A tough tone with the rebels

Today in Trump.

Fight them, and the Dems, and the 65% of the population who think Trump is a trainwreck. That should go well.

The Times attempts to pick its way through the debris field, starting with that tweet.

The post from Mr. Trump did not seem to have been impulsive: Mr. Bannon, who has counseled a tough tone with the rebels, has instructed his staff to more closely monitor the president’s Twitter messages to use them as leverage in negotiations.

Dan Scavino, an aide who controls Mr. Trump’s official White House Twitter account, recently moved into Mr. Bannon’s West Wing office, where he closely monitors social media activity by and about the president, according to two officials.

Minutes after Mr. Trump’s post, his Republican critics took to Twitter to respond, in Trump-ese: “It’s a swamp not a hot tub. We both came here to drain it. #SwampCare polls 17%. Sad!” wrote Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who often sides with the caucus on votes.

“It didn’t take long for the swamp to drain @realDonaldTrump,” said Representative Justin Amash of Michigan, a member of the Freedom Caucus who has emerged as one of Mr. Trump’s most caustic Republican critics. “No shame, Mr. President. Almost everyone succumbs to the D.C. Establishment.”

Michael Flynn Jr., a conservative activist — and son of Michael T. Flynn, Mr. Trump’s former national security adviser — went even further. “Why is @realDonaldTrump siding w/ estab Repubs (which we know r closet Dems) and looney Dems like Pelosi and Schumer? NOT WHAT WE VOTED FOR,” he said on Twitter.

I wonder if Steve Bannon is now worrying that he’s not reactionary enough.

Trump, at any rate, quickly returned to more comfortable territory.

About an hour after he stepped up his criticism of his own party, Mr. Trump trained his fury on a more familiar target, The New York Times, posting on Twitter a link to a New York Post editorial critical of the paper.

“The failing @nytimes has disgraced the media world. Gotten me wrong for two solid years. Change libel laws?” Mr. Trump wrote.

Sure, Donnie. Let’s change the libel laws so that they carve out an exception for a thin-skinned asshole from Queens who can dish it out all day long but can’t take it for one second.

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