Before the plan fell apart on Thursday night, The Washington Post reports, “Trump was the main person pushing for the Camp David meeting,” believing “his personal style can persuade anyone.” Ghani agreed to come, and the Taliban did, too, on the condition the deal was signed before the summit. That became a “fundamental dividing point contributing to the collapse of the talks,” the Times reports, since “Trump wanted to be the dealmaker who would put the final parts together himself, or at least be perceived to be.”

Trump’s disclosure of the failed summit “surprised not only many national security officials across the government but even some of the few who were part of the deliberations,” the Times reports, and several officials said “there was no reason for Mr. Trump to reveal what had happened.” A senior administration official told the Post that Trump decided to unveil the talks “to control the narrative.” Why he felt he had to do that is unclear, but the narrative was not well-received — inviting the Taliban to Camp David the week of 9/11 earned rare bipartisan condemnation.