Aides to former President Barack Obama used to brag about his “no drama, Obama” style and today’s White House press corps feel that President Donald Trump could take a page out of his predecessor’s playbook.

But for Trump, credited this week by director and critic Woody Allen for being a pretty good actor in his movie Celebrity, frenetic activity matters. Said our grader and pollster John Zogby, “drama every week.”

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This week was no different. His to-do list included meeting with Poland’s president, warning Chicago and Baltimore that he would take over their police departments, winning new investment promises from America’s top tech executives, pushing to change the name of the Pentagon to the “Department of War,” and readying plans for an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight at the White House.

On Friday, he crossed the 200-mark of executive orders, an unprecedented use of his presidential Sharpie. He is on pace to break the overall record he set in his first term in just one more month — three and a half years early.

So far, it’s working for Trump, as evidenced by new approval polls — Zogby’s included — showing the president rebounding from a summer lull. 

Conservative grader Jed Babbin gave Trump a B- for the week, and suggested that he focus more on issues bigger than renaming the Defense Department. Zogby gave the week a D+ due to the lousy jobs report and other issues, but noted the president’s poll bounce.

Jed Babbin

Grade: B-

It was a pretty good week for President Donald Trump, not a great one. He wants the Defense Department to be called the “War Department,” an appeals court upheld the use of Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz,” and India — predictably — moved closer to Russia and China after Trump placed heavy tariffs on it. And he ordered a strike on a boat carrying Tren de Aragua members and drugs. 

Trump’s desire to return the Defense Department to its pre-1949 name of the “War Department” is an idea that’s been toyed with for decades. It can’t be done without legislation and that ain’t forthcoming. Trump has much more important things to do, such as rebuilding our military to be able to defeat China or Russia. That isn’t being done.

The danger of online censorship reaching the U.S. is a serious one. Our online news and social media are going to be subjected to European and U.K. censorship. This is a critical problem for our First Amendment rights but so far Trump has been silent on it.

The strike on a Venezuelan boat carrying almost a dozen Tren de Aragua members hit a serious target amidst the cartels’ efforts to import drugs into the U.S. But a seizure of “precursor chemicals” — thousands of tons from China — highlights that Trump is not sanctioning the worst offenders. 

India’s move closer to Russia and China is another problem for Trump’s tariffs. He pushed India for trading with Russia. Where are the sanctions on Russia he’s been threatening for months?

John Zogby

Grade: D+

Evidence of an economic slowdown emerged in the August jobless report out Friday. Only 22,000 new jobs were created, well below the 75,000 expected, and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3%.

There is growing confusion over President Donald Trump’s tariffs. A court ruled against them, and legal scholars even suggested that the U.S. might be forced to pay refunds. Even Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) challenged Trump over his tariff policy.

A court ruled that federal troop deployments in Los Angeles were illegal, and another court said that Trump couldn’t kill federal research grants to Harvard University.

The White House is also engaged in a legal tussle with experts who said that the Pentagon’s strike on a Venezuelan drug cartel speedboat was an overreach and did not present a clear and present danger to the U.S.

The Jeffrey Epstein scandal returned to Capitol Hill when the House of Representatives met with 10 victims, prompting even Republicans to demand full disclosure from the Justice Department.

And the smiling leaders of China, Russia, and India presented themselves as an Axis Against America during a massive military parade in Beijing.

But, as first reported by Washington Secrets, new John Zogby Strategies polling numbers showed Trump’s approval rating bumped up to 46% approval 43% last month. Bad week, better numbers.

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Jed Babbin is a Washington Examiner contributor and former deputy undersecretary of defense in the administration of former President George H.W. Bush. Follow him on X @jedbabbin.

John Zogby is the founder of the Zogby Survey and senior partner at John Zogby Strategies. His latest book is Beyond the Horse Race: How to Read Polls and Why We Should. His podcast with son and managing partner and pollster Jeremy Zogby can be heard here. Follow him on X @ZogbyStrategies.