about shoring up his base comes just as he is losing his grip on republican law makers who have been increasingly willing to defy him in public pt the president demanded the senate try again op on obamacare repeal before moving on to other business. republican hatch, and frequent defender of administration responded we're not going back it health care. we're in tax now. as far as i'm concerned, they shot their wad on health care and that's the way it is. senators office later explained that was an old-fashioned military metaphor. a number of high profile republicans including notably the current vice president of the united states began a shadow campaign of 2020 amid new doubts of the president's political future. the vice president generously denied the time's conclusions calling the article disgraceful and offensive p tp is no coincidence that those early rumblings have begun just as the russian investigation seems to be accelerating.