EVEN NIXON HAD BEBE REBOZO:

In the first week of the Trump Presidency, influence has run through a very select group of advisers--maybe as many as half a dozen, maybe as few as two. The President's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Bannon have consolidated their influence. Kushner, who has spent his brief career running his father's real-estate empire, reportedly has been told to lead negotiations with Mexico. Kushner was also involved in a discussion with British officials, and denounced the United Kingdom's support of a United Nations resolution opposing Israeli settlements. According to the Washington Post, some former campaign aides "have been alarmed by Kushner's efforts to elbow aside anyone he perceives as a possible threat to his role as Trump's chief consigliere." But Bannon's portfolio may be even broader. His hand was apparent in the President's dark Inauguration speech, in his economic nationalism, and in his early, aggressive stances against Mexico and refugees.

The President's isolation runs deeper than that. As the confusion around the immigration ban made clear, the vast government he oversees has little input on his actions. In an interview this week, Trump said that he reads the Times, the New York Post, and the Washington Post each day, but he seems to scan them as an actor does, for reviews of his own performance. His campaign made clear that he was not interested in the findings of scientists, social scientists, or the American government. Trump's transition has alienated him from the American public. Gallup found on Friday that fifty per cent of Americans disapproved of Trump's performance, the highest disapproval rating on record for any American President this early in his term.

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