offices
Investigations
Jeff Sessions
New York Times Co
Politics
Robert Mueller
Russia
Russia meddling investigation
US federal government
White House
That's a remarkable thing. Even in an administration defined by its seeming unending capability to amaze and disrupt standard procedures of governance, the idea that there is an active effort among top aides to marginalize Trump stands out.
But it's where we are after a week in which the first look at Bob Woodward's "Fear: Trump in the White House" painted a picture of a President deeply out of his depth and out of the loop. And a week on which an anonymous Trump administration official penned a New York Times op-ed that detailed an effort "to preserve our democratic institutions while thwarting Mr. Trump's more misguided impulses until he is out of office."
Those accounts confirm reports from sources like Omarosa Manigault Newman, a former Trump White House aide, and Michael Wolff in his best-selling "Fire and Fury." While the anecdotes might differ, the thrust of all of this reporting on Trump is the same: He is an isolated figure who frequently lashes out at a staff that views him with some combination of fear, loathing and ridicule.
Trump, as he so often does, compounded an already-difficult situation with his reaction to it. He suggested that the writer of the anonymous op-ed may have committed "TREASON?" He called Woodward an "idiot" and his book a "work of fiction" less than a month after he is heard on a recording made by Woodward praising the reporter as "very fair." He asked much-maligned Attorney General Jeff Sessions to open an investigation into the identity of the op-ed writer, although the legal grounds to do so are, well, nonexistent.
What everyone -- Trump's allies and his adversaries -- agree on is that his isolation, his paranoia and the direness of his current situation all ramped up this week. Trump appears to be absolutely fixated on finding the identity of the op-ed writer, but uninterested in addressing the very real concerns the piece raises. He is leaning in to an all-out assault against Woodward while offering little actual evidence that anything the famed political reporter has in his book is factually inaccurate. And he continues to lash out at the special counsel probe being led by Robert Mueller even as his lawyers continue to negotiate the possibility of a sit-down between the President and the former FBI director.
On top of all of that is the fact that the midterm elections are only 60 days away -- and all signs point to major Democratic gains in the House. And if Democrats take over the House, Trump's life is going to get A LOT more complicated in the second half of his term.
Trump spent the last part of the week doing what he enjoys most about the job of President: Delivering campaign speeches to adoring crowds in Republican-friendly areas. (He was in Montana, South Dakota and North Dakota on Thursday and Friday.) But staying within that adoration bubble won't change what faces him when he returns to Washington at the end of this week. And that is nothing good.
The Point: It's hard to pinpoint a worst week in what has been a presidency full of them. But the events of this week have to put it in the bottom five.
-- Chris
And now, the week that was in 28 headlines:
Monday
Trump blasts Sessions over indictments of two of his earliest congressional supporters
NYT: DOJ's Bruce Ohr, dossier author Christopher Steele involved in efforts to flip Russian oligarch
Tuesday
Bob Woodward book: Trump called Sessions 'mentally retarded'
Trump amps up attacks on Woodward after explosive book excerpts
Mueller responds to Trump team; discussions focus more on written questions
Bob Woodward: Trump's lawyer warned him of an 'orange jump suit' if he testifies
Bob Woodward's bizarre phone call with Trump
Jury selection begins for second Paul Manafort trial
Bob Woodward: Trump's aides stole his papers 'to protect the country'
Trump irritated he wasn't interviewed by Woodward for upcoming book
Wednesday
Nielsen calls out Putin for election interference
Kavanaugh says 'No one is above the law' but won't say if Trump can pardon himself
Woodward book prompts West Wing witch hunt, sources say
Anonymous senior administration official admits to working against Trump in New York Times op-ed
Trump warns Assad against assault, denies wanting to assassinate him
Judge denies Manafort's request to move next trial from DC to Virginia
Trump slams damning New York Times op-ed as 'gutless'
Giuliani says Trump's lawyers have already sent back a response to special counsel
Thursday
Latest Zinke calendars stripped of most details about his meetings
Trump's top officials deny authoring NYT op-ed
Kamala Harris grills Kavanaugh on Mueller investigation
Kavanaugh, Kasowitz law firm deny conversations on Mueller probe
Trump slams 'deep state operatives,' vulnerable Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in Montana
Trump tells supporters it'll be 'your fault' if he gets impeached
Friday
Trump frets over 'perjury trap' if he sits down with Mueller
Trump wants Sessions to investigate New York Times op-ed
Obama slams Republicans: Trump is 'capitalizing on resentment'
NY bike path suspect cites Trump tweets in asking to drop death penalty possibility
Read Friday's full edition of The Point newsletter, and sign up to get future editions delivered to your inbox.
