A defensive Trump calls a Cabinet meeting and uses it to boast, deflect and distract

As the partial government shutdown continued on Jan. 3, senators discussed what it will take to reopen the government. (Zoeann Murphy, Rhonda Colvin/The Washington Post)

The Debrief: An occasional series offering a reporter’s insights

President Trump, 12 days into a government shutdown and facing new scrutiny from emboldened Democrats, inaugurated the new year Wednesday with a Cabinet meeting. It quickly became a 95-minute stream-of-consciousness defense of his presidency and worldview, filled with falsehoods, revisionist history and self-aggrandizement.

Trump trashed his former secretary of defense, retired four-star Marine Gen. Jim Mattis, as a failure after once holding him out as a star of his administration.

“What’s he done for me?” Trump said.

View the complete January 2 article by Anne Gearan on The Washington Post website here.