The Atlantic

There's No Way Out

Trump’s presidency may be a dysfunctional disaster, but there’s no apparent way to end it.
Source: Mike Segar / Reuters

Last week, which brought the release of Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury, was rough for the White House. But this week has been worse still, and the damage has been almost entirely inflicted by the president himself.

Consider the highlights:

On Sunday, Oprah Winfrey delivered a speech at the Golden Globes that served as an implicit rebuke of the president. By week’s end, at least two polls showed her leading Trump by double digits in a hypothetical presidential election, even though she has no political history and has not said she is running.

On Monday, several outlets began reporting that the White House was in discussions with special counsel Robert Mueller about the president testifying in the Russia probe, which his lawyers had once said would be over by either Thanksgiving or Christmas.

On Tuesday, the president invited lawmakers of both parties to the White House . The meeting was intended to show that Trump was on top of things, contrary to the portrait in Wolff’s

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