Trump aides reveal president is in 'legacy mode' as Republicans worry about November midterms

Senior Trump administration officials have told the Wall Street Journal that the 80-year-old president has entered 'legacy mode', his attention fixed on how history will remember him rather than on current public opinion. Among the projects occupying his focus are a 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom and a planned 250-foot victory arch on the banks of the Potomac River. This week he posted a chart ranking himself above George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, and had previously shared footage depicting his face carved into Mount Rushmore.

Republicans worry that this preoccupation with his historical standing is diverting attention from November's midterms, the elections that will decide which party controls the House and Senate.

Confidant Newt Gingrich defended Trump, saying he 'thinks on an entirely historic scale' and wants his presidency 'to matter'.

The White House pushed back, insisting Trump is 'solely focused' on delivering prosperity and peace, not distant posterity.