President Trump says what he really thinks as off-script moments rankle GOP

A very senior Trump White House official once told me the key to the president’s behavior.

This occurs when his advisors persuade him to do something he specifically does not want to do.

This person says the next time he’s around reporters, he’ll explain what President Trump really thinks.

He will either back down, soften the language, create confusion, or openly contradict what he said a few days ago. This is his way of rebelling against being handled.

And, of course, he will lash out at Republicans who disagree with him, post disparaging messages, or support his primary rivals.

According to Trump, this is just a counterattack.

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After the House of Representatives narrowly voted on Wednesday to enact the War Powers Act to end the Iran conflict, four Republicans — Thomas Massie, Warren Davidson, Brian Fitzpatrick and Tom Barrett — broke with their party.

Trump’s response to Truth Social:

“Yesterday, in the middle of my final negotiations to end the war with the Islamic Republic of Iran, in a meaningless vote, the House, 4 bad Republicans and all the Democrats voted to limit my War Powers,” Trump said. “Who would do such an unpatriotic thing? They know where the negotiations stand. Democrats are fueled by the Trump Imbalance Syndrome. They would rather see our Country fail than give me another victory of many. Four Republicans, that’s a whole different story – They are GRANDSTANDERS! They should be ashamed of themselves.”

And I’m sure there will be more to come.

Even if Senate approval comes after a 215-208 vote, Trump could veto it. And there is a legal dispute over whether Congress can actually weaken the commander in chief, given that presidents of both parties are waging undeclared wars.

An even starker example involves the $1.8 billion “anti-proliferation” fund, which has triggered recorded outrage from Republicans as well as Democrats. The idea that much of the money would go to the Jan. 6 rioters who beat cops and threatened lawmakers struck a chord with members who were at the Capitol on that dark, depressing day in 2021.

Trump could see, or was convinced, that this was a losing issue, and after a leak that he was considering abandoning the project, he said the project was dead. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said he was dead.

RELATED: GOP FORWARDS ICE FUNDING PACKAGE AFTER TRUMP FORCED WITHDRAWAL OF CONTROBUTORY $2 BILLION FUNDING

A scene from the January 6 riots at the US Capitol in 2021. (Julio Cortez/AP Photo, File)

But the next time he saw reporters, he forced open the cellar door he had closed.

He gave CNN host Kaitlan Collins a solid no-brainer for asking why she changed her mind about what everyone is calling the slush fund, namely doing her job.

“I mean, I love that. I think it’s so important… What happened to great people, great Americans, how they were victimized, how they were brutalized, they committed suicide, they killed themselves. They went bankrupt. They were weaponized by the Biden administration, by a bunch of thugs, including Obama’s people. And probably like no one else has ever done. I mean, I can think of maybe two examples where they had a place in this country.” [at] to this extent. “I’m not even sure if there were that many. They were put in prison for a long time. They were accused of things that never happened. They had radical crazy prosecutors and their lives were ruined. And frankly, we had a case against us on the gun issue and the judge, a radical left judge, ruled against it. And we’ll see how it all turns out. But the radical left judge ruled against it,” Trump said.

We’ll see how it all turns out.

Is he dead?

“I’ll have to ask the lawyers,” Trump said.

Lawyers work for him.

The president’s job is not done.

“But these people’s lives are ruined. Their families are ruined; many of them. I’m not just talking about a few,” he said. “Many of them were destroyed, most of them. I’m not talking about just a few. Many of them. I’m one of them, I look, they broke into my house, Mar-a-Lago. This never happened. Nobody thought of such a thing.”

And then it got really personal.

“They’re so twisted. CNN is a very corrupt organization, but right in front of them is a corrupt reporter. You never smile. She never smiles, she’s a young, beautiful woman. She never smiles, I don’t see a smile on her face, I see her standing there with hatred in her eyes. She has hatred because we have borders, because we have a strong military, because we lower our taxes, because we do the things everyone wants. And then we win the election in a landslide. We won 87. Trump said, “This 10 percent of the districts in the country,” he said.

CNN’s response: “Kaitlan Collins is an extraordinary journalist who reports from the White House and the field every day with true depth and tenacity. She expertly brings that reporting to the news anchor and CNN platforms every day; she knows audiences around the world can trust.”

So is the fund showing signs of life again? Who knows?

Trump was saying what he truly believed all along.

The Senate failed by one vote on Thursday to ban any attempt to revive the fund. The scoreboard was kept up for hours as the leadership tried to count noses. They have the option to try again to get a share of the project. These guys want it in writing.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks at a news conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The bigger takeaway is that Trump’s iron grip on the party has loosened somewhat. After 16 months in which GOP lawmakers gave him nearly everything he wanted, the slush fund has encouraged them to realize they can make their own way and (mostly) survive — and that sentiment seems contagious now.

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Moreover, while Trump’s MAGA support remains rock solid, swing voters in the midterm elections will be cast by independents as well as disappointed Republicans. That’s why putting some distance between themselves and the president seems like a sensible course of action.

Any day now, at least until the next Trump controversy breaks out.