G. Elliot Morris: “It’s hard to characterize just how bad 29% approval with independents is. You can explain the number in a couple of ways: First, 29% is somewhere between 11 and 17 percentage points lower than the president’s share of the vote with independents in the 2024 election (VoteCast says 40%, Edison says 46%). That means that roughly one out of every three political independents who voted for Trump in the 2024 election now says they disapprove of how he’s governing.”

“As it turns out, 29% among independents is also a record low for Trump, according to Gallup.”

“President Trump makes no secret of his displeasure over the cost of renovating the Federal Reserve headquarters — around $2.5 billion, or even higher by the president’s accounting,” the New York Times reports.

“But getting the White House to discuss another of Washington’s expensive renovation projects, the cost of refurbishing a ‘free’ Air Force One from Qatar, is quite another matter.”

“Officially, and conveniently, the price tag has been classified. But even by Washington standards, where ‘black budgets’ are often used as an excuse to avoid revealing the cost of outdated spy satellites and lavish end-of-year parties, the techniques being used to hide the cost of Mr. Trump’s pet project are inventive.”

“Which may explain why no one wants to discuss a mysterious, $934 million transfer of funds from one of the Pentagon’s most over-budget, out-of-control projects — the modernization of America’s aging, ground-based nuclear missiles.”