CNN: “The first lady is rarely seen publicly. She did not accompany her husband when he delivered her letter to President Vladimir Putin during last week’s summit in Anchorage, nor was she present at the White House days later when he hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders. She’s made public appearances just 19 days so far this term, compared to 40 at this point during the previous. Her East Wing staff this time around is a fraction of her first-term team and that of her predecessors.”

“But Trump is in frequent communication with her husband, often in texts or calls exchanged throughout the day, according to sources familiar with the matter. And much like her husband, the first lady consumes a steady diet of news coverage. By Donald Trump’s account, Melania Trump has provided a healthy dose of skepticism after previous conversations with Putin.”

“During President Trump’s first turn in the White House, right-wing extremists like the Proud Boys were on the streets, weekend after weekend, raising their voices — and oftentimes their fists — about issues such as immigration, the squelching of conservative speech and the removal of Confederate-era statues,” the New York Times reports.

“But in the first seven months of Mr. Trump’s second term, there has been a conspicuous absence of far-right demonstrations. And that, some leaders of the movement say, is because the president has effectively adopted their agenda.”

“The Trump administration has a new weapon at its disposal in its efforts to take down Democrats and their appointees: mortgage records,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Members of the administration have now alleged three public officials have committed mortgage fraud, referring each to the Justice Department. The administration has signaled that it has just gotten started: U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin was recently tapped ‘to investigate fraud by public officials in mortgages,’ according to a letter Martin sent.”

“The targets have denied wrongdoing, but the probes represent an aggressive new spin on opposition research that has long dug into tax records and financial disclosures public officeholders have to make. Mortgage applications go beyond the typical disclosure requirements.”

Susan Glasser: “There was a certain awful predictability about the FBI’s Friday-morning raids targeting the former Trump adviser turned critic John Bolton.”

“President Donald Trump’s hand was coated in a thick layer of makeup on Friday as he ventured out from the White House amid ongoing health questions,” the Daily Beast reports.

“The president, 79, has been using makeup to cover bruising on his right hand on multiple occasions since he retook office.”

“I look extremely good in shorts.”

— President Trump, quoted by USA Today.