Wall Street Journal: “President Trump faces growing obstacles to his agenda from the courts, investors and world leaders. But on social media, his top officials are using their influence to tell Americans a different story, one in which Trump is securing victory after victory on his main goals. The strategy gives his cabinet the most robust public presence of any in recent memory.”

“Like figures in an action movie, they are constantly on-screen and in motion, using social-media platforms and friendly news outlets not only to amplify Trump’s political messages but also to create a more intimate connection with supporters. In the process, they share glimpses into the daily life of government officials whose predecessors most often remained remote and largely unknown.”

A group of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s classmates at Yale University urged him in a new letter to reconsider his role “in facilitating the Trump administration’s intended transformation” of the United States “into an authoritarian state,” CNBC reports.

Responded Bessent: “It is equal parts odd and sad that a group of people, most of whom I have never met, feel they have standing in my life choices due to a tenuous overlap from 40 years ago.”

He added: “How very brave of these people to wage their campaign from behind a keyboard rather than to engage in the real-life political process. They should look inward, exercise some agency, and come out from behind their desks—like I did—to get involved in the 2028 electoral cycle.”

“Interim D.C. U.S. attorney Ed Martin apologized this week for praising a pardoned Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot defendant who supported Nazi ideology and photographed himself posing as Adolf Hitler, saying he didn’t know about the man’s extremist statements,” the Washington Post reports.

“But in videos and podcasts, Martin has defended the man since at least 2023, calling him a friend who was ‘slurred and smeared’ by antisemitism allegations.”

Molly Ball: “Taken together, the reversals were a startling pattern for a president who prides himself on never backing down, potentially denting his political brand as an unflinching fighter. As the 100-day mark of Trump’s tumultuous second term draws near, the climbdowns were a signal that his ebbing popularity may be forcing him to moderate some of his lofty goals.”

“White House officials disputed the idea that Trump had reversed himself. Any reduction in the China tariffs would only come as part of a deal and wouldn’t be a unilateral move, an official argued, while Trump’s pressure on Powell never took the form of an explicit vow to fire him. The threat to walk away from the Ukraine talks was clearly a negotiating tactic, the official said, while DOGE’s work has had a meaningful impact and will continue with or without Musk’s involvement.”