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President Donald Trump's tireless campaign to stamp his name on buildings and mount disruptive construction projects stems from his view that the nation's capital is his "personal property," according to a new analysis from The Hill, which he opts to abuse whenever he gets bored with the rest of his agenda.

Bill Press is a veteran Democratic pundit and author who previously served as the chair of the California Democratic Party in the 1990s. On Tuesday, he published a new piece for The Hill, breaking down Trump's fixation on remaking Washington, D.C., in his own image, surmising that the city has become his personal "sandbox" and a way to revert to his days as a real estate developer.

"Starting on Day One of his second term, Trump has treated Washington as his personal property, where he has the power to change or destroy anything he doesn’t like," Press wrote. "For him, Washington is nothing but a sandbox which he can retreat to whenever he’s bored with deporting immigrants or waging war, and play 'Donnie the Developer.'"

Nearly a year and a half into Trump's second term, Press argued that D.C. is no longer the same city it was before he returned. He has infamously mandated that his name be added to buildings like the Kennedy Center and the Institute for Peace. He has also been pushing for his name to be added to Dulles Airport and the under-construction football arena for the Washington Commanders.

He has also adorned various buildings, like the departments of Agriculture and Labor, with massive banners featuring his face, which some critics have likened to the tendencies of authoritarian leaders. His face will soon be featured on coins and passports as well.

In other areas, Press argued that Trump has fallen back on his past country club habits to renovate the city.

"Meanwhile, he’s plowed across Washington like it’s just another of his country clubs. He tore up the Rose Garden and replaced it with a Mar-a-Lago patio," he detailed. "He planted two giant flag poles and a statue of Christopher Columbus on White House grounds. He turned the Oval Office into a gilded, bordello-like cocktail lounge. He tore down the entire East Wing of the White House to fulfill his dream of building a massive, 90,000 sq. ft. ballroom — for which clueless Republican senators are now asking taxpayers to cough up $1 billion."

He continued: "And he’s just getting started. Trump has also announced plans to paint the historic Old Executive Building white; replace columns on the North face of the White House; destroy the popular, affordable Hains Point golf course and replace it with a high-price championship course; build a giant Sculpture Garden in West Potomac Park; and — in a move that would make Napoleon Bonaparte blush — erect a giant, 19-stories–high arch to himself at the entrance to Arlington National Cemetery."

All of these changes combined, Press concluded, have created one of the best possible arguments for granting Washington, D.C., statehood, as has been debated for decades.

"For years, a compelling case has been made to grant the District of Columbia statehood," he wrote. "Now, proponents of statehood have the strongest argument possible: to prevent any temporary occupant of the White House from rebranding the nation’s capital in his honor. Hands off, Trump — we liked Washington just the way it was."

Military reporter Jasper Craven exposes how the U.S. military has weaponized religion and hyper-masculinity to manufacture brutal obedience — and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is its poster child. In his explosive new book, God Forgives, Brothers Don’t, Craven reveals a chilling curriculum dating back to America's founding that frames violence as a "hardwired male instinct" while churning out loyalty through abusive programs like junior ROTC. From Valley Forge hazing to today's "end times" Iran war rhetoric, he argues the military isn't fixing "lost boys" — it's systematically breaking them to follow orders without question.

Craven's new book examines how the U.S. military uses religion to foster greater brutality and blind loyalty by using words like "crusade" and Hegseth's frequent Bible quotes.

Craven spoke with The New Republic's Lorraine Cademartori for a Tuesday report discussing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as the "perfect embodiment" of using religion in military training to create a stronger commitment to following orders without question.

The change in rhetoric to describe the Iran war as part of some "end times" conflict to try to convince Americans that the war is somehow necessary.

"The American public and the American military at this point is very wary of conflict.… At this point, the stakes must be ratcheted up to motivate the mission," said Craven. "When it becomes this existential, I think Hegseth and his deputies hope that it will animate the men fighting below them."

