White House report card: One week away from peace in Iran, again

Published May 8, 2026 11:45am ET



Welcome to Friday’s edition of Washington Secrets. As usual, our strategists run the rule over Trump’s week to see if he’s winning or losing. (Spoiler alert: The Democrat comes to a different conclusion to the Republican.) Secrets is taking a break next week, so will be missing from your inbox on Monday and Tuesday, but will be back down to business on Wednesday.

Donald Trump is a matter of days from meeting Xi Jinping in Beijing. But the summit has barely entered the headlines, with all attention still focused on the war with Iran. None of that has stopped the president from focusing on his passions: seeking revenge over his opponents, mixed martial arts, and golf.

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