Morning Joe's Mark Halperin is one of those people who rarely say anything all that interesting or truthful, but this is one of those times:
"This Times story about the president and Mitch McConnell is one of the most important side game stories about the entire Trump administration," he said.
"Because it reflects Mitch McConnell's thinking about being at the end of his rope, and not being the least bit invested in the success of Donald Trump anymore.
"That is a turning point for Capitol Hill, and the Republican party, and the president last night reflects it. He might feel good about that, he always feels good walking into a big arena of cheering people, but he leaves Arizona today in a worse position than when he went in."
As he points out, "that's not why presidents go on the road."
"He's now made things worse and there's no one in Washington, in the Republican party, I bet you, who reads that the New York Times article and says, 'how dare Mitch McConnell do that or 'now Mitch McConnell's gonna play a price.'
"Because the president's not in a position to punish or discipline, or get at Mitch McConnell, because Mitch McConnell has a lot of power and the president's power is receding."
Blunt, but accurate.
