First, Trump told the New York Times last week that he wouldn't have nominated Sessions if he knew Sessions would recuse himself from the Russia investigation. In the same interview, he pointed to Sessions's “bad answers” in his confirmation hearings about his contacts with Russians. Then Monday, after The Washington Post reported Russia's ambassador had contradicted Sessions by saying the two of them had discussed the 2016 campaign in their meeting, Trump called Sessions “beleaguered.” And then the assault continued into Tuesday morning, with Trump hitting Sessions on Twitter for not investigating Hillary Clinton.

Even in the annals of Trump, the spectacle of him attacking his own top political ally and attorney general is astounding. So what's going on? As always with Trump, we have to entertain a few options.

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1) He's laying the groundwork for firing Sessions and possibly Robert Mueller too

Trump's case against Sessions seems to be tailored at rallying the base against him — particularly by pointing to Sessions's supposed dereliction in not investigating Clinton. Perhaps Trump is preparing to get rid of Sessions and wants to make sure that it won't cost him support. You can bet conservative media will now take up the mantle of questioning the lack of a Ukraine investigation; indeed they've already picked up on his cues.

As The Post is reporting, some Trump associates see getting rid of Sessions as part of a broader effort to also get rid of Russia investigation special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Trump needs approval from the Justice Department to fire Mueller, but Sessions has recused himself and Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, who assumed oversight of the probe and appointed Mueller, has said he won't fire Mueller without good cause.

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By firing Sessions, Trump could possibly install a more loyal, un-recused attorney general who would do his bidding and fire Mueller. But even that is somewhat dicey:

Trump could order Rosenstein — and then Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand — to fire Mueller. If they quit instead of doing so, he could appoint an acting attorney general who would. Trump could also appoint an acting attorney general with them in place — effectively passing over Rosenstein and Brand — and order that person to remove the special counsel. Trump’s authority to jump Rosenstein and Brand, though, is murky. The Justice Department has issued opinions in the past saying that such a move is and isn’t permissible. And his pick for an acting attorney general would have to have Senate confirmation and be serving elsewhere in the government or have worked in the Justice Department for 90 days within the past 365 and be at a certain senior pay level.

Trump could also attempt to make a recess appointment over the August recess. But that would require the complicity of Senate Republicans, who could thwart that if they wanted to by not going into recess. And you can bet some Republicans would be plenty worried about this gambit; they're already expressing concern.

2) He wants to make Sessions quit

This is perhaps the most obvious conclusion. Trump hasn't fired Sessions; he just seems bent on making life miserable for him. Perhaps he wants Sessions to get tired of the abuse and just end it himself.

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This would benefit Trump because he could credibly say that he didn't fire yet another person because of the Russia investigation. Sessions technically recused himself from the Russia probe, but Trump's decision in this case, by his own admission, would be in large part because of that decision.

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Of course, if Trump were worried about that perception, it's unclear why he would even broach the subject in the first place. The last time he did that after firing James B. Comey, it earned him an obstruction of justice investigation.

3) He's just “working the refs”/blowing off smoke

Maybe Trump is just thin-skinned, upset at Sessions and/or wants to send a message to anyone else who would run afoul of him like Sessions did. If Trump can do this to one of his earliest and most loyal backers, you can bet others won't assume they'll remain in Trump's good graces for long.

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Trump, of course, has done this with any number of people around him, from former campaign aides to Stephen K. Bannon to Sean Spicer. He's also attacked nearly everyone with a role to play in charge of the Russia investigation.

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4) He's trying to undermine confidence in everyone in Washington (even his allies)

This is the most conspiratorial option on the table. Trump hasn't just attacked everyone in charge of the Russia investigation; he's also for years sought to undermine confidence in many political institutions and norms, from the media to election integrity to the judiciary to Senate filibuster rules to the intelligence community.

The combined message of all of it seems to be: You can't trust anybody except me, and I need more power because the deep state is standing in my way.