Trump tries a familiar tactic: to provide a new story

"Part of Trump's ability to dodge bullets in the past is based on his ability to change the subject," Geoff Garin, Democratic strategist and pollster. "And this time, he is changing his story instead of changing the subject, and we are now several days in a very negative account of Trump's conduct in his dealings with Putin."

So aware of the risks that he was taking, Mr. Trump, an obsessive about the notes and numbers of approval, seemed indifferent. Although the majority of Americans disapprove of the way he behaved in Helsinki, 68% of Republicans stick to him, according to a CBS poll released Thursday. And a survey conducted by the Axios and SurveyMonkey information site showed that 79 percent of Republicans approved the meeting.

Trump generally criticized his behavior with the pugilistic response that he refined during his 72 years, first as the child of a wealthy real estate developer, a tabloid, a reality TV and now from his seat in the oval office. He never stopped – not long, anyway.

"I think his willingness to double as a result of those events that everyone considers to be catastrophic is that he does not really care," Timothy O. Brien, l & # 39; 39, author of the 2005 book "TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald," said in an interview. "He was isolated all his life from the impact of his own mistakes."

But Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster, noted that Trump's support base had gone through Charlottesville and the border separation crisis. "Politics has become so polarized that there is a strong tendency to rally around our guy," said Mr. Ayres, "and to defend our man from criticism from people we love." not."

But Mr. Garin, the Democratic strategist, said that by continuing to show a conciliatory side to Putin, the president "made it increasingly difficult for Republicans to defend him with real conviction. "

"And this could signal to the voters that with his invitation to Mr. Putin, the president again appeared in agreement with the Russian president who, in a foreign policy speech to the Russian ambbadadors, seemed to channel the views from his American counterpart