When the going gets tough, Trump goes it alone

WASHINGTON -- His staff hollowing out and his agenda languishing, President Donald Trump is increasingly flying solo.

Always improvisational, the president exercised his penchant for going it alone in a big way this week: first, by ordering sweeping tariffs opposed by foreign allies and many in his own party, then hours later delivering the stunning news he'll meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

An on-the-spot decision with global ramifications, Trump's agreement to sit down with Kim came after a meeting with a South Korean delegation and took some of his top aides by surprise.

The president has long considered himself his own best consultant, saying during the presidential campaign: "I'm speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and I've said a lot of things."

Trump has told confidants recently he wants to be less reliant on his staff, believing they often give bad advice, and he plans to follow his own instincts, which he credits with his stunning election, according to two people who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about private conversations.

Trump's latest unilateral moves come at a moment of vulnerability for the president. Top staffers are heading for the exits, the Russia investigation continues to loom and Trump is facing growing questions about a lawsuit filed by a porn actress who claims her affair with the president was hushed up.

The White House pushed back against the notion Trump's decision to meet with Kim was made in haste, with spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying, "This has been part of an ongoing campaign that's been going for over a year."

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Trump takes input from a "diverse set of viewpoints," but added "he knows it was his name on the ballot and he controls timing, content and tone."

Advisers argue tales of Trump's freelancing are exaggerated and in many cases, as with tariffs, he is following through on long-stated promises. Still, the president's decisions, as well as his proclivity for off-the-cuff announcements, frequently leave aides and allies guessing.

News the president would accept a meeting never taken by a sitting U.S. president came from an unlikely source Thursday evening: a last-minute news statement by a South Korean official standing in the dark on the White House driveway.

With reality-show flair, Trump built suspense for the announcement by making an impromptu visit to the White House briefing room.

This was not the only recent moment where Trump opted to trust his gut and go it alone.

Determined to keep what he viewed as a crucial campaign promise, Trump forged forward with a plan to order new tariffs this week. In the process, he saw his top economic adviser, Gary Cohn, head for the exit and faced his most public condemnation to date from Republican lawmakers.

In recent days, Trump told advisers his experience in business gave him an edge in deciding what to do on tariffs. He told aides he has been proclaiming for 30 years the United States needed a more protectionist approach, according to two White House officials not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations.

The president also boasted to outside advisers he knew the tariffs issue better than his advisers and suggested the move could help him lock up Rust Belt states like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan again.