The Very Stable Genius gives us fresh indications of his rudderlessness

First, there's this:

President Trump on Wednesday voiced support for confiscating guns from certain individuals deemed to be dangerous, even if it violates due process rights.

“I like taking the guns early, like in this crazy man’s case that just took place in Florida ... to go to court would have taken a long time,” Trump said at a meeting with lawmakers on school safety and gun violence.

“Take the guns first, go through due process second,” Trump said.

Trump was responding to comments from Vice President Pence that families and local law enforcement should have more tools to report potentially dangerous individuals with weapons. 

“Allow due process so no one’s rights are trampled, but the ability to go to court, obtain an order and then collect not only the firearms but any weapons,” Pence said.

"Or, Mike, take the firearms first, and then go to court," Trump responded. 

He also said this to Pat Toomey:

 President Donald Trump asked Sen. Pat Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican who's worked on a bill to strengthen background checks for gun purchases, whether he left a proposal to raise the gun purchasing age to 21 out of his measure because senators are "afraid of the NRA."

In an exchange during a meeting of a bipartisan group of senators at the White House, Trump asked Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Toomey if their background check bill they authored in the aftermath of a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 included a provision that would have raised the age at which individuals could purchase rifles from 18 to 21.
Toomey said it did not.

"You know why? Because you're afraid of the NRA," Trump said.

Now, a conversation can be had about what kind of organization the NRA is today, whether it's proper that its focus has gone beyond gun policy strictly speaking. But Trump is also on record as saying this in recent days:

“Don’t worry about the NRA. They’re on our side,” Trump told more than 35 governors, including Rick Scott of Florida, during a White House meeting. “If they’re not with you, we have to fight them every once in awhile. That’s OK. They’re doing what they think is right.” 

What comes through is the basic Trump attitude toward dealing with any groups: He thinks he can ruffle their feathers, cause disarray in relations with them, but in the final analysis get them in line because, well, his leadership is irresistible.  It's just one more manifestation of his  outsized ego.

He does it to individuals, too. Jeff Sessions stuck his neck out while still a senator, very early in the campaign season. A considerable swath of the Republican Party was keenly interested in coalescing around someone other than Trump, but Sessions decided to pivot to populism and throw his full support behind the VSG.

Since then - since Trump appointed Session as Attorney General - he has publicly - as on Twitter - berated Sessions for various perceived infractions. It happened again just the other day:

Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!

Consider that IG Horowitz is even now looking into the matter of Hillary Clinton's private email server, and his investigation of it has been handled. He's hardly a partisan hack.

This, like the dismissive remark about due process regarding guns quoted above, indicates the low regard the VSG has for processes that protect basic integrity of a probe:

Seriously, Trump is attacking Sessions the day after the Justice Department announced that they’re investigating the president’s concerns that the Obama administration misused their surveillance powers in 2016. He is jumping through every hoop, catering to every wild-eyed, sweaty twitch of desperation from the man, and he still can’t please him.

Girl, get out of there!

Horowitz is overseeing an investigation into the FBI and Justice Department’s handling of the probe into former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton‘s use of a private email server while she was secretary of State.

That probe reportedly helped lead to the early resignation of Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, a frequent Trump target. Horowitz also uncovered a series of text messages between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, which led special counsel Robert Mueller to remove Strzok from the team probing Russia’s election interference.

Horowitz is doing his job, but Trump wants something more, and immediate. He’s got no time for trivial things like due diligence or thorough investigation and gathering of facts.

For whatever Sessions does to please him, it will never be enough, because his early act of recusing himself from anything involving the Russia probe was seen as abandoning his trueduty – to show loyalty and protect Trump above all else.

So just like a battered woman, Sessions is on eggshells and rationalizing, attempting to please his man, and never knowing exactly what will set him off, next.

These are the kinds of situations in which the personality level, which is what those who find Trump objectionable - sometimes derided as NeverTrumpers (a silly term, given that he's been president for well over a year now) - meets the policy level head on. And chaos always seems to ensue.

Oh, and White House communications director Hope Hicks left her position rather suddenly. It was within hours of that exhaustive testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, at which she mostly remained tight-lipped, but did say that she sometimes has told lies for Trump.

It''s going to be interesting to get more backstory on that.