Eugene Robinson: “President George W. Bush once said that to get a message across, you had to repeat it over and over, ‘to kind of catapult the propaganda.’ President Trump must have been paying attention.”

“I predict this will be a summer of nonstop, shameless propaganda from Trump and his minions. It will be clumsy, ridiculous and pathetic — but don’t ignore it. Call it out. Laugh at it. Recognize it for what it is: a sign not of strength but of fear.”

Jonathan Bernstein: “Trump doesn’t read briefings, on politics or anything else. He doesn’t appear to have absorbed the basics of public policy, whether on health care or national security or even issues, like trade, that he cares about. Instead, he seems to pick up fragments of information in conversation or, more often, from cable television. Often, it’s partisan talking points, which isn’t surprising since much of what airs on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC consists of partisan talking points.”

“Trump then extracts some fact or detail he finds useful from that input, and comes up with his own way of expressing it. Usually, he pretties it up, smooths out any nuances and exaggerates significantly. Then he tests it out, on Twitter and especially at his rallies, working for the wording that gets the biggest reaction. And then? As far as I can tell, Trump winds up believing the final version of whatever it is he has produced. Once it’s in there, it seems to stick, although sometimes the original ‘fact’ winds up growing more distorted over time.”

A new Gallup poll finds more Americans today (40%) than two years ago (33%) believe President Trump has the personality and leadership qualities a president should have, although that still represents a minority of the public.

In contrast, roughly six in 10 Americans thought George W. Bush and Barack Obama had the right presidential characteristics at a similar point in their presidencies.