White House report card: Rallies, grievances and rising oil prices

Welcome to Friday’s edition of Washington Secrets. As usual, we take a look back at the president’s week with our dueling strategists.It was another split-screen week for Donald Trump as he juggles conflict in Iran and the quest for peace in Ukraine with campaign rallies at home where Republicans seek to staunch losses in the midterm elections.So on Sunday, he rolled out a full-throated endorsement of Benjamin Netanyahu, who is running for reelection in Israel. Trump called him a “Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran.” The next day he flew to Park City, Kansas, to rally for Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), who is facing a tougher-than-expected reelection campaign. He promised $8 billion in help for the nation’s farmers, but his support for Marshall went awry when he tried to defend the senator against press reports about debt lawsuits that he filed as a doctor, saying it made him out to be “some kind of a shylock-type guy.” Headlines picked up on a term widely seen as an antisemitic slur.On Tuesday we got a clear view of Republicans’ closing message. Trump and his vice president announced a $25 million fraud whistleblower reward scheme. It was one of a string of recent announcements on waste, fraud and abuse, and later in the week a top Trump strategist told Secrets that the issue was a good way to motivate the base to get out and vote.The president was also asked about the raid on the home of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). He told reporters that she could go to jail before heading to North Carolina for a rally in support of Republican Michael Whatley, who looks like he will lose the state’s Senate race.Wednesday followed a similar pattern. Trump held a cybercrime meeting at the White House before flying to South Carolina for a campaign rally. But the main headlines focused on comments he made about Iran, saying “something one way or the other” could happen “fairly soon,” a different timeframe than earlier this month when he promised not to attack before the midterm elections.Meanwhile, the Houthis keep up their threat against Saudi Arabia, and oil prices continue to rise to their highest point since April. This crisis is not going away, even as more oil than ever is making its way through the Strait of Hormuz.That was clearly on Trump’s mind overnight. He got Thursday started with a Truth Social post accusing Iran of “doing everything they can to drive up the price of Oil prior to the U.S. Midterm Election.”He returned to the campaign trail later in the day with a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, to support the Republican Senate candidate, Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA). Local media reported that the crowd was anywhere from about 1,000 to 2,000, raising questions about whether the president is still the draw he once was.On Friday, Trump announced that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was now 85% filled with water. The spot has been a recurring point of contention ever since the president resurfaced it ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary, with the hurried work leading to weeks of headlines about algae and vandalism. Along with leaked plans to turn the White House briefing room back into a swimming pool, and more fallout from the five-day tenure of his latest press secretary, it all added an air of grievance to the president’s week.So what did our two political strategists make of it all?You are reading Washington Secrets, a guide to power and politics in D.C. and beyond. It is written by Rob Crilly, who you can reach at [email protected] with your comments, story tips, and suggestions.Jed Babbin: B- It was a pretty good week for Trump and his team. More oil is coming out of the Persian Gulf region than before the Iran war, a polling company admitted to faking surveys that were favorable to Democrats, and an American citizen was released by Russia.As stated above, more oil is being produced from the Persian Gulf region than before the Iran war began. Brent crude is still over $100 a barrel, but why? And why are the oil companies keeping the price at the pump so high? Are they playing politics with the price of gasoline? Nobody really knows. They’re probably having fun making more money than they’re used to.Stephen Hubbard was released by the Russians after being accused of fighting for Ukraine. The charge is probably false, as have most of the charges brought by the Russians (and the Soviets) for decades. Hubbard’s release is not enough to make up for the bad decision Trump made to buy Russian diesel fuel a week ago, which will simply help fund Putin’s war against Ukraine.The president also hurt the Ukrainians’ cause by saying he’d be open to talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, but not with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.On Wednesday, a phony polling firm admitted it had faked surveys. One of its polls helped Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul el Sayed, among others. Wedgewood Polling is a phony outfit run by “industry insiders.” It was cited by the typical media outlets — MS Now, among others — that want to help Democratic candidates win the midterm elections. The only poll that counts is the one on Nov. 3.Jed Babbin (@jedbabbin) is a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of President George H.W. Bush.John Zogby: F A week of turbulence all over the world. A youth revolt in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Wild elections in two of the largest countries in the world: the U.S. and Brazil. Dangerous rhetoric mixed with violence. Scary times, indeed.For his part, Trump has tried to pour gasoline wherever he has seen potential for fire. He has defied U.S. allies and Ukraine by pushing a “peace” to end that war by giving Russia everything it has wanted since it invaded.In the Middle East, he has endorsed Netanyahu, calling him a partner for peace for massacring Gazans, unleashing ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and Lebanon, and launching a stalemate and damaging war with Iran.He has warned his MAGA base, and clearly all of us, that “when you see burning steeples and raging fires in France, just remember that is what the radical Democrats want to do to America.”He has been impassive when a company owned by on-again/off-again/back on-again friend Elon Musk slowed internet speeds in Ukraine and limited use of high-speed military and attack drones.Russian attacks continue while Trump assures us that the war is “taking care of itself.” Inflation is back at 3.7%, and his job approval averages at 39%. On inflation, a Fox News poll shows his approval at 22%, while 77% disapprove.Importantly, the horse race numbers in the battleground states do not seem to be moving. I still won’t be placing any bets on the outcome yet.John Zogby (@ZogbyStrategies) is the founder of the Zogby Survey and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His latest book is Beyond the Horse Race: How to Read Polls and Why We Should. His podcast with his son, managing partner, and pollster Jeremy Zogby, can be heard here.Lunchtime reading I took America’s cheapest EV into the charging desert of the Deep South: The accidental star of this is the chap who drove out of a car-rental facility without realizing he was in an electric vehicle.The man in the middle of Trump’s deeply conflicted Ukraine policy: John Ratcliffe, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, is clear-eyed about the threat posed by Russia, even if his boss is not.