Trump tries to bounce back after horrible day damages presidency

Washington (CNN) — For a few hours, it looked like the foundations of Donald Trump's presidency were crumbling in plain sight.

Trump has put on such a show of neck-whipping drama and barely believable controversy that it's tough to identify his worst day in office.

But history could come to see Friday -- when the President plunged to a humiliating defeat in the partial government shutdown and an FBI team sent by Robert Mueller swooped down on his political sorcerer Roger Stone -- as a turning point.

It was a day when multiple strands of Trump's political life converged, from questions about the methods he used to win power -- which spawned the Russia probe -- to the unorthodox manner in which he wields it, which increasingly seems to be leading him into futile political corners.

His attempts to rebound will be complicated by serious blows to his political persona.

Trump's image, meticulously crafted over decades, as the self-styled master of the art of the deal, absorbed a severe dent as he crawled away from a 35-day government shutdown with nothing.

His capitulation came as disarray in the air traffic control system conjured nightmare visions of a nation spinning out of control and spiked political pressure that finally broke the President's resistance. Airports snarled included LaGuardia, which is home to Trump's branded personal airliner.

Trump's decision to fully reopen the government without securing money for his wall alienated his cheerleaders in the right-wing media and threatened to inflict the first real damage on his almost mystical connection with his base.

He did what he said he would never do, agreeing to reopen the government for three weeks to allow time for border security negotiations with the Democrats. His chances of getting them to fund a wall seem as remote as ever.

The President was up early on Saturday, trying to repair the damage.

"21 days goes very quickly. Negotiations with Democrats will start immediately. Will not be easy to make a deal, both parties very dug in. The case for National Security has been greatly enhanced by what has been happening at the Border & through dialogue. We will build the Wall!" Trump tweeted.