Cademartori commented that the book says “since America’s founding, military brass have painstakingly developed and refined a military curriculum that breeds loyalty, teaches obedience and constructs violence, all the while convincing the public that conflict is a hardwired male instinct."

The Founding Fathers had their own problems with this, she noted, citing "reticence toward the idea of even forming a military academy, or establishing a quasi-professional fighting force."

Craven recalled the British monarchy being "at times abusive" in its occupations around the world.

"The rebellion itself was a rejection of such tactics and such power," he said. "At the same time, this paradox forms in which the only way out of occupation is amassing of military power by the colonists. This tension has really marked America profoundly in the centuries since.… The Founding Fathers were generally really focused on ensuring that the soldier was never elevated above the citizen."

In the years since, the military has crafted programs to reach out to young people, which is what Craven said inspired the book to begin with.

In the early 1900s, "people like John Dewey were making the argument that the best way to create peace is to establish, among children, the possibility, and to show them how it can be done, and they will be the great agents in changing this violent mindset of humanity. I think the military understood that, too, and that’s exactly why they fight to control boys at such an early age."

He noted there are currently 5,200 junior ROTC and 18+ ROTC programs in the U.S.

"Seeing the raw, mutant, violent strains of masculinity that were leading to terrible abuse at Valley Forge made me want to write a book that could forcefully push back against this enduring idea that the military is this perfect catchall system for lost boys," said Craven. "Really, it just creates more dysfunction."

"To inculcate loyalty, to motivate violence, you need to use pretty harsh tools, and I’ve lost count of the times military school leaders have, in the face of severe hazing scandals, or cheating scandals, or administrative corruption allegations, pledged to end hazing, to reform these programs, to impose accountability — to fully embody the very pure ideals that these places claim to live up to — but it’s never happened, and I don’t think that’s an accident," Cravel said.

These kinds of conditions are "vital" to getting men to "secure validation," he said. "I think that is what’s most effective at forcing men to engage in really risky, violent, traumatic behavior."

On Sunday night, Netflix aired the special "The Roast of Kevin Hart," which found the Pennsylvania comedian being mocked and ridiculed by other celebrities. Hart was the main target, but one of the jokes, written by comedian Madison Sinclair, targeted comedian Tony Hinchcliffe and First Lady Melania Trump simultaneously — and ended up being cut from the special.

The joke, according to Variety, read, "Tony is like Melania: The only thing relevant about him is that he opened for Trump once."

The Melania Trump/Hinchcliffe joke is generating a lot of comments on X, formerly Twitter.

Sports/entertainment writer Frank Torres tweeted, "Tony Hinchcliffe is an absolutely rotten human being. Beyond roasting rotten. @netflix needs to stop rewarding him."

Torres also said of Hinchcliffe, "He's the friend who gets drunk and curses out his girlfriend at the party. And then wants you to go over to her house and say sorry for him."

The joke is also getting heated responses from angry MAGA supporters on X.

Corey Cherry posted, "Whew the white man stirred up some soft ass piece of s–– liberals didn't he?? You making the same articles about the Kirk joke? No because you are fake woke losers."

Keshav Maheshwari commented, "Yeah the woke is not fully dead in Hollywood but in last legs certainly."

The America Man, who describes his goal as "saving America from leftists one moron at a time," tweeted, "Good thing they cut those jokes, holy cringe batman."

President Donald Trump is heading to China looking for a political win, but a CNN panel Tuesday said the real problem is that he’s carrying a long list of losses. As prices rise and voters increasingly blame him for the economy, even Republicans are starting to feel the backlash, leaving Trump desperate for a headline-grabbing deal he can sell as proof he still has control.

"Just the idea that people are saying he's not going in to say 'do this,'" said CNN host Audi Cornish. "He's going in, maybe to say, 'What can you do?'"

Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha said that the only thing Trump wants is a "big headline."

"That's the only thing he wants to come back with: a big super deal that he can say he orchestrated, that he's responsible for," said Rocha.

