It was a challenging week for number 45.

The week quietly enough, but by Tuesday, the The Washington Post was reporting excerpts from veteran journalist Bob Woodward's forthcoming 448-page tome, "Fear: Trump in the White House." The excerpts painted a less than flattering portrait of the president, and suggested that the White House is beset by infighting, indecision, and general dysfunction. The book claims that many top advisers hold a low opinion of Trump - including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who told associates that Trump has the understanding of a "fifth or sixth grader," and White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, who told colleagues that Trump was "unhinged," "an idiot," and that his job is the "worst [he's] ever had."

As per usual, Trump took to Twitter to defend himself and to discredit Woodward, alleging that he is a pawn of the Democratic Party: "The Woodward book has already been refuted and discredited...[Mattis' and Kelly's] quotes were made up of frauds, a con to the public. Likewise other stories and quotes. Woodward is a Dem operative? Notice timing?" He also accused Woodward of using "lies and phony sources."

Then, on Wednesday, The New York Times published an op-ed by an anonymous senior Trump administration official. The official claimed that he or she is a member of a "resistance" working to curb Trump's amorality and impulsivity. According to the op-ed, there is a group of senior officials who, as dedicated Republicans, believe that Trump does not represent their values and who threatens to damage the conservative agenda long-term.

Trump was furious over the op-ed, calling it "gutless," a "disgrace," and asking whether the op-ed constituted "TREASON?" Trump saved most of his ire for The New York Times, not the anonymous author; indeed, Trump questioned whether the author exists, or is just "another phony source" from the "failing New York Times." Trump has requested that Attorney General Jeff Sessions investigate the op-ed.

Then, during a rally on Thursday in Billings, Montana, Trump only seemed to make things worse. In an apparent attempt to encourage his supporters to vote in the midterms, he told an audience of supporters that it would be "their fault." Then, as the rally progressed, Trump made comments about the Times op-ed in which he struggled to pronounce the word "anonymous." A video of his mispronunciation has gone viral.

Meanwhile, the confirmation hearings of Trump's second nominee to the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh, took four days this week. While there was quite a bit of drama during the hearings - including protests by pro-choice activists and tough questions from Democratic Senators Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, Kavanaugh seemed to have avoided any missteps so egregious as to harm his chances of being confirmed. The committee will vote on his confirmation in two weeks, and it's expected that their votes will fall along party lines.