The New York Times's Maggie Haberman and Alexander Burns have a revealing look at the tumult behind the scenes in the Donald Trump campaign. The Republican nominee for president has been under seige, they report, from advisors and aides urging Trump to remain on message and focused on winning the White House. But Trump, the Times's sources say, doesn't appear to be heeding their calls as the New York businessman's poll numbers against Democrat Hillary Clinton continue to spiral downward.

Here's an excerpt:

In private, Mr. Trump's mood is often sullen and erratic, his associates say. He veers from barking at members of his staff to grumbling about how he was better off following his own instincts during the primaries and suggesting he should not have heeded their calls for change. He broods about his souring relationship with the news media, calling Mr. Manafort several times a day to talk about specific stories. Occasionally, Mr. Trump blows off steam in bursts of boyish exuberance: At the end of a fund-raiser on Long Island last week, he playfully buzzed the crowd twice with his helicopter. But in interviews with more than 20 Republicans who are close to Mr. Trump or in communication with his campaign, many of whom insisted on anonymity to avoid clashing with him, they described their nominee as exhausted, frustrated and still bewildered by fine points of the political process and why his incendiary approach seems to be sputtering.

Read the whole thing here.

On Twitter, Bill Kristol says the Times story suggests prominent members of Trump's team are already beginning their recriminations in anticipation of a Republican defeat in November:

Good read from @maggieNYT & @alexburnsNYT. Fun to watch rats desert sinking ship by speaking on background to NYT. https://t.co/tZHqQHTLtn — Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) August 13, 2016





Who, you ask? Based on close read, I'd say those trying to boost selves at expense of @realDonaldTrump include @GovChristie & @PaulManafort. — Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) August 13, 2016