President Donald Trump seems to have a contorted view of a few political realities of Washington D.C. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo Trump's funhouse mirror view of Washington

TRUMP’S FUNHOUSE MIRROR VIEW OF WASHINGTON -- He’s publicly blasting away at critical Senate Republican votes. He’s at war with the powerful Senate majority leader of his own party. And he is taking a staunch -- and some would say irreversible -- position on keeping the government open, threatening what top Republicans believe would be a politically perilous shutdown one month before funding runs dry.

Welcome to President Donald Trump’s funhouse mirror view of Washington.


Trump has certainly changed the contours of the presidency: He doesn’t conform to political norms, he brushes off drama in his ranks, and he rankles players on the world stage.

But in Washington, Trump seems to have a contorted view of a few key fundamental political realities that are out of his control. He is operating with an extraordinarily thin majority in the Senate and seems intent on poking key senators like Jeff Flake and John McCain of Arizona, Dean Heller of Nevada, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Susan Collins of Maine in the eyes. He is in a prolonged battle with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, whom he can’t get rid of and whose support he needs to get anything done. He’s threatening a government shutdown over a border wall he will likely not be able to build. He continues to push changes to the Senate rules -- he says he wants to get rid of the filibuster -- despite opposition by Senate Republicans and Democrats. He’s been unrelenting in his criticism of Democrats and seems uninterested in doing anything to bring them into the fold.

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Anyone who spent more than a minute observing or participating in our legislative politics would describe Trump’s moves as some combination of self-defeating, illogical and misguided. Behind the scenes, the White House is working despite the president's bluster: Top Trump aides are in touch with Hill leadership aides to ensure the government doesn’t jump off the rails. And there still remains a glimmer of hope for some kind of tax reform effort to get off the ground. But the president’s unconventional view of what it takes to govern is not helping, according to multiple aides and lawmakers involved in legislative strategy.