Four years ago, construction crews stripped Trump's name off a century-old Washington post office he had turned into the unofficial lobby of his first U.S. presidency – and a self-branded hotel. 

On Monday, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles summoned Republican operatives to the same building - now a Waldorf Astoria - to strategize how to protect the party in November as the Iran war and rising gas prices erode Trump's brand. 

So secret was the meeting that attendees were made to sign non-disclosure agreements, sources told my teammates Bo Erickson and Jacob Bogage. This being Washington, news about the effort to stop leaks leaked. 

Yet there’s no secret about the problem Trump’s Republicans face. 

A Reuters/Ipsos poll that ran through Monday put Trump's approval rating at 36%, down from 47% after his inauguration. A similar minority approve of the war in Iran that Trump and Israel started in February. Though Trump retains rock-solid approval ratings among his Republican base, Reuters/Ipsos polling also revealed that many harbor doubts about his temperament. 

The war showed no signs of an imminent resolution this week. After an aborted attempt to dispatch Vice President JD Vance to Pakistan for further talks, Trump unilaterally extended a ceasefire with Tehran on Tuesday.

The costs of the conflict may persist at home, and the Trump administration is still grappling with how to communicate that reality. On Sunday, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that gasoline may not fall below $3 per gallon until next year. Trump later dismissed his senior official’s assessment as "totally wrong,” though he has also acknowledged that prices may remain elevated.

My colleague Nathan Layne traveled to central Michigan, where a freshman U.S. House of Representatives Republican, Tom Barrett, is facing Democratic attacks on high gas prices, the very issue that helped him win election in 2024.  

Republicans in competitive elections who worry about Trump are looking to change the subject and run an election based on cultural contrasts with Democrats. "I think we make this election a contrast election between normal and crazy, because they are crazy,” said Representative Lisa McLain, another Michigan Republican. 

In the coming weeks, Republicans will have to decide where the Trump brand still sells. In some places, he can raise money and drive turnout; in others, candidates may decide not to put his name on the label. 

Follow Reuters/Ipsos polling on the president's approval ratings here.

A car crash in a dusty corner of Mexico is creating risks for President Claudia Sheinbaum. The crash on Sunday killed two U.S. officials and two Mexican state officials involved in an operation to destroy clandestine drug laboratories. Trump has made crushing drug cartels in the country a priority and called for ⁠greater use of the U.S. military in such operations. But the issue is sensitive there. ⁠Sheinbaum has said that Mexico will not accept U.S. boots on the ground and that her government would review whether the operation violated national security law. The incident also comes as the two countries negotiate tense trade issues. 

This newsletter was edited by Ross Colvin and Alistair Bell and produced by Rawan Yaghi.