Welcome to Friday’s edition of Washington Secrets. President Donald Trump didn’t have much luck recruiting big names for concerts to mark the 250th founding of the United States. It turns out his son has fared much, much better, landing a major star for his private club’s celebration. Details follow our usual review of the week.
As the clock ticks down towards the semiquincentennial, the president has been focused on the big and the small. The Reflecting Pool saga continues to make waves (apologies) while talks with Iran and questions about the Strait of Hormuz burble away in the background.
The week began with a dead duckling in the pool. Secrets makes no apologies for finding it on Sunday afternoon and takes no responsibility for the hysteria that followed.
Meanwhile, Trump did his best to upend U.S.-Iran talks in Switzerland by going on Fox News and threatening to resume bombing the country and taking over the strait if no deal was reached. Iran’s delegation needed to be coaxed back into talks, which concluded with a 60-day roadmap to a final deal.
There was good news the next day. Vice President JD Vance left Switzerland in an upbeat mood on Monday, saying Iran had agreed to allow nuclear inspectors in.
Trump turned his attention to the midterms with a trip to Pennsylvania on Tuesday, where he tried to reassure voters that costs are coming down and that they are better off than they were two years ago. The president has appeared relaxed at best or negligent at worst about November’s elections. So it was a welcome visit for Republicans in an area critical to maintaining control of Congress.
At the same time, he announced on Truth Social that six people had been arrested and seven “cited, for the damage they did to our Country’s now beautiful Reflecting Pool.”
Wednesday was a busy day. Trump hosted NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House. Rutte is well-practiced in dealing with Trump, and arrived armed with visual aids, setting out spending on defense, and with stats about the number of U.S. air missions launched from European airbases during the Iran war.
The biggest headlines came from something Trump didn’t do. The president canceled the signing of housing legislation hours before a scheduled ceremony to demand passage of the major voter identification bill that has failed to advance in the Senate. Cue chaos.
It was on to the National Mall in the evening for Trump to deliver a speech opening the Great American State Fair. The campaign-style event was a far cry from the planned opening concert, which was ditched when artists dropped out.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority handed Trump two significant immigration victories on Thursday. They essentially cleared the way for the administration to remove more than a million people and revive a controversial border “metering” policy, which allows officials to limit the number of people who approach and enter ports of entry on a daily basis.
Later today, the president is due to deliver a speech to the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s 2026 policy conference. And then it is a weekend at home, at the White House.
But what did our two strategists from either side of the aisle make of it all?
John Zogby: Grade D
Turmoil and confusion reign supreme in the Middle East. There is no real ceasefire in Lebanon, and the Strait of Hormuz is open to some but not to others. The prices of oil and gas are going down, but so is public confidence.
On the verge of another claim to have a memo of understanding with Iran, Israel says it will continue to focus on military action in Lebanon, and the president claims the U.S. will bomb Iran if it does not uphold its promises. The Iranian delegation walks out of the signing meeting, and the MOU is signed electronically.
Trump claims that the Reflecting Pool in Washington has been vandalized, and six people are arrested. One commentator claims that the Democrats are setting the president up by creating a false issue.
A new poll released Friday shows that 53% of Americans feel there is enough evidence to impeach him.
However, the Supreme Court just handed the president a major victory on immigration by allowing U.S. officials to intercept and send back asylum-seekers before they even approach U.S. borders. And Tuesday’s Republican primaries in upstate New York, South Carolina, Utah, and Maryland show that the party is his — all his.
At the same time that he “owns” both his party and his Supreme Court, there were some chinks in the armor of the Republican majorities in Congress. Whew!
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.
Jed Babbin: Grade B-
Iran aside, it was a pretty good week for Trump and his team. The Supreme Court yielded two big pro-Trump decisions, the SAVE Act might be revived, and the “Great American State Fair” kicked off with a smile.
Iran still claims to have shut down the Strait of Hormuz – and attacked a cargo ship – but traffic seems to be almost back to normal there. There’s no good news for Iran elsewhere either, except in the MOU signed by Trump.
The two Supreme Court wins cleared the way for Trump’s decision to hold amnesty applicants in Mexico. The high court said that because Trump’s decisions were not motivated by racism, they should stand and rebuked lower courts for sticking their noses where they don’t belong. The “temporary protected status” that the otherwise illegal aliens received under the Biden administration seemed to never end. The decision wipes the slate clean.
Voices were raised at a White House meeting with senators who have been blocking the SAVE Act, which requires voter ID in federal elections, and the president seemed to gain a little ground. The House has passed the bill two or three times, but it remains in limbo in the Senate. It should, at this point, move through the Senate, but probably won’t because of the usual suspects.
Inflation rose to a three-year high thanks mostly to the cost of gasoline. But gas prices are coming down, just as Trump said they would. They have a ways to go, but they are coming down.
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.
EXCLUSIVE: 50 Cent In Da (Executive Branch) Club
The hyper-exclusive Executive Branch club, where top MAGA figures party, has lined up a major headline act for its 250th anniversary party.
Rap superstar 50 Cent will perform for guests next Friday, according to an invitation shared with Secrets.
“Executive Branch invites Members and their guests to celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary with an extraordinary evening of cocktails, canapés, and a headline performance by 50 Cent,” it says.
The club was launched a year ago by Donald Trump Jr., Omeed Malik, and Chris Buskirk of 1789 Capital, along with businessmen Alex Witkoff and Zach Witkoff (sons of Steve Witkoff, a close Trump friend and U.S. envoy to the Middle East).
The fee for founding members was reportedly $500,000.
It has developed a reputation for tight security, allowing Trumpworld to party in private at its Georgetown location, safe in the knowledge that riffraff will not find their way in.
“Club security protocols observed,” is how the 250th invitation puts it. So don’t be turning up if you don’t have an in!
Lunchtime reading
Anti-vaxxers are coupling up on apps for ‘Unjected’ singles: According to Unjected, the bulk of its 65,000 active users are ages 25 to 45. Many identify as politically independent, spiritual, vegetarian, or vegan.
A deeper look at Trump’s Kennedy Center debacle: The former cab driver in the same seat for every National Symphony Orchestra performance; the Ohio congresswoman battling to keep the center open; the campy show that ran since 1987; the lounge pianist.
You are reading Washington Secrets, a guide to power and politics in D.C. and beyond. It is written by Rob Crilly, who you can reach at [email protected] with your comments, story tips, and suggestions. If a friend sent you this and you’d like to sign up, click here.