President Trump was thrilled with Attorney General William Barr’s “pugnacious performance” on Wednesday in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and he views Barr as “someone who is defending him at all costs,” according to people close to Trump and a former White House official who spoke to the Washington Post.
But at least one person close to Trump told the Post that Trump’s happiness was “shortsighted” because some lawmakers may not view the attorney general as credible after he appeared to behave as if he was the President’s personal lawyer at the hearing.
In recent days, White House officials and Trump himself have been urging some of the administration’s most ardent TV supporters to give cable news interviews that praise Barr. On Wednesday the White House held a phone call with allies to offer key pro-Barr talking points. People familiar with the call told the Post that supporters were urged to say that Barr “dismembered arguments about obstruction of justice.”
