When people - including political allies - feel comfortable defying the president, it's both a sign of his weakness and a cause of further weakness.

It means others have decided he's on the wrong side of public opinion. And it becomes easier for new critics to emerge.

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Consider the list of people who've defied President Trump in recent weeks:

* Lindsey Graham and other Senate Republicans refused to back Trump's choice of a new federal prosecutor in New York.

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* Trump's former national security adviser called him a “danger for the republic."
* Trump's former defense secretary said he was trying to make a mockery of the Constitution.
* Trump’s top military adviser publicly apologized for participating in a photo op with him.

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* A federal judge rejected Trump’s request to block the release of the John Bolton book.
* The Supreme Court blocked Trump’s effort to end a signature Obama immigration policy.
* The NFL commissioner effectively abandoned Trump's position on player protests.

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* And several Trump-friendly commentators — at The Wall Street Journal, Breitbart and elsewhere — have said his responses to the virus and police violence are hurting his chances of re-election.

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None of this means Trump will lose. He could mount a fall comeback, as Truman in '48, GHW Bush in '88 and others did. But sustained weakness is a very dangerous thing for a politician.

Today's newsletter: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/22/briefing/trump-coronavirus-bubba-wallace-your-monday-briefing.html

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