"...or all the rest is desolation."

Via ⁦@reidepstein⁩ and me, Democrats are still grappling with a president who has no problem deploying racist tweets and attacks, but who voters tend to tune out. https://t.co/ctLFH1SG8z

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 30, 2019

Well, yeah, but...

There was pretty broad consensus within the White House that with his broadsides against Cummings, Trump had started attacking someone who is well-respected by colleagues in both parties. Trump's last tweet against Cummings was in the last 30 minutes https://t.co/EQvNtrvYSN

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 30, 2019

And to sharpen that point a bit:

Several White House officials expressed agreement during a staff meeting on Monday morning that the president’s attacks were a bad move, according to people informed about the discussion, but they were uncertain who could intervene with him — or if anyone would even dare try.

They privately scoffed at the idea that it was strategy rather than impulse, concluding that any political benefit he might derive by revving up his conservative, largely white base could be offset by alienating more moderate voters in the suburbs of states like Wisconsin and Michigan that he needs to win a second term.

But:

And this is what some Trump advisers are counting on. https://t.co/BqhnOZeGHo

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 30, 2019

Again, but:

Suburban women recoil as Trump dives into racial politics https://t.co/Ce25npN7jF

— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) July 30, 2019

And on the Hill, rats flee the sinking ship and stop to curse the captain:

 Congressional Republicans told the Hill that morale in the caucus is low after functioning as the minority party in the House, and President Donald Trump isn’t helping.

“The odds are against us retaking the majority,” an unnamed senior Republican lawmaker told the Hill.

The lawmaker partly put the blame on Trump, who’s “made an already hostile political environment worse.”

“Every day there is some indefensible tweet or comment to defend or explain,” the Republican said. “It is exhausting and often embarrassing.”

Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) told the Deseret News on Monday that he wouldn’t seek reelection.

And the House Republican caucus was hit especially hard last week when Reps. Martha Roby (R-AL), Pete Olson (R-TX) and Paul Mitchell (R-MI) all announced that they were leaving Congress.

Future's so bright, I gotta wear shades!  And nothing is certain except more uncertainty!  Although:

President Trump continued to disparage Rep. Elijah Cummings and his mostly-black constituents on the White House lawn Tuesday.

Two hours later, the president was quoting Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., during a speech about African-American contributions.https://t.co/PqWmezcDKz

— NPR (@NPR) July 30, 2019

Disparaging the Rev. Dr. King would be dropping an enormous turd in the national punchbowl, an act even Trump isn't dumb enough to try.  You do almost wish he would, though, just to see Republicans try not to notice it.