The reason, Rocha explained, is that the electorate is blaming Trump for all of their economic problems.

"Whether it is right or wrong, they equate that," he added.

CNN's poll released on Tuesday delves into specifics beyond Americans' attitudes toward Trump. It showed that Republicans are also blaming Trump for their economic woes.

"And I think you're seeing this in lots of different places," Rocha said. "And there's one thing this ain't just because of Trump. When you're the party in power, you get a lot of responsibilities. You have a lot of responsibilities. The American people going — they don't know everything about the inner workings of the government, but they know you're in charge, and things got more expensive."

He recalled that President Joe Biden got blamed for the tough economy as well, even if it wasn't his fault.

"Guess who gets blamed now? Donald Trump. He's like the dog who caught the car," Rocha said.

Sabrina Singh, former deputy Pentagon press secretary under Biden, said that Trump came in on this promise of making everything more affordable but has done the opposite.

"I think a lot of what Democrats are going to ask voters to ask themselves is, is your life better off today than it was two years ago or four years ago?" she asked.

Senior CNN reporter Aaron Blake noted that in years past, Republicans have had the edge from Americans who have more faith in what they can do on the economy. For the first time since President Barack Obama's era, Democrats are getting better marks on the affordability crisis.

Republican Ashley Davis, a former official in President George W. Bush's administration, asked if Democrats had any ideas to fix things and said all they do is blame Trump for everything.

Singh explained that Democrats were never for the policies that are hurting the economy, like Trump's huge, sweeping tariffs, the Iran war and other problems.

Cornish said that Democrats may be blaming Trump, but there are very clear specifics.

"I don't know if they can take advantage of it, but I do think there is something to her point. Unlike the vibe session, where it's like, oh, covid quarantine, something mismanagement, people can be like, remember the day Trump came out with a big sign that said, here are the tariffs. And the market went like this," Cornish said, pointing down. "Remember the day Trump launched strikes here and the market went like this? Remember the day — they have a specific key, easy-to-digest points of origin."

Davis tried to pivot to the gas tax holiday and Trump's decision to support it. Cornish questioned the reality of anything Trump promises because he never delivers.

"Look at how little this Congress has passed? I'm not holding my breath, but I also know the president has, many times said, 'I'm going to give you $2,000. I'm going to give you $2000.' So I'm wondering where this moves from float to exist," Cornish said.

As President Donald Trump continues to flub his handling of the main issue currently motivating voters, CNN reported that "cracks are starting to show" in his own base, per the findings of their new poll, which found a notable decline in his support from Republicans.

During the Tuesday morning broadcast of CNN's News Central, host Katie Bolduan shared the findings from the network's latest poll on voter sentiments pertaining to the economy. The findings, she explained, reinforced the "deep anxiety" over the cost of living that voters have been venting about for months, much to Trump's annoyance, marking another blow to what was once considered his issue, the one many believe got him reelected in the first place.

"The numbers revealing a deep anxiety about affordability," Bolduan said. "That word and growing warning signs for President Trump. Seventy-three percent describing economic conditions right now, today, as poor in the country. That's not a good outlook on what was once considered, of course, President Trump's strongest issue. His approval rating on the economy has fallen to a new career low [of 30 percent]. Americans are worried, full stop are worried, full stop, worried about paying their bills, especially surprise ones."

Roughly two-thirds of the poll respondents said that they could not "comfortably afford" an emergency expense of $1,000.

"On this most central issue of just being able to pay for everyday life, cracks are starting to show among the president's base," she added.

"Me and my husband work 12-hour days, 5 to 6 days a week, and we have to decide if we're going to buy groceries or pay for gas," one respondent, a Republican woman in her 20s living in Ohio, told CNN.

"I don't know how anyone from my generation will ever do anything except rent," another respondent, a Republican man in his 20s living in Georgia, added.

