Frustrated by his Cabinet and angry that he has not received enough credit for his handling of three successive hurricanes, President Donald Trump is now lashing out, rupturing alliances and imperilling his legislative agenda, numerous White House officials and outside advisers said Monday.

In a matter of days, Trump has torched bridges all around him; nearly imploded an informal deal with Democrats to protect the young undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children; and plunged himself into the culture wars on issues ranging from birth control to the national anthem.

In doing so, Trump is labouring to solidify his standing with his populist base and return to the comforts of his campaign - especially after the embarrassing defeat of Sen. Luther Strange, R, in last month's Alabama special election, despite the president's trip there to campaign with the senator.

Sen. Bob Corker's brutal assessment of Trump's fitness for office - warning that his reckless behaviour could launch the nation "on the path to World War III" - also landed like a thunderclap inside the White House, where aides feared possible ripple effects among other Republicans on Capitol Hill.

After a caustic volley of Twitter insults between Trump and Corker, a Tennessee Republican who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, few Republican leaders came to the president's defence Monday - though few sided openly with Corker either. The most vocal Trump defender was the one under the president's employ, Vice President Mike Pence.

Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Show all 30 1 /30 Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Threatening to shut down Twitter after being fact-checked After the president tweeted that voting by post would be "substantially fraudulent", Twitter attached a warning label to his tweet and referred readers to a site which explained how the claim was "unsubstantiated". Trump then said Twitter was "stifling free speech" and that he may have to shut it down, something which he would not have the power to do AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Flippantly dismissing a serious allegation of sexual assault When author E Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her, the president responded: “Number one, she’s not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Insulting the Mayor of London as he landed in London Just before touching down at Stansted Airport for his state visit, Trump took time out to @ the London mayor Sadiq Khan on twitter. He said that Khan has done a "terrible job"as mayor and that he is a "stone cold loser" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Taking plenty of "Executive Time" The president's official schedule sets aside the hours from 8 to 11am daily for "Executive Time". Further intermittent periods of "Executive Time" are scheduled throughout any given day, ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours. His duties in these hours have not been officially disclosed, though Axios reports that he spends them watching TV, reading the newspapers and tweeting Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Shutdown the government for over a month in an effort to secure funding for his wall With Mexico declining to pay for the wall, the president has faced difficulty in raising the required $5bn at home. Due to his demand that the money for the wall be included in the budget, and Congress's refusal, the government partially shut down on 22 December 2018. It remained shut for over a month, the longest period in history Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Joking about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron In this tweet from 13 November 2018, the president mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Railing against the Mueller investigation The president has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Trump Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling Following furious backlash in the US, the president claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it would not have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Colouring in the US flag wrong The president coloured in the US flag wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter The president announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the president made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired! Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Calling African nations "S***hole Countries" Ever one for diplomacy, the president reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape". Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying: “There are a lot of killers. You think our country’s so innocent?” Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Asking for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump couldn’t help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of “The Apprentice” — which buoyed Trump’s celebrity status years ago Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull Early in his presidency, Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the “worst call” he had had so far Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... The 'Muslim ban' Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Trump’s travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administration’s argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the president picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... 'Little Rocket Man' During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be “little Rocket Man” as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack After the attack on the London Bridge, Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticising Khan for saying there was “no reason to be alarmed” after the attack. Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face' Never one not to mock his enemies, Trump mocked MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to “join” him. He noted that she was “bleeding badly from a face-lift” at the time, and that he said no MSNBC Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides' Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Retweeting cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train' Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of “fake news” Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing head of the FBI, James Comey Trump’s firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Not realising being president would be 'hard' Just three months into his presidency, Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Accusing Obama of wiretapping him Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Obama had not, in fact, done so Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes' Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.) Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement Just days after taking office, Trump’s White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didn’t mention “jews” or even the word “jewish” in the written statement Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Anger over Inauguration crowd size Trump’s inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever. Relatedly, Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didn’t, the day was very dreary Reuters

Trump in recent days has shown flashes of fury and left his aides, including White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, scrambling to manage his outbursts. He has been frustrated in particular with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was reported last week to have earlier called the president "a moron."

Trump's Sunday morning Twitter tirade against Corker caught staffers by surprise, although the president had been brooding over the senator's comment a few days earlier about Trump's "chaos" endangering the nation.

One Trump confidant likened the president to a whistling teapot, saying that when he does not blow off steam he can turn into a pressure cooker and explode. "I think we are in pressure cooker territory," said this person, who requested anonymity to speak candidly.

This portrait of the president increasingly isolated in the capital city is based on interviews with 18 White House officials, outside advisers and other Trump associates.

In a late-afternoon, unsolicited email to reporters, Pence's office on Monday blasted out a blanket response under the vice president's name addressing "criticisms of the president." The statement bemoaned "empty rhetoric and baseless attacks" against Trump while touting his handling of global threats, from Islamic State terrorists to North Korea.

"That's what American leadership on the world stage looks like and no amount of criticism at home can diminish those results," the statement concluded.

Bob Corker unleashed an extraordinary attack on President Trump in an interview (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

But Pence's words did little to reassure some Trump allies, who fear that the president's feud with Corker could cause more troubles for the administration and further unravel threadbare relationships on Capitol Hill.

