Overview
- The Atlantic report, published Wednesday, cites a confidant saying the president calls himself the most powerful person ever and quotes a senior official who said he is unburdened by politics, pointing to the strike on Iran.
- After a gunman incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the president told reporters he has studied assassinations and said the people who make the biggest impact are the ones who get targeted.
- Reporting says the administration is preparing for an extended blockade of Iran after talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz fell apart, with the president framing the war goal as stopping Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
- The war has strained ties with Europe and hurt the global economy, as most NATO partners stayed out and Germany’s chancellor said the U.S. was being humiliated while shipping through the strait remains disrupted.
- At home, insiders describe a drive to stamp his image on institutions through projects such as razing the White House East Wing for a much larger ballroom and minting a large gold coin with his face, alongside efforts to put his name on government assets.