President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wear protective glasses as they view the solar eclipse at the White House. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo. 45 After Dark: The ‘Path Forward’ edition

Today, President Donald Trump went viral on the Internet — appearing to squint into the eclipsed sun against the advice of scientists and as his staff shouted at him not to do it.

Tonight, he will have a much more sober task ahead of him: Laying out what the White House called a “path forward” in Afghanistan.


Trump’s 9 p.m. eastern speech comes with much public skepticism about U.S. efforts in Afghanistan as POLITICO’s Steve Shepard reports : “After more than 15 years of war in Afghanistan, Americans don’t believe the U.S. is making significant progress, and they've soured on keeping troops in the country, polls show.”

There have been reports that some members of Trump’s inner circle are pushing for a troop increase. Defense officials, and the White House, though, are offering few clues about what Trump will say this evening. Defense Sec. James Mattis, speaking in Amman, Jordan said only that he is, “very comfortable that the strategic process was sufficiently rigorous."

Elsewhere in President Trump’s orbit:

TRUMP TRUMPS ALL: In Republican primaries, loyalty to President Trump is emerging as perhaps the litmus test for candidates.

PARDON ME?: Former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, recently convicted of federal contempt, is keeping his calendar open in the hopes of a pardon by President Trump.

OUT OF SERVICE: The head of the Secret Service said he may have to hold back pay for some agents because of the cost of protecting the Trump family — then walked back the comment to make it clear that it was a long standing issue with the agency’s budget.

MORE FOUR THOUGHT: President Trump and his team are ramping up their efforts for 2020 re-election, especially amid reports of other Republican contenders considering bids or beginning shadow campaigns.

RINAT BACK: The New York Times looks more deeply into the dealings of Rinat Akhmetshin, a lobbyist who attended the meeting between Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner and a Russian attorney claiming to have dirt on Hillary Clinton. It finds he has much deeper ties to key Russians than previously reported.

OTHERS MUELL IT: President Trump has inspired an array of studious, amateur sleuths who are on the Internet looking for evidence against him.

There you have it. You’re caught up on the Trump administration. Happy Monday.

