Elizabeth Drew

The American people should have known that something was awry when President Donald Trump's attorney general, William Barr, announced on Friday, March 22, that he had received special counsel Robert Mueller's report and would provide a summary of its findings to certain congressional leaders over the weekend.

Whoever explained to then-President-elect Donald Trump what it meant to be president—if anyone did—neglected to tell him that on occasion a president loses a policy fight.

This isn't a good time to be Donald J Trump. Granted, it's been a while since it was, but this is the grimmest period of his presidency thus far.

Last week was a most unusual one for President Donald Trump's administration. There was no high-level firing: the only dismissal of any note was that of the White House aide in charge of homeland security, who was forced out at the behest of John Bolton, who had just taken over as Trump's third national security adviser in 15 months. Nonetheless, it may well have been the most turbulent week yet of Trump's presidency.

The just-released book about Donald Trump and his dysfunctional presidency (Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House) has left much of Washington reeling.

Stephen Bannon wasn't particularly wise as a White House aide—he couldn't contain his inner peacock—and Donald Trump's ego is particularly fragile. Both are or were misfits in their roles.

Trump's jumpiness whenever the Russia question comes up has only added to suspicions that he may have something to hide. It has also led him to make a series of mistakes.

There is little reason to think Trump's new staffing arrangement will yield a new, more coherent candidate. Throughout the campaign, he has vacillated wildly between poise and pugilism.

Some people run simply out of ego or greed. The publicity that attends a presidential bid can garner even a failed candidate a book contract, a television gig, or a well-paid speaking career (or perhaps all three). Trump ran on the basis of his celebrity.