Did we need three separate posts today about Trump and Scar-zinski farting at each other? No. But on the evening before a holiday weekend, this is the level of effort you get.

Besides, as this turns weirder and more personal, I think it may end up being the best Trump feud since the salad days of him tangling with Rosie O’Donnell. We can’t be more than a few days away from Trump dropping a “my wife’s hotter than yours” tweet on Joe, which will blow the entirety of American media sky high. In the meantime, what’s the most scandalous bit from this new Vanity Fair piece? The idea that Trump was allegedly interested in knowing who did Mika’s chin tuck? Or the claim that Donald J. Trump … apologized?

[Brzezinski] said that she had told Melania Trump about the procedure when the couple stopped by Mar-a-Lago on New Year’s Eve. “The irony of it all is that Donald kept saying, ‘That’s incredible. You can’t even tell. Who did it? Who did it?’ He kept asking for the name of the doctor. He literally asked 10 times. ‘Is he down here? Who is he?’” Scarborough recalled. (A spokesman from the White House declined to comment.)…

Last summer, [Trump] tweeted that Brzezinski was “a neurotic and not very bright mess!” and threatened to “tell the real story” about their relationship.

Afterward, they said that the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, brokered a meeting with the four of them. Brzezinski said she explained that the tweet had caused a lot of hurt to her children and family. Trump, she said, apologized.

I wonder which allegation will offend Trump more. Probably the apology. An alpha male needs to care about his looks, but he must never, ever grovel.

Over at WaPo, Erik Wemple asks an excellent question. If Joe and Mika were so scandalized by Trump’s alleged blackmail attempt via the Enquirer, why did it take until now for the public to hear about it? What were they sitting on that information for?

This extraordinary waste of taxpayer dollars took place weeks or months ago. It’s better to have the scoop later than never. But: Why do we have to wait for Trump to slander “Morning Joe” on Twitter before we find out about it all? The Erik Wemple Blog has lobbed the following questions at a representative of NBC News: “When was ‘Morning Joe’ planning to drop the Enquirer bombshell? Why not report it shortly after it happened? When DID it happen? And if it wasn’t publishable then, why is it now?”

Considering how long they’ve known each other and the circles they move in, it’s possible that Trump and Joe/Mika are each sitting on piles of dirt about the other, reluctant to release anything for fear of mutually assured destruction but willing to engage in limited attacks under the circumstances as the feud turns nastier. Maybe Scarborough was worried that Trump would hit him with something unflattering if he revealed the alleged blackmail attempt, then decided he might as well reveal it after Trump went after him and Brzezinski on Twitter. Although there’s an alternate explanation:

What if Scarborough implied he'd give Trump friendlier coverage in exchange for having the Enquirier story killed?

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) June 30, 2017

What if Scarborough was the one who put a quid pro quo on the table? Kill the Enquirer story and maybe the daily accusations on “Morning Joe” about Trump being unstable get toned down. Do nothing to kill the Enquirer story and maybe they get ramped up. Is that why Joe sat on the “blackmail” attempt — because his own texts with Jared Kushner would muddy the waters of who exactly was trying to put the squeeze on whom?

Life is so complicated now. It used to be so sweet and simple. In hindsight, I think this was the moment we all first realized he was presidential timber.