“Donald Trump reportedly weighs 224-pounds, doesn’t like rigorous exercise and walks with swollen ankles these days, but the president has some advice for the Democrat governor of Illinois: do more exercise,” the Daily Beast reports.

Said Trump: “I hate to barge in on a city and then be treated horribly by corrupt politicians and bad politicians like a guy like Pritzker.”

He added: “He ought to spend more time at the gym, actually. The guy is a disaster.”

“They call me the president of Europe. Which is an honor.”

— President Trump, speaking to reporters.

“A lot of people are saying maybe we’d like a dictator.”

— President Trump, speaking to reporters.

“The U.S. government is likely to take ownership stakes in more companies — just as it did with Intel — toward the goal of building a sovereign wealth fund, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said Monday,” Axios reports.

“It’s a new paradigm for the U.S. government’s relationship with the private sector, and raises fresh questions about how much authority the administration intends to exert over corporate America.”

CNBC: Trump says government will make deals like Intel stake “all day long.”

President Trump explicitly suggested last night that former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie could be next in line for “justice” after watching Christie criticize him on ABC News.

New York Times: Trump threatens to investigate Christie over “Bridgegate.”

A new Economist/YouGov poll finds Americans have strong feelings about Donald Trump — and, increasingly, most of them are negative.

The poll found 47% said they strongly disapprove of the second-term president, compared to 23% who say they strongly approve.

“When President Trump gets in on a new online moneymaking idea, his followers often pile in—but two out of the last three times, they went on to lose bigly,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Now the first family is trying again and the idea, at least, is intriguing. Unfortunately for fans, the Trump venture into a ‘crypto treasury’ stock is also set up so the president and his family cash in first.”

“The president’s ventures have so far been a disaster for investors who were slightly late to buy into them.”

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.

“President Trump said the government is taking a nearly 10% stake in Intel, capping a two-week frenzy in Washington over the future of the company and fueling speculation about what else might be done to help troubled chip maker Intel,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Donald Trump made a much-teased announcement from the Oval Office on Friday, that the FIFA World Cup draw will take place at the Kennedy Center on December 5,” Deadline reports.

“But he also signaled his desire to put his own name on the arts institution.”

Said Trump: “Some people refer to it as the ‘Trump Kennedy Center,’ but we’re not prepared to do that quite yet. Maybe in a week or so.”

Vice President JD Vance confirmed that the Trump administration is “in the very early stages of an ongoing investigation” into former national security adviser John Bolton, but he denied that the investigation was retribution for Bolton’s criticism of Trump, NBC News reports.

Said Vance: “We are investigating Amb. Bolton, but if they ultimately bring a case, it will be because they determine that he has broken the law. We’re going to be careful about that. We’re going to be deliberate about that, because we don’t think that we should throw people — even if they disagree with us politically, maybe especially if they disagree with us politically — you shouldn’t throw people willy-nilly in prison.”