Trump, rattled by probes, seeks boost in foreign trip

While the trip may lift Trump’s spirits, it remains unclear whether the highly choreographed diplomatic excursion can do the same for a presidency facing investigations at home.

By Josh Dawsey, Politico.com
05/22/2017 05:05 AM EDT

President Donald Trump seemed rattled before he left Washington Friday afternoon, two people who spoke with him last week said, as he wondered aloud how much investigations into Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election might damage his presidency.

One adviser said Trump said in a conversation last week that he felt that "there are a lot of people out to get him," musing that he should not have attacked the intelligence community so vociferously. An administration official who spoke to the president said he "seemed down more than angry," even though Trump defiantly tweeted that he was facing a “witch hunt.”

When Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia for his first foreign trip as president, his mood appeared to be looking up. He praised his accommodations, was offered his favorite delicacy – steak with ketchup – was draped in a gold medallion while receiving the country’s highest honor, and danced amid sword performers at a gala.

"You are a unique personality that is capable of doing the impossible," Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, in Saudi Arabia for a summit on fighting terrorism, told the U.S. leader on Sunday.

"I agree," Trump replied.

(More here.)