The same day, with more and more Republican lawmakers making a rare public break with the GOP president who remains so popular with their common political base, the president lashed out at the news media by essentially accusing reporters, producers and editors of a crime punishable by death.

“First of all, we came to a wonderful agreement,” He told former GOP Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in an interview recorded for his weekly TBN show. “It’s a shame the fake news covers it the way they do.

“It’s really, it’s almost treasonous, you want to know the truth,” Trump said, several navy blue flags with the presidential seal positioned around him in a purposeful and stage-managed bit of imagery to let everyone know the man who rode a populist wave is now the chief executive.