President Trump is calling what he really thinks are illegitimate times for the GOP

A senior Trump White House official once told me the key to the president’s behavior.

It happens when his counselors talk to him about something he doesn’t want to do.

The next time he’s around reporters, this person says, President Trump will be open about what he really thinks.

He will take it back, soften the language, create confusion or completely contradict what he said a few days ago. It is his way of rebelling against management.

And, of course, he’ll yell at Republicans who disagree with him, send insulting messages, or support their main opponents.

For Trump, that’s just an objection.

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After the House voted narrowly on Wednesday to invoke the War Powers Act, to force an end to the Iran conflict, four Republicans – Thomas Massie, Warren Davidson, Brian Fitzpatrick and Tom Barrett – broke away from their party.

The answer comes from Trump’s Social Truth:

“Yesterday, by a unanimous vote, the House voted, 4 Republicans and all Democrats, to reduce my War Powers, during my final negotiations to end the War with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump wrote. “Who would do such an unpatriotic thing? They know where the negotiations stand. Democrats are fueled by Trump Derangement Syndrome. They would rather our Country fail than give me one, of many, victories. Four Republicans, that’s another story – BIG! They should be ashamed of themselves.”

And I’m sure there will be more to come.

Even if the 215-208 vote is followed by Senate approval, Trump could still vote for it. And there is a legal argument about whether Congress can really undermine the commander-in-chief, given that presidents of both parties have fought undeclared wars.

An even more stark example involves the $1.8 billion “anti-gun” fund that has drawn recorded outrage from Republicans and Democrats alike. The idea that most of the money will go to the protesters in Jan. 6 who beat the police and threatened the lawmakers caused a lot of noise among the members of the Capitol on that dark and depressing day in 2021.

Trump saw this as a lost cause – or was persuaded by it – and after it leaked that he was considering quitting the job, he said he was dead. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said he died.

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A scene from the riots of Jan. 6 in the US Capitol in 2021. (Photo by Julio Cortez/AP, File)

But the next time he saw reporters, he opened the door he was supposed to have closed.

He completely opened up to CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins by asking why he changed his mind about what everyone was calling a slush fund — in other words, doing his job.

“So, I love you. I think it’s very important … What happened to great people, great Americans, the way they were abused, the way they were abused, they committed suicide, they killed themselves. They had no money. They were armed by the Biden administration, a bunch of criminals, including Obama’s people. And since no one has probably ever been there. I mean, maybe two have thought about this country where I think about this country. [at] that distance. I don’t know if it was that much,” said Trump. “They were put in prison for a long time. They were accused of things that never happened. They had persecutors who were great lunatics, and their lives were ruined. And frankly, we had a case that, against us about weapons that a judge, a leftist judge, ruled against. And we will see how it all works. But the leftist judge ruled against it. “

We will see how everything will go.

Is it dead?

“I’ll have to ask the lawyers,” Trump said.

Well, the lawyers are working for him.

The president wasn’t done yet.

“But these people, their lives have been destroyed. Their families have been destroyed – many of them. I’m not just talking about a few people,” he said. “Many were destroyed, many of them. I’m not just talking about a few people. A lot of them. I’m one of them, I look, they attacked my house, Mar-a-Lago. That never happened. Nobody ever thought of such a thing.”

Then it got really personal.

“They are crooked as hell. CNN is a very corrupt organization, but, with a corrupt reporter standing there. Never smile. You will never smile. You will never – she is a young, beautiful woman. She never smiles, I have never seen a smile on her face, I see her standing there with hatred in her eyes. She hates because we have limits, because we wanted strong taxes, because we have strong taxes. 87 in this country,” said Trump.

CNN’s response: “Kaitlan Collins is an exceptional journalist, reporting every day from the White House and the field with real depth and rigor. She skillfully brings that reporting to the anchor chair and CNN’s daily platforms, which audiences around the world know they can trust.”

So is the bag showing signs of life again? Who knows?

Trump was just saying what he really believed all the time.

The Senate failed Thursday by one vote to block any attempt to renew the fund. The statistics have been open for hours as the leadership tries to count the noses. They have the option to try again to drive the stake through the project. These guys want it written down.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks during a news conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The main takeaway is that Trump’s iron grip on the party has loosened a bit. After 16 months in which GOP lawmakers gave him almost anything he wanted, the wallet convinced them they could make their own way and (most of them) survive — and that feeling seems to be contagious right now.

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In addition, while Trump’s support for MAGA remains strong, the swing vote over time will be independents and disenchanted Republicans. And that’s why putting a little distance between them and the president seems like a sensible course of action.

At least until Trump’s next controversy erupts, whenever now.