The White House’s muscular response Thursday to President Donald Trump’s personal broadside on MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski brought into public view a West Wing that feels constantly under siege.

The 45th chief executive’s domestic agenda is stalled. White House policy rollouts typically feature little policy. But at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., the president and his aides appear to spend a considerable amount of time analyzing how his presidency and his bombastic tweets are portrayed by television networks, newspapers and online publications.

During a combative on-camera daily briefing Thursday, Principal Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended the president, hours after he referred to Brzezinski and her “Morning Joe” co-host (and fiance) Joe Scarborough as “low I.Q.” and “psycho” respectively — he then alleged that he once denied them a meeting because she was “bleeding badly from a face-lift.”