White House reporter Annie Linskey offers a closer look at how the Trump White House makes decisions and what recent actions reveal about its strategy.
Under President Trump, the White House looks different than ever before, from press relations to the construction of new ballroom. But how does the Trump White House actually operate—and has that approach begun to shift in 2026? Recent developments, including immigration enforcement in Minneapolis and clashes over the Kennedy Center, raise questions about whether the administration’s actions are driven more by policy priorities or by public pressure.
In this episode, co-hosts Archon Fung and Stephen Richer are joined by Wall Street Journal White House reporter Annie Linskey to examine how the administration makes decisions behind closed doors. Drawing on her reporting, Linskey discusses what’s stayed the same, what seems to be changing, and whether events like Minneapolis reflect meaningful course corrections or surface-level adjustments to a familiar playbook.