One Trump loyalist - noting that Corker has many more friends in the Senate than Trump - said the rift could dash chances for tax reform or other meaningful legislation. "His presidency could be doomed," said this person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity so as not to alienate Trump or his staff.

"We have been watching the slow-motion breakup of the Republican Party and Trump is doing what he can to speed it up," said Patrick Caddell, a veteran pollster who has worked with Stephen Bannon, Trump's former chief strategist who now runs Breitbart News, a conservative website.

"Trump is firmly placing himself on the outside, trying to become an almost independent president," Caddell said. "He knows that many people will be with him, that he helps himself when he's not seen as the Republican president. But what about his program? That's the question - and possibly the cost of what he's doing."

Inside the White House, reaction to Corker's comments has been mixed. Some Trump aides believe it is dangerous for Trump to fight with Corker, the chairman of a powerful Senate committee who is not running for reelection and therefore feels he has nothing to lose.

Other Trump aides blame Corker for what they consider an act of betrayal, arguing that he started the feud in a bid for relevance by a lame-duck lawmaker. They also accuse Corker of hypocrisy, noting that he was chummy with Trump and did not voice any concerns with his leadership style when he thought he might be picked as vice president or secretary of state.

Christopher Ruddy, chief executive of Newsmax and a Trump friend, said, "Donald Trump never truly severs relationships. There is always a dialogue. And with Corker, this isn't a total endpoint. Trump sees relationships as negotiations, and that's what they're in."

Many in the White House say they appreciate the disciplined structure Kelly has implemented, but it has left Trump without the free-flowing conversations with staff and outsiders that he had come to relish. These familiar faces often buoyed Trump's mood and gave him a safe sounding board, even if they at times interfered with the workings of the government.

Trump is also without his longtime aide-de-camp and former head of security, Keith Schiller, who departed the White House this fall as director of Oval Office operations. Schiller was a constant at Trump's side for years and adept at soothing his foul moods. His absence has left Trump with few generational peers with whom he feels comfortable venting about his staff or his rivals, or just talking about sports, according to some of the president's friends.

Trump, meanwhile, has been seeking regular counsel from friends outside of the government, including investor Thomas Barrack, who chaired his presidential inauguration.

Among some in Trump's circle, Barrack has been buzzed about as a possible replacement for Kelly, should tensions between the president and his top aide become unsustainable. But people familiar with Barrack's thinking said he feels he can best serve Trump as a friend and outside adviser, as opposed to as a member of the White House staff.

Trump has given no indication publicly that he is mulling another change and over the weekend heaped praise on Kelly.

"John Kelly is one of the best people I've ever worked with," Trump told reporters Saturday. "He's doing an incredible job, and he told me for the last two months he loves it more than anything he's ever done . . . He will be here, in my opinion, for the entire seven remaining years."

Still, Trump is facing political headwinds, including from his own base. The Alabama Senate primary last month, in which a far-right challenger defeated a more establishment Republican whom the president had endorsed, served as a warning flare for Trump's team, highlighting the risk he could run if he alienates the core supporters who helped lift him to electoral victory.

The president himself has groused to numerous White House aides about his concerns over his popularity with "my people" - his base. He blames the Republican establishment and others for failing to enact his agenda and making him look feckless, and is unhappy with losing in Alabama, according to people briefed on White House deliberations.

Trump also made it known to several people that he wished to have a rally in North Carolina over the weekend and not just hold a fundraiser - but he ultimately only flew down for the fundraiser, spending just two hours on the ground in Greensboro. Trump complained that he wished he had gotten back out in front of the rowdy crowds he loves, these people said.

"Donald Trump got elected with minority support from the American electorate and most of his efforts this far are focused on energizing and solidifying the 40 percent of Americans who were with him, primarily by attacking the 60 percent who were not," Republican pollster Whit Ayres said. "That is great for his supporters, but it makes it very difficult to accomplish anything in a democracy."

Trump's political calculus is complicated by Bannon's return to his previous role at the helm of Breitbart. Now working to forward a nationalist agenda from outside the confines of the administration, Bannon has vowed war against any Republican lawmakers he believes are insufficiently conservative, or failing to help push through the agenda he and Trump outlined during the campaign.

Bannon is actively recruiting Republican primary challengers in nearly all of the 2018 Senate races, looking for candidates who could defeat Republicans he views as too establishment and highlight the president's stances on issues such as immigration and trade.

The White House effort to woo back the populist wing of the party after stumbling in the Alabama Senate primary race has been mixed. When Trump advisers reached out to Breitbart writers on Sunday to highlight a list of hard-line immigration principles the administration had just released, there was little enthusiasm for the White House's outreach and skepticism of Trump's commitment to combating illegal immigration, according to two people familiar with the exchanges.

Even the Trump family has become a flash point. On Monday, the president's first and third wives - Ivana and Melania, respectively - engaged in a public spat.

In an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" to promote her new book, "Raising Trump," Ivana Trump, the mother of the president's three eldest children, said, "I'm basically first Trump wife. OK? I'm first lady."

The actual first lady, Melania Trump, did not let the slight go unanswered. Her spokeswoman at the White House, Stephanie Grisham, issued a statement dismissing Ivana's comments as "attention seeking and self-serving noise."