Everyone Trump likes is telling him to fire Mueller. That's a bad sign.

Fox News and the GOP Congress are basically saying they'll have his back in a Saturday Night Massacre

Robert Mueller and Trump allies.
(Image credit: Illustrated | NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images, AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst, AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, REUTERS/Mike Segar)

When it comes to Robert Mueller's investigation, President Trump has an angel perched on one shoulder and a devil on the other. The angel tells him to let the special counsel's probe run its course, for the sake of himself, his party, and the integrity of the system. The devil tells him that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has no right to keep poking around in his business, and if Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein doesn't have the guts to fire him, then Trump ought to axe Rosenstein and replace him with someone who knows who the boss is.

The angel and the devil are just metaphors, of course. What we really have is a debate swirling around Donald Trump, with everyone telling him what to do about Mueller and his other supposed enemies. But those with the most access to the president's psyche are the ones shouting most loudly to get rid of Mueller, Rosenstein, and anybody else who doesn't show the proper loyalty.

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Paul Waldman

Paul Waldman is a senior writer with The American Prospect magazine and a blogger for The Washington Post. His writing has appeared in dozens of newspapers, magazines, and web sites, and he is the author or co-author of four books on media and politics.