The Note: For Trump, potential threats – from friends and foes alike – are everywhere

The TAKE with Rick Klein

It has come to this: President Donald Trump sees Vladimir Putin as a potential friend, and Michael Cohen as a possible threat.

Trump often sees enemies everywhere. Now, in a week that will see the president return to campaign mode, he may be right: The threats posted by those inside his orbit may be as much of a challenge to his presidency as outside forces.

In both areas, Trump is increasingly alone. Last week’s summit with Putin drove him into further battle with his own intelligence agencies, and the release of the Carter Page FISA application has him again —falsely — attacking the Justice Department.

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., offered a challenge to both Trump and those working in his administration: “The president either needs to rely on the people that he has chosen to advise him, or those advisers need to re-evaluate whether or not they can serve in this administration,” Gowdy said on Fox. “But the disconnect cannot continue.”

The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks

It might be easy for the White House to fixate on one number in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll: 66 percent of Republicans approve of Trump’s handling of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But to do so would neglect the sentiment of the country as a whole and ignore the rest of the electoral insights offered.

By a 13-percent margin, 46 to 33, independents disapprove of the president’s handling of the summit.

Among those respondents who identify as moderates, 64 to 19 percent, disapprove, too.

Independent voters, by a 30-percent margin, also disapprove of Trump casting doubt on U.S. intelligence.

In terms of intensity, the poll found that 70 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of liberals strongly disapprove of Trump questioning U.S. intelligence; conversely, 28 percent of Republicans and 24 percent of conservatives strongly approve.

For Independents, 47 percent said they thought U.S. leadership was weaker under the current administration, 22 percent said it was stronger, and 26 percent said the leadership was the same.

According to these numbers, the president’s political floor did not seem to fall out last week, at least not in his own party. But winning elections and leading a nation often takes more than appealing to one’s base.

The TIP with Adam Kelsey

Political gaffes of old used to be relatively innocent: perhaps misspelling a vegetable or boasting of the office supply in which you kept a list of potential female cabinet members. But the 2018 midterm cycle has attracted a crop of candidates whose prior comments are creating electoral havoc — and both opening and shutting the door on possible upsets.

So far this summer, candidates have defended sermons in which they questioned whether women should be pursuing careers and lost party committee endorsements over charges of "bigotry." Most recently, the Republican challenger to Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., was forced to address his decades-old labeling of a woman's attempt to join his all-male college eating club as "politically correct fascism," and his claim that any gay member "wouldn't last long."

Pharmaceutical executive Bob Hugin's comments are particularly problematic from a strategic standpoint because he's thus far sold himself in the increasingly blue Garden State as a socially moderate Republican — one whose ads tout his support for gay marriage and abortion rights.

But unlike those before him who doubled down, Hugin walked back the positions, both at a women's roundtable on Thursday, in which he said his stance had "evolved," and in a statement Friday addressing the latter comment about a potentially gay member of the Princeton Tiger Inn.

"I'm proud to say that my views are a lot different than they were 40 years ago. On this issue I was probably more influenced by my kids than anything else," Hugin said. "They had insight at a very early age on the issues of equality and fairness that made me re-evaluate the way I saw the world."

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I think it has been overblown — Dan Coats is a loyal patriot to the country." — Tom Bossert regarding news coverage of Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats' surprised reaction to news that President Trump had invited Vladimir Putin to Washington, speaking on ABC News' This Week Sunday.

NEED TO READ

Where the Mueller investigation stands right now. Although Manafort is the first to face trial, the recent indictment of 12 Russian military intelligence officers could be a sign that Mueller's investigation is heating up. (Allison Pecorin) https://abcn.ws/2LGBhgS

Trump issues threat to Iran: 'You will suffer consequences.' President Donald Trump issued an all-caps threat to Iran after the country's president said earlier in the day that pursuing hostilities against his country could lead to "the mother of all wars." (Mark Osborne and Conor Finnegan) https://abcn.ws/2NChcZv

FBI believed Trump campaign aide Carter Page was recruited by Russians. New documents show that one month before the 2016 elections, the FBI sought permission to surveil Carter Page, the one-time foreign policy adviser to the campaign of Donald Trump, because they alleged he had been recruited by the Russian government. (Matthew Mosk and Mike Levine) https://abcn.ws/2LD5QUB

Intelligence chief says on-stage laugh not meant as disrespect to Trump. Like the White House this week, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats was backpedaling on Saturday after his off-the-cuff reaction, live on stage, drew collective gasps for its apparent shots at President Donald Trump. (Mark Osborne) https://abcn.ws/2LgH4xt

'I don't feel vulnerable,' says financier whom Vladimir Putin wants to extradite. Financier Bill Browder said he doesn't "feel vulnerable" to extradition after Russian President Vladimir Putin asked President Trump last week at the Helsinki summit to turn him over in exchange for access to the 12 Russian officers who were indicted for allegedly hacking the U.S. election. (Tara Palmeri) https://abcn.ws/2LpuIT5

'Historic mistake' to allow US president to meet with Putin: Former Obama national security adviser. A former national security adviser to President Barack Obama said Donald Trump's "national security team needs to know everything" about the lengthy one-on-one meeting he had with Vladimir Putin, calling the meeting a "historic mistake" and saying it would have been for any U.S. president. (Quinn Scanlan) https://abcn.ws/2LHalgP

Michael Avenatti says there are other Trump-Cohen 'tapes' and he knows 'substance of some.' Michael Avenatti, the outspoken lawyer who's representing adult-film actress Stormy Daniels in her case against the president, claimed former longtime Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen recorded more than one conversation with Donald Trump — and that he knows "the substance" of what they discussed. (Joy Lin and Quinn Scanlan) https://abcn.ws/2mBQFAh

Vietnam releases, deports American after more than a month in detention. Vietnam has convicted an American beaten and detained by police during a protest last month and expelled him from the country. (Conor Finnegan) https://abcn.ws/2Nxwf73

Manchin holds roundtable with West Virginia voters to talk about Kavanaugh. West Virginians, who attended a town hall Friday to discuss Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh with Sen. Joe Manchin, urged him to ask the judge about hot-button issues such as his past writings on prosecuting presidents and his views on government surveillance. (Ali Rogin) https://abcn.ws/2JHgmZe

#AbolishICE, growing tensions may shape Democratic party’s future heading into midterms and 2020. As the progressive and centrist wings of the Democratic party battle over the movement to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement, #AbolishICE appears to be the poster child for rapidly-escalating tensions within the party that could help shape the midterms and 2020. (Meena Venkataramanan) https://abcn.ws/2LxjR9u

After 5 years, Black Lives Matter inspires new protest movements. After a grand jury acquitted George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in July 2013, Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi created #BlackLivesMatter to start a broader conversation about racism in the U.S. (Adia Robinson) https://abcn.ws/2O6mCNF

FiveThirtyEight analyzes early poll data to see what it can tell us about the race for the House. https://53eig.ht/2LyLDze

The New York Times reports on Steven Mnuchin's attempt to quell fears that Trump might act to influence monetary policy. https://nyti.ms/2mz2iYz

The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the key political moments of the day ahead. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.