CNN's Washington bureau chief, David Chalian, said that this "bleak" and "pessimistic" outlook for the economy has been holding steady for "five years running now," ever since the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"And even while some structural things of the economy are strong, people are not feeling it in terms of what they're paying and in terms of their feeling secure in their personal economy," Chalian explained. "You noted that a top-line approval number for Trump's handling of the economy, 30 percent approve. That is a record low across his entire time in public life. As you suggested, this used to be one of his strong suits. He used to outperform his approval rating on the issue of the economy.

He continued: "That is a low. And why this matters, economy and cost of living, 55 percent of respondents in our poll say that is the most important issue facing the country. Do you see here? Nothing else comes even close to it. This is where the majority of Americans are in terms of importance of issues in their mind."

Chalian showed a ranking of issues along with the percentage of respondent who called it their top issue. The economy topped the list at 55 percent, trailed distantly by concerns about the health of democracy at 19 percent. Other issues like immigration, healthcare and crime did not top two digits.

Chalian also noted that Trump had fallen below 50 percent approval in his own party for his handling of gas prices, something he was not able to recall ever happening before.

When U.S. President Donald Trump is asked about having low approval ratings in countless polls released in 2026, he typically dismisses them as "fake news" and brags that his second presidency is a raging success. According to the i Paper's Matthew Bailey, Trump is showing major illusions of grandeur at a time when his popularity continues to plummet.

"The situation in Iran is unravelling for Donald Trump, with talks over ending the war stalling, the U.S. economy suffering and the president experiencing his worst poll ratings ever," Bailey explains in the UK-based i Paper. "But the U.S. president, at least outwardly, appears blissfully detached from the seriousness of the problem, instead spending his time bombarding his Truth Social platform with reposts of adulatory memes from his supporters. In the space of less than 10 minutes on Sunday night, from 10.22pm (EDT) to 10.31pm, Trump reposted 17 memes mostly focused on his own greatness, as well as referencing the discredited theory that the 2020 election was stolen, the construction of his White House ballroom and the addition of his face to Mount Rushmore."

According to David Anderson, a professor of politics at Durham University in England, Trump is surrounded by ultra-MAGA loyalists who constantly feed his illusions of grandeur.

Anderson told the UK-based i Paper, "Trump only gets information that he wants to hear. So according to his advisers, he is the most beloved president in history right now. And I think he believes it…. He famously has a person whose job it is to hand him a stack of positive headlines every day…. Trump holds these Cabinet hearings that are in some ways humiliating because they go around the table, and everybody has to just heap praise and glory upon him. They even try to outdo each other by congratulating him on his greatness more than everybody else has."

Another political scholar in the UK, the University of Kent's Dr. Andrew Wroe, believes that Trump's over-the-top boasts on Truth Social are primarily aimed at his hardcore MAGA base.

Wroe told the i Paper, "The volume of his posts and the level of their outrageousness may be correlated with a desire to distract people from more pressing and difficult matters that are dominating the media cycle. Trump is a wily political operator, and he's learned the art of distraction. Many posts are not aimed at the wider American public, but are instead designed to appeal specifically to his MAGA base who revel in his norm-busting antics, especially 'owning the libs.' Trump's narcissistic and insecure personality may be comforted by reposting fawning messages of devotion from his loyal supporters. More emotionally secure presidents have not needed to do this."

The FBI has begun interviewing current and former CIA employees as part of a Department of Justice investigation into ex-CIA director John Brennan over his role in a 2017 intelligence assessment concluding that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election to help Donald Trump.

Employees were questioned last week by FBI agents from the Miami field office at CIA headquarters in McLean, Virginia, with interviews expected to continue throughout the coming weeks. About a dozen current and former CIA officers who worked on the 2017 assessment have been questioned so far, according to a Reuters exclusive report.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida has been investigating whether Brennan made a false statement to Congress in 2023 when discussing the intelligence assessment. The core conclusions of that assessment—which examined Russia's cyber-espionage and influence efforts to boost Trump's candidacy—were later affirmed by the Justice Department, a bipartisan Senate committee, and a CIA review.

