When people - including political allies - feel comfortable defying the president, it& #39;s both a sign of his weakness and a cause of further weakness.

It means others have decided he& #39;s on the wrong side of public opinion. And it becomes easier for new critics to emerge.

(1/n)

Consider the list of people who& #39;ve defied President Trump in recent weeks:

* Lindsey Graham and other Senate Republicans refused to back Trump& #39;s choice of a new federal prosecutor in New York.

(2/n)

* Trump& #39;s former national security adviser called him a “danger for the republic."
* Trump& #39;s former defense secretary said he was trying to make a mockery of the Constitution.
* Trump’s top military adviser publicly apologized for participating in a photo op with him.

(3/n)

* A federal judge rejected Trump’s request to block the release of the John Bolton book.
* The Supreme Court blocked Trump’s effort to end a signature Obama immigration policy.
* The NFL commissioner effectively abandoned Trump& #39;s position on player protests.

(4/n)

* And several Trump-friendly commentators — at The Wall Street Journal, Breitbart and elsewhere — have said his responses to the virus and police violence are hurting his chances of re-election.

(5/n)

None of this means Trump will lose. He could mount a fall comeback, as Truman in & #39;48, GHW Bush in & #39;88 and others did. But sustained weakness is a very dangerous thing for a politician.

Today& #39;s newsletter: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/22/briefing/trump-coronavirus-bubba-wallace-your-monday-briefing.html

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