Welcome to Friday’s Washington Secrets. If anyone has a spare ticket for this weekend’s grand prix, then you know where we are! Today, we bring you the winners and losers from days of speculation about who will be the next White House press secretary. But first, we run the rule over the White House week …Will we hear from Karoline Leavitt before she steps down as press secretary at the end of August? It has been almost a month since she held a briefing. This reflects a White House that is struggling to put difficult issues to bed. And even President Donald Trump‘s public schedule has fewer events with press.Maybe it’s just because it is August and everyone needs a bit of a break. Anyway…
Sunday arrived with a bombshell. Or maybe the absence of bombshells, as Trump ordered the Pentagon to scale back U.S. participation in joint exercises with South Korea. He said it was because of his “very good relationship” with Kim Jong Un, the leader of nuclear-armed and heavily sanctioned North Korea. South Korea was understandably worried, but pointed out that the annual exercises had already begun.Meanwhile, Trump’s frustration with the war in Iran was on full display Monday. Trump threatened to attack Oman if it hampered American efforts in the Strait of Hormuz.“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the s*** out of them,” he told Fox News, while claiming his administration had opened a back channel to Iran.Oman is a U.S. ally, but has maintained relations with Tehran. In a sign of a deepening quagmire, at least 11 people were killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, marking the deadliest day since a June ceasefire agreement.Republicans also expressed worries that Trump’s dismissive comments on conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln last week could come back to haunt them, with growing unease among service families.A day later, Trump had to clarify that there were no talks underway with Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps publicly contradicted his claim, leaving analysts in the awkward position of trying to decide which account they trusted.Wednesday brought an indication of where it is all going and what it means politically. The president’s approval rating dipped to 33% in a Reuters-Ipsos poll, its lowest yet. Trump distracted himself by taking reporters on a 30-minute tour of the new South Lawn helipad, where he signed a piece of its stonework.The president also announced a “crushing economic operation” that he said would amount to “Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” with warnings that countries trading with Iran would face consequences.Thursday brought awkward economic news. The Treasury announced the national debt had passed $40 trillion, the result of decades of borrowing to pay for social safety net programs, military spending, and Trump’s tax cuts.With so much gloom around, some midterm candidates have been happy to have the president stay away from their campaigns. Not Sen. Darline Graham Nordone (R-SC), who needs all the help she can get after a shaky debate performance against her Republican runoff opponent, Ralph Norman. Trump is due to stump in South Carolina for Lindsey Graham’s sister on Friday afternoon.So what did our two strategists make of it all?Jed Babbin: Grade D-
