'Gleefully Defiant' Trump Spoils for Fight, But Will His Playbook Fail Him?
On the day House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would allow an impeachment investigation to commence, Donald Trump at first was "gleefully defiant," say two of his aides. He would release a transcript of his controversial phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zalensky, showing—as he put it in a press conference at the United Nations on September 25—that there was "no pressure" and no quid pro quo. He just wanted dirt from Ukraine about one of his main political rivals, former Vice President Joe Biden, but didn't offer anything in return. What could be wrong with that?
When it became clear that the Ukraine controversy would become the centerpiece of an impeachment effort, his glee turned to anger, the aides say. And those who know Trump best know what that means: Here comes the counterattack. As Roger Stone, his longtime political consigliere—who now faces indictment as a result of the Robert Mueller probe—put it during the 2016 campaign: "He's the ultimate counterpuncher. If you hit him, he'll hit back and hit back hard. He doesn't necessarily like starting fights, but
