Donald Trump (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

Stop me if you've heard this before: Donald Trump came to Capitol Hill on Thursday to make nice, again, with congressional Republicans. It didn't go so well.

This, from a terrific report by my Washington Post colleagues on Trump's private meeting with Republican senators, is stunning:

[Arizona Sen. Jeff] Flake told Trump that he wants to be able to support him — “I’m not part of the Never Trump movement,” the senator said — but that he remains uncomfortable backing him, the officials said.

Trump said at the meeting that he has yet to attack Flake hard, but threatened to begin doing so. ...

... Trump also called out Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), who withdrew his endorsement of Trump last month citing the business mogul’s racially-based attacks on a federal judge, and said he did not approve of the senator’s action, said the officials.

Characterizing Kirk as a loser, Trump vowed that he would carry Illinois in the general election even though the state traditionally has been solidly Democratic in presidential contests. Kirk did not attend the meeting with Trump.

Trump also singled out Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), who has refused to support Trump and has emerged as perhaps the most vocal advocate for a third-party candidate. Sasse declined to speak with reporters as he left the meeting.

Let me reiterate: Trump came to Washington on Thursday to rally the party behind him. Instead, he wound up threatening one senator, calling another — who wasn't even there — a loser and picking on a third. All of these people are, ostensibly, within the same political party!

While his meeting with House Republicans — earlier in the day — appeared to go marginally better (talk about a low bar), it was clear that Trump hadn't changed many hearts and minds in the room.

It's very, very difficult to see strategy in Trump's combativeness and/or to imagine what that strategy (if one exists) might gain him.

The Republican National Convention opens in Cleveland in exactly 11 days.  The single biggest task facing Trump between now and then will be uniting the GOP behind him. It has been a very rocky road thus far, but it's been clear for some time that most on-the-fence Republicans are trying desperately to find some way — any way — to stand up for him.

This Flake quote, which came after Trump threatened to go after him,  tells that story:

Translated: I need Trump to give me something. Show some turning over of a new leaf. Some remorse. Some change in tone.

It's not that hard, and yet, he doesn't do it. In fact, what Trump seems to almost always do is double or triple down on past controversies — either refusing to let them go until everyone acknowledges he was right or savaging, taunting and threatening those who still don't agree with him.

I get that Trump ran a very successful primary campaign against Washington and the Republicans who call it home. But, the primary is over. The targets now can't be Jeff Flake, Mark Kirk or any other Republican. Trump needs GOP elected officials not only on board but enthusiastically so as he tries to rapidly build a national fundraising operation and scale up his paltry voter identification and get out the vote operations.  Trump may not like Flake — he clearly doesn't — but Flake has something that Trump doesn't have in Arizona: a tested and able political organization. And, as of today, there's no way in hell that political organization is going to work for Trump this fall.

Like I said: There's no discernible strategy here. It looks from afar like pure political pique and ego; Trump doesn't like the idea that some Republicans are blanching at the idea of supporting him, so he tries to bully them into support or, at the very least, submission.

It hasn't worked. It won't work. Most political people know this. I would suspect most people on Trump's payroll know this. It appears, however, that the man at the top of the campaign still doesn't get it.  Need evidence? Check this out.