David Gergen, a bipartisan presidential adviser since the days of Richard Nixon, told The Washington Post that Trump “seems both politically and personally isolated these days. He’s flailing because he doesn’t know where to find his natural allies.”

The Post also reports that one of Trump’s weakest current relationships is with the House Freedom Caucus, against whom he has turned his wrath with a vigor comparable to that directed against the Democratic Party. Because the ultra-conservative caucus did better than Trump in their own districts, they feel empowered to stand up to him when his policy proposals clash with their own ostensible principles.

Ari Fleischer, former press secretary to President George W. Bush, told The Post that “that’s what happens when you have an unpopular president . . . popularity scares people. Lack of popularity emboldens them.”