'Premature exoneration'? Trump allies wonder if he bungled the conclusion of the Mueller investigation.

President Trump
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

President Trump was publicly exuberant when Attorney General William Barr released his four-page recap of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, and in private he was "pumping his fist with excitement when he recounted the good news to his allies," Politico reports, citing a person told about his reaction. "But every victory lap has a finish line — and Trump appears to be approaching his," Gabriel Sherman writes at Vanity Fair.

Trump's "response to the Barr letter was overplayed," a former West Wing official told Vanity Fair. A Republican close to the White House agreed that the Mueller denouement is a prime example of Trump getting "oversold on things," adding: "The White House realizes the report may have a lot of sh-t in it." Jimmy Fallon diagnosed Trump with "premature exoneration" on Thursday's Tonight Show.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.