Prosecutors are examining the extent to which the assessment's conclusions were shaped by the Steele dossier, a controversial document of unverified claims about Trump's ties to Russia. The dossier was authored by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele and funded by Trump's political opponents. Brennan has maintained that the CIA opposed including the dossier in the report and that its classified summary was only included as a compromise with the FBI.

President Trump, who has called the Russia investigation a "hoax," has pushed prosecutors to investigate those he believes were involved in spearheading the probe, including Brennan. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the Republican chair of the House Judiciary Committee, referred Brennan to the DOJ in October, alleging he lied during congressional testimony by saying the CIA was "not involved at all" with the Steele dossier.

Brennan's lawyer told a federal judge in Miami that prosecutors identified his client as a target of the investigation. The lawyer claimed prosecutors were "judge shopping" by attempting to steer the case to a Trump-appointed judge in Fort Pierce, Florida, who previously dismissed a criminal case against Trump. Sources expect any charges would be filed in Washington, D.C., where Brennan's congressional testimony occurred.

Recent staffing changes have intensified concerns within the intelligence community. Attorney General Todd Blanche helped oversee the investigation when it was run by Pam Bondi, whom Trump fired in April. The Justice Department then removed the veteran Miami prosecutor leading the Brennan investigation and installed Joe DiGenova, a former federal prosecutor and conservative legal commentator who has been critical of Brennan, to oversee the probe.

DiGenova's appointment has alarmed current and former CIA employees who worry he will pursue anyone in the intelligence community whom Trump perceives to have been involved in politically motivated investigations. In an unusual development, prosecutors withdrew several subpoenas for witnesses to testify before a federal grand jury in Washington in mid-April, shortly after the subpoenas were issued.

The Brennan investigation is one of several Trump administration probes targeting officials from the prior administration.

Since returning to office, Trump has directed the Justice Department to investigate figures he views as adversaries in the Russia probe, including former FBI Director James Comey and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates. Intelligence community officials express concern that investigations are being weaponized for political purposes rather than driven by prosecutorial merit.

The withdrawal of grand jury subpoenas and replacement of veteran prosecutors with Trump loyalists has fueled suspicions among current and former intelligence employees that the investigations prioritize political retribution over justice. These developments have raised questions about the independence of the Justice Department and the politicization of federal law enforcement.

President Donald Trump, in speech after speech, insists that the U.S. economy has never been better. Yet numerous polls are showing widespread dissatisfaction with his second presidency. And according to CNN, Americans are in a relentlessly "sour mood" that is showing no signs of improving.

Five CNN reporters — Jennifer Agiesta, Annette Choi, Ariel Edwards-Levy, Edward Wu, and David Goldman — find that much of the country's widespread pessimism is connected to the economy, especially inflation.

"Those negative feelings about the economy, with major political implications for the midterms, reflect the strain across economic, generational and partisan lines on Americans' everyday lives," they explain. "Many people are trimming their grocery lists and cutting back spending on extras, and few feel comfortably able to save."

A new CNN/SSRS poll finds that almost 70 percent of Americans fear a recession is likely in the next year.

"Middle-income and lower-income Americans' wages stopped outpacing inflation last year, according to Bank of America," the CNN journalists report. "That's left many Americans in a sour mood about their financial prospects. The public has held a negative view of the economy for five straight years in CNN's polling. There's a near-universal sense that the current economic moment is a better time to save than to spend on major purchases: Eighty-eight percent feel that way, including more than 8 in 10 across income brackets…. Americans from all backgrounds name cost of living as their primary financial concern in an open-ended question."

A Georgia Republican in his twenties laments that home ownership is a steep uphill climb for Generation Z, telling CNN, "I don't know how anyone from my generation will ever do anything except rent."

An Arkansas-based Democrat in his thirties described his situation as "two full-time jobs and can barely cover bills, let alone even think about getting ahead."