The President’s Focus

Panelists joined to discuss Trump’s priorities as the national debt reaches new highs.Courtesy of Washington Week With The AtlanticAugust 22, 2026, 9:40 AM ET The national debt reached $40 trillion this week, but the president’s attention seemed directed elsewhere. Last night on Washington Week With The Atlantic, panelists joined to discuss Donald Trump’s recent focuses, and more.At a rally for Darline Graham in South Carolina last night, Trump opened the event and spoke about the White House ballroom, devoting several minutes to his project. “Not a day really goes by that he doesn’t talk about the ballroom or the Reflecting Pool or the Kennedy Center or the gold statues,” Matt Viser, a staff writer at The Atlantic, argued last night. “I just don’t know that it resonates as deeply with voters across the country.”Although residents in Washington, D.C., are watching changes to their city unfold, it’s not one of the “pocketbook issues that I think the midterms are probably going to be about,” Viser added.Joining the guest moderator Atlantic staff writer Vivian Salama to discuss this and more: Zolan Kanno-Youngs, a White House correspondent at The New York Times; Mary Louise Kelly, the host of All Things Considered on NPR; Michelle Price, a White House reporter at the Associated Press; Viser.Watch the full episode here.