Jacob Heilbrunn

An actual sinkhole has developed on the north lawn of the White House. It might serve as a good metaphor for the state of the Trump presidency, which is being engulfed by the very Washington swamp that it once vowed to eradicate. The latest revelation comes courtesy of the BBC’s indefatigable Paul Wood, who reports today on a corrupt bargain that apparently took place between the White House and Ukraine. It seems that Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, who bet on the wrong horse during the 2016 campaign by releasing some information about the sordid financial machinations of Donald Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort to the New York Times in August 2016, was desperate to make amends.  He wanted to butter up Trump.

Maybe President Trump has finally given up on his cherished dream of Vladimir Putin as his new best friend. It seems that Kim Jong-un is supplanting him in his affections. Even as Trump tries to up the ante with Iran, his top officials are playing kissy-face with North Korea. Fears are swirling in Washington that in his desperation for a grand bargain, Trump may end up following a policy of appeasement toward the North with Singapore as the new Munich. It may not be long before Trump returns from Singapore brandishing a piece of paper, or at least issues a tweet, declaring “peace for our time.

On June 12 Donald Trump will meet Kim Jong-un in Singapore. Trump is ebullient. “World Peace” is what he will seek, according his Twitter account. Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is sounding a more cautious note: “We hope this meeting will advance prospects for peace in the Korean Peninsula." Trump’s euphoric tone is more reminiscent of Woodrow Wilson than the America First rodomontade that he was peddling to his followers during the 2016 campaign. It’s prompting a volte-face in Washington, not the first Trump has created. Hawks are becoming doves and doves hawks. Conservatives are talking peace, love and understanding. Liberals are fretting that Trump will give away the store to the North.

So aides to Donald Trump, the Observer reports, retained an Israeli intelligence organization to launch a 'dirty ops' campaign against two former national security officials in the Obama administration, Colin Kahl and Ben Rhodes. Both happen to have been involved in the negotiations about the Iran deal and the idea seems to have been to find information that could be used to smear their reputations. On Twitter today, Kahl freely confessed to many sins, including selling off his valuable X-Men comic book collection as a lad to help finance a trip to debate camp. It remains to be seen whether Rhodes, too, will fess up to any such grave transgressions dating back to his childhood.

So it’s true. Donald Trump is going bonkers. This morning he used the British term in a tweet slamming “phony Witch Hunts” and lauding the “great Energy and unending Stamina” of the White House.There is plenty to arouse Trump’s ire. Yesterday the press that Trump loves to decry revealed that White House chief of staff John Kelly regards the president as an “idiot” who persuaded Trump last fall not to withdraw American troops unilaterally from South Korea, a move that would essentially have handed it over to the North on a silver platter.The last person to talk about Trump like that was former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson whom Trump sacked on Twitter. It’s only a matter of time before Kelly becomes Tillersoned.

The Trump administration may be heading into an infinity war. Europe is gearing up to retaliate against American on the trade front. China is indicating that it will refuse to negotiate on several key Trump trade demands. The Iran deal may be ripped up on May 12. And national security adviser John Bolton seems intent on sabotaging any negotiations with North Korea, something he did in the George W. Bush administration when he helped to terminate the 1994 nuclear deal that the Clinton administration had negotiated with the North.This past weekend, Bolton proclaimed that North Korea should follow the precedent of Libya when it comes to denuclearization.

Debbie Lesko, a former Arizona state lawmaker, was jubilant over her victory for a seat in Congress last night against Hiral Tipirneni, a physician who was never given much of a chance to win. But Lesko’s narrow tally—52.9 per cent to 47.1 per cent—in a staunchly conservative district is why Republican strategists are not. Donald Trump won the district by 21 percentage points in 2016, but his widespread unpopularity now looms large over congressional races. Republican candidates are between the devil and the deep blue sea. Distance themselves from Trump and the base revolts. Tie themselves closely to the old boy and independent voters find them revolting. How to propitiate angry voters? A more popular Trump would have a tonic effect on the party.

Call it the audacity of hope. Emmanuel Macron wants to become the savior of the West. Like Sartre, he wants to tell Trump that there is no exit, at least when it comes to the Iran deal.He gave Donald Trump an air kiss on the cheek yesterday before he headed off to Mount Vernon for a dinner with the Trumps. Next comes a state dinner, the first Trump has held. Planned by Melania herself, it promises to be a fulsome occasion, filled with pious asseverations of brotherly love between two revolutionary nations. By contrast, when German chancellor Angela Merkel visits later this week, she will likely be banished to the scullery. Trump has turned his back on Germany. He has grudges to settle. Trump’s grandfather Friedrich was booted out of Bavaria in 1905.

Uh-oh. President Trump is wading into diplomatic waters in North Korea that he may have trouble navigating. Yesterday, he proudly revealed that talks with North Korea have been taking place at the “highest levels.” He also gave his blessing to the prospect of a peace treaty between the two Koreas, which currently only enjoy an armistice. But Trump also indicated that he wants to try and keep his options open: “It'll be taking place probably in early June, or a little before that, assuming things go well. It's possible things won't go well, and we won't have the meetings and we'll just continue to go along this very strong path that we've taken. But we'll see.

So Britain is responsible for staging the Syrian gas attack? According to Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov: “We have evidence that proves Britain was directly involved in organizing this provocation.” Evidence, shmevidence. Next thing you know Moscow will be offering to assist Yulia Skripal. Oh, wait. It already did. Vladimir Putin cannot conceal that his regime is complicit in some very odious deeds—and that it’s feeling increasingly confident about taunting the West. The Russian claim is deliberately preposterous.

Good gracious! David Brooks, a charter member of the Never Trump movement, suddenly raises the white flag in his column today. Brooks is despondent. His efforts to expose Trump’s perfidy have failed. Instead, a very bad man, we are told, reigns supreme.The catalogue of woe is extensive. According to Brooks: “We have persuaded no one. Trump’s approval rating is around 40 percent, which is basically unchanged from where it’s been all along. We have not hindered him. Trump has more power than he did a year ago, not less.  …We have not dislodged him. For all the hype, the Mueller investigation looks less and less likely to fundamentally alter the course of the administration.” Really?

Poor Paul Manafort. Manafort, who tried to extricate himself from the Mueller investigation by filing a civil case alleging prosecutorial overreach, was skewered by federal judge Amy Berman on Wednesday. By the time Manafort showed up in court, his lawyer was furiously back-pedalling about what they were demanding. 'I don’t really understand,' Berman said, 'what is left of your case.' He suffered more indignities when the Guardian published a lengthy expose by Luke Harding on Thursday about his 'black ops' strategy in Ukraine. For Manafort it amounts to revealing the precious trade secrets that he patiently acquired over years of work. Harding is what is politely called an investigative journalist, which used to be known as a muckraker.