Top White House aides arrived at work in a buoyant mood Thursday morning, pleased with the pre-dawn return of three American hostages who had been detained in North Korea and aware that President Trump would soon reveal the date and location of his summit with Kim Jong Un, an unprecedented opportunity for their boss to demonstrate the deal-making skills he’s long touted.

On television sets around the West Wing, cable news hosts were discussing the surprisingly positive results Trump’s maximum pressure campaign and repeated insults toward Kim had yielded. The diplomatic breakthrough provided some respite from the constant coverage of Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen and his newly-disclosed consulting arrangements with a handful of companies who sought access to the administration.