At the midpoint of his term, the president has grown more sure of his own judgment and more isolated from anyone else’s than at any point since he took office.
Senate Democrats said they would never accede to President Trump’s demand for $5 billion for a border wall, and the White House offered no early indication that the president would accept less.
Buffeted by a drop in the markets, fallout over his troop pullout and a looming shutdown, the president is forced to test the idea that he is his own best spokesman.
In a memo to top Justice Department officials in June, the nominee, William Barr, objected to the notion that President Trump may have committed the crime of obstruction of justice.