Welcome to Friday’s Washington Secrets, with our regular roundup of the White House week. And something extraordinary has happened. Our Republican and Democratic judges agree! Well, sort of …
Will there ever be a quiet week while Donald Trump is president? Well, there’s no sign of it yet.
The weekend, of course, was notable for an assassination attempt, foiled by quick-thinking Secret Service agents stationed outside the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Questions about whether security was tight enough or should have sealed off the entire hotel will linger.
Trump and his aides were quick to make political capital out of the shooting, saying that it underlined the need for his White House ballroom. The president made the point in a 60 Minutes interview on Sunday, and also slammed CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell for quoting from the gunman’s manifesto.
Monday brought a much-needed change of pace. The Trump’s welcomed King Charles III and Queen Camilla as they arrived for their state visit, timed to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence.
On Tuesday, minutes after the king delivered a gentle message about limiting executive power in a speech to Congress, the Trump administration indicted James Comey, former FBI director, for sharing an image of shells spelling out “86 47.” There was also a reminder that the Iran war rumbles on without resolution. Oil prices surged (with Brent crude topping $120 for a while) as the president said he would make life even worse for Tehran.
But he still has the memes. On Wednesday, the president shared a map on Truth Social that renamed the Strait of Hormuz as “the Strait of Trump” and showed shipping moving freely through the waterway.
Thursday brought perhaps the most positive news. The House approved a Senate-passed bill to fund much of the Department of Homeland Security, ending the 75-day shutdown while punting other tricky issues down the road. It doesn’t provide new funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Border Patrol, with Democrats insisting on reform.
So what does out panel make of it?
John Zogby: Grade B
The week began with an assassination attempt and serious questions about the Secret Service and the security plan for a major event involving the president and senior officials.
Somehow, late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel gets mentioned in this context because he became embroiled in an issue of a stupid, tasteless joke about the first lady. Kimmel does not deserve the attention because he is not funny. But the president’s family members should be off limits, and his timing was unfortunate.
The president has real worries, and the problems for him and the rest of us are piling up and getting worse. The war in Iran is not working, negotiations are at a stalemate, neither the United States nor Iran has a way out of this, and the Strait of Hormuz is still closed. The price of oil is at its highest thus far in the nine-week war, and there doesn’t seem to be any relief in sight.
Firefighters in the western states are deeply concerned about having enough fuel to combat wildfires at the prices local governments have to pay.
Also this week, Trump had to withdraw the nomination of Casey Means as surgeon general because a Republican senator would not vote for her. A federal appeals judge refused to rehear the $83 million verdict against the president awarded to author E. Jean Carroll for her claim that he sexually assaulted her in a department store.
A new Reuters poll has the president’s approval at 34%, while John Zogby Strategies has it at 42%. More importantly, most polls have Trump in a downward spiral.
Meanwhile, the Democrats picked up possibly as many as five new seats in Congress after voters approved their redistricting plan in Virginia. But Florida will try for a new plan that adds four GOP seats. Other states are sure to follow. And the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 vote, eliminated the law that ensures the creation of black (and white) districts, in a serious blow to the Voting Rights Act.
The Justice Department is again going after Comey. Charges against the former FBI director and other prominent figures were dropped previously, but this time the centerpiece of the government’s case revolved around Comey sharing an image of seashells on a beach spelling “86 47”. In their minds, “86”, generally used as a way signal “get rid of”, “throw away”, or “shred,” is a call to “assassinate” POTUS “47,” aka Trump. Can this be for real?
Anyway, aside from Trump’s victory in the Supreme Court, I am going to bump him up a whole letter grade for Kimmel’s totally inappropriate behavior. Plus, I happen to be a Charlie-phile. His Majesty is a month younger than me, and we sort of grew up together — but only one of us is aware of that. Having Trump standing next to this elegant, erudite, visionary man earns POTUS another whole letter grade.
Jed Babbin: Grade B
The big news of the week was the third assassination attempt on the life of Trump. The Secret Service did its job well, tackling the would-be assassin when he tried to rush past the security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Association black-tie dinner, aka nerd prom. (I went once. It was a total bore.) One uniformed Secret Service agent was shot but saved by his body armor.
Kimmel, the would-be comedian, said two days earlier that Melania Trump had the look of an “expectant widow.” His “joke” wasn’t funny. It was one of the worst displays of Trump Derangement Syndrome on record. Kimmel should be fired for it. He won’t be.
That wasn’t the only display of Democrats outrunning their headlights. Rep Ilhan Omar (D-Somalia) said that the Alien Enemies Act hadn’t been used since it was invoked to deport German, Italian, and other possible enemies during “World War 11.” The fact that people so irretrievably ignorant of history get elected to Congress proves the need for term limits.
Abroad, the Iran war still goes on. War Secretary Pete Hegseth told Congress this week that the ceasefire pauses the clock on Trump’s 60-day War Powers Resolution limit before he has to go to the Hill for approval. The WPA, which may not be constitutional, probably can’t be limited by a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Trump has said he’ll no longer be the “nice guy” toward Iran. The blockade continues without European help, and Iran is apparently awash in unsold oil. But the ayatollahs’ regime needs only to survive to win.
The Democrats’ attempt to shut down the Department of Homeland Security ended, finally, after 76 days, which is a record. The Transportation Security Administration, Coast Guard, and other necessary protective services can now continue (as they previously did under Trump’s emergency declaration) until the next time the Dems want to grandstand another shutdown.
All in all, not a bad week for Trump and his team.
Jed Babbin is a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of President George H.W. Bush. Follow him on X @jedbabbin.
John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Survey and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His latest book is Beyond the Horse Race: How to Read Polls and Why We Should. His podcast with son, managing partner, and pollster Jeremy Zogby, can be heard here. Follow him on X @ZogbyStrategies.
Lunchtime reading
Is Todd Blanche acing his attorney general job interview? You know the rule: Any news headline with a question mark must be answered with a “no.” But my colleagues see things differently, reporting that Trumpworld has been impressed with Blanche’s efforts so far.
Chinese dissident Li Ying: ‘Our work is about being ready for the tipping point’: Apologies for offering something behind a paywall. But this is fascinating, particularly the bit about why he picked McDonald’s out of all the possible restaurants.
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