Trump vs. Fellow Republicans: Unleash the Hounds

Declaring war on a sizable wing within his own Republican Party, U.S. President Donald Trump issued threats against the Freedom Caucus, a conservative bloc within the U.S. House of Representatives that he held responsible for sinking the health care legislation he had proposed as a replacement for the 2010 Obamacare.

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"The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don't get on the team, and fast. We must fight them, and Dems, in 2018!" Trump tweeted in his latest online salvo.

By equating conservative and libertarian-leaning members of the GOP with opposition Democrats, Trump risks undercutting a crucial support base that he'll need in the next four years as he advances his agenda.

Trump's outburst wasn't taken well by Representative Justin Amash, a Michigan member of the Freedom Caucus who blasted back by infantilizing Trump's tweets.

"Most people don't take well to being bullied," Amash said. Responding to reporters' questions about whether Trump's tweets were constructive, the representative added, "It's constructive in fifth grade. It may allow a child to get his way, but that's not how our government works."

Attempting to play a peacemaker role, Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan noted his empathy for Trump's position, saying, “I understand the president's frustration,” adding that his position was that Republicans should “keep talking to one another.”

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In an interview Thursday with CBS program “This Morning,” Ryan expressed his fear that Republicans may be pushing the president toward working with Democrats — a prospect Trump has threatened.

“I don't want that to happen,” the house speaker said.

Trump's missives come as his administration faces unprecedented pressure from all sides, ranging from leaks about a White House riven by internal conflicts and intrigue to increased scrutiny of alleged ties between Trump loyalists and Russian state actors.

Ever the performer, Trump struck a somewhat sardonic note at a White House reception for senators Tuesday night, “Nobody ever told me that politics was going to be so much fun.”

If the ill-tempered president makes good on his threats to wage war on his own party in next year's congressional elections, Trump-watchers can be sure that the mud-slinging will continue.