IN THE RED: President Trump’s negative numbers have jumped to new highs with 62 percent of Americans disapproving of the job he’s doing, according the latest ABCNews-Ipsos poll. His overall approval is 37 percent.

  On some issues it’s even worse. Seventy-six percent of Americans disapprove of the job he’s doing on the cost of living, and 72 percent disapprove on inflation. Sixty-six percent disapprove on the Iran war.

  As always, Trump is still in great standing with Republicans. Eighty-five percent approve of the job he’s doing.

THE WAR ROOM: President Trump said the US military will help ships stranded inside the Strait of Hormuz to get out. He posted on his Truth Social that,

“Many of these Ships are running low on food, and everything else necessary for largescale crews to stay on board in a healthy and sanitary manner.” 

  Trump threatened that, “If, in any way, this Humanitarian process is interfered with, that interference will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully.”

  In response, Ali Abdollahi, a top Iranian military commander, warned “all commercial ships and oil tankers to refrain from any attempt to transit without coordination with the armed forces.”

  Iran is reported to have submitted a 14-point response to the US proposal to end the war and negotiation stalemate that has the vital strait of Hormuz closed to shipping. 

 The Iranians are not negotiating like guys who have lost a war. They want an end to the war within 30 days, withdrawal of US forces from Iran’s periphery, an end to the naval blockade, release of frozen assets, lifting of sanctions, an end to Israel’s operations in Lebanon, and a new agreement for governing the Strait of Hormuz.  They are even asking for payment of reparations for the damage sustained in the US-Israeli blitz.

  Their proposal evidently does not mention nuclear weapons.

  Speaking of Lebanon. The NY Times reports that Israel is following the precedent it set fighting Hamas in Gaza, levelling the areas in this case controlled by Hezbollah militants. Israel has been systematically destroying villages, leaving fields of rubble. 

INFINITE SCROLL:

— Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on NBC’s “meet the Press” that the Justice Department has a “body of evidence” to prove that former FBI Director James Comey planned to kill President Trump after posting online a picture of seashells arranged with the numbers “8647.” Translate that to “Remove Trump.”

  The term “86” is generally used in restaurants to mention depleted menu items as in “86 the French fries.” It’s also a reference to throwing a drunk out of a bar. “86 that guy by the beer taps.” Blanche defines it as “kill.”

  Blanche claimed to have further evidence of Comey’s intent beyond just posting the seashells. “You prove intent with witnesses; you prove intent with documents,” he said. Asked whether anyone else posting those numbers or wearing a t-shirt with them would be prosecuted Blanche said, “No.”

— Former New York Mayor and Trump loyalist Rudy Giuliani is reported to be in critical condition in a Florida hospital. President Trump posted; “What a tragedy that he was treated so badly by the Radical Left Lunatics, Democrats ALL — AND HE WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING! They cheated on the Elections, fabricated hundreds of stories, did anything possible to destroy our Nation, and now, look at Rudy. So sad!”

— Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney in Washington, told CNN’s Jake Tapper that it was a shotgun pellet from the White House Correspondent dinner shooter that hit a secret service officer in his ballistic vest. She said the pellet became embedded in the fabric. — President Trump is back to sparring with HBO comedian and host Bill Maher, erasing any détente they may have reached dining together at the end of March. Trump posted; “Bill Maher is a weak and ineffective person who I got to know very well during my dinner with him at the White House. He was nervous, scared, and the first words he uttered as he entered the Oval Office were, ‘Can I have a drink?’”

— The group Democracy Forward, a legal nonprofit, filed an emergency request with a federal judge to block President Trump from taking over Washington’s busiest public golf course to turn it into luxury links. The administration was reported to be moving to take over the golf course sometime yesterday.

  The course, East Potomac in view of the Washington Monument, is a low-cost operation very popular in the DC area owned by the National Links Trust. Trump wants to turn it into a world class golf course that could host international tournaments.

THE SPIN RACK: A United Airlines flight landing from Italy at Newark Liberty International Airport yesterday hit a tractor-trailer and clipped a light pole on the nearby highway, injuring the truck driver but landing safely. — The US military is searching for two soldiers who went missing in Morocco during a training mission. The two were off duty when last seen walking along ocean cliffs. — Three passengers on a cruise ship bound from Argentina to Cape Verde off Africa are suspected to have died of the hantavirus, an illness carried by rodents. — Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez paid $10 million for the privilege of hosting this year’s Met Gala, the over the top fashion fundraiser. 

BELOW THE FOLD: Reaching for the record books, a Qatari family has listed a Bel Air, California mansion compound for sale at $400 million. It would be the priciest home sale in US history if it goes at that number.

 What would you get? It has Thirty-nine bedrooms, 59 bathrooms, 70,000 square feet of living space, a movie theater, tennis court, and multiple swimming pools.

  The al-Thani family bought the property as an empty lot in 2010 and built what they hoped to be the greatest house in Los Angeles. Their broker says they’re selling because they don’t use it very much.

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