‘This Time Really Feels Different’

In the wake of his recent outbursts, White House officials have discussed whether President Trump would listen to his closest New York City friends in an effort to rein him in, Gabriel Sherman reports.

“Two sources briefed on the matter told me that senior officials talked about inviting Rudy Giuliani and a group of Trump’s New York real-estate friends including Tom Barrack, Richard LeFrak, and Howard Lorber to the White House to stage an ‘intervention’ last week. ‘It was supposed to be a war council,’ one source explained. But Trump refused to take the meeting, sources said.”

More than ever, Trump is acting by feeling and instinct. Said one former White House official: “Trump is nuts. This time really feels different.”

Deputy Chief of Staff Bill Shine has privately expressed concern… telling a friend that Trump’s emotional state is “very tender.”