WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has given his legal team a clear direction: Fight, fight, fight.

That tactic from Trump’s lawyers and proxies has manifested itself in aggressively worded statements and television appearances aimed at warding off any legal threat from prosecutors — and persuading the American public the president isn’t in legal jeopardy.

But Trump’s attorneys, with their own unconventional backgrounds, face a challenging task — especially against seasoned lawyers working with former FBI Director Robert Mueller. To make it more difficult, Trump’s statements threaten to undercut their work.

It’s too early to say for sure what legal strategy his lawyers will eventually settle on. But they seem prepared to paint Mueller’s investigative team as politically motivated and will likely argue the president didn’t illegally exert pressure on the investigation.