Donald Trump entered the East Room of the White House on Thursday reeling from a week filled with resignations, withdrawals and continued questions surrounding his campaign’s contacts with Russia. It was a return for Trump to what worked for him during the course of the 2016 campaign: a circus-like atmosphere in which he uses the media – and his supporters’ distrust of the media – as a sort of tackling dummy to re-centre the narrative on ground more favourable to him.