White House wants focus on policy, not Trump's Twitter — except when it helps

President Trump's administration has been trying to keep the focus on its policy priorities, but these efforts have fallen prey to outside distractions, inconsistent White House messaging and the president's own tweets.

But the president's volatile Twitter feed can occasionally serve the White House well, particularly when a Trump tweet draws attention away from unflattering developments in other areas.

"His tweets are a double-edged sword," said John Feehery, a Republican strategist. "Sure, they distract from his agenda, but they also distract from his agenda. What are [we] talking about, Mika or Medicaid cuts? What's more politically defensible? That's an open question."

Feehery was referring to a series of Trump tweets beginning on June 29 that attacked MSNBC anchor Mika Brzezinski for her looks and intelligence. The president's fixation on Brzezinski, whom he called "dumb as a rock Mika," came as Senate Republicans scrambled to scrape together 50 votes for a healthcare overhaul.

Trump's Twitter feud with the MSNBC host set off a round of criticism from both sides of the aisle and unnerved even some of his closest conservative allies.