| | | | By Eugene Daniels, Rachael Bade and Ryan Lizza | Presented by | | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | | DRIVING THE DAY | | HOW TRUMP WINS — A new Scripps News/Ipsos poll out this morning finds broad support for the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. The details: “A majority of Republicans (86%) support mass deportations, as do a quarter of Democrats (25%). Overall, 54% of voters support the policy proposal, while 42% oppose it. … A third of Americans view securing the U.S.-Mexico border as the country’s top immigration priority.” WILD STUFF — “Hezbollah exploding pager trail runs from Taiwan to Budapest,” by Reuters’ Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily
| Pressed on topics ranging from abortion rights and gun control to the war in Gaza, VP Kamala Harris did not stray far from her talking points. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo | RACE TO THE FINISH — VP KAMALA HARRIS yesterday sat for her most extensive interview since becoming the Democratic nominee for president, taking questions for nearly an hour from members of the National Association of Black Journalists — including one of your Playbook authors. On the surface, the Q&A was most notable for, well, its lack of headline news. Pressed on topics ranging from abortion rights and gun control to the war in Gaza, Harris “did not break much ground or stray far from her talking points,” as our colleagues Holly Otterbein, Lauren Egan and Brittany Gibson write. She did speak briefly about a conversation she’d just had with her rival, DONALD TRUMP, about the second attempt on his life. And she spoke from the heart, as she has previously, about the importance of restoring Roe v. Wade and securing a cease-fire in Gaza. Harris otherwise resisted efforts to pin her down on key subjects, even growing testy at a couple of points at being interrupted when she lapsed into stump-speech talking points. She wouldn’t say, for instance, if she would expand abortion rights beyond the parameters of Roe or identify any particular policy where she would differ from President JOE BIDEN on Gaza. But there was one subject, to our ears, where she was actually quite revealing yesterday: race. In a series of answers to questions touching on America’s racial divides, Harris sketched out her evolving approach to an issue that — let’s be honest — is especially fraught for Black politicians. And that approach is becoming increasingly distinct from that of BARACK OBAMA, who deployed soaring calls for unity in 2008, or even Harris’ past self. Back during her last presidential run, candidate Harris made tackling racial injustice a centerpiece of her campaign. She famously sparred on a debate stage with Biden on the subject, confronting him over his praise for segregationist senators and past opposition to school busing. Presidential nominee Harris, on the other hand, isn’t going out of her way to be a lightning rod on race. But she also made clear at several points yesterday that she isn’t going to shy away from the subject. — Asked about her economic message to Black men, a group where Trump is hoping to make electoral inroads, Harris delivered a meaty answer on her plans to promote entrepreneurship and reduce personal debate — but not before delivering a stark admonition. “I think it's very important to not operate from the assumption that Black men are in anybody's pocket,” Harris said. “Black men are like any other voting group. You've got to earn their vote. So I'm working to earn the vote, not assuming I'm going to have it because I am Black, but because the policies and the perspective that I have understands what we must do to recognize the needs of all communities. And I intend to be a president for all people.” Being a “president for all people” is a theme Harris has hit consistently — including on the debate stage with Trump — but this was an unusually explicit nod to the frequently-heard criticism that Democrats take Black votes for granted, popping up in their neighborhoods come election time and then disappearing. It was a notable sentiment to lead off with, particularly in a room full of Black journalists — and one that was not entirely directed at a Black audience. — Harris was pressed for her views on reparations, specifically on her past support for H.R. 40, the bill famously promoted by the late Rep. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D-Texas) that would create a commission to study possible redress for the descendants of slaves. To be clear, she dodged the question, suggesting that it was up to Congress to figure out what should be done on the issue. (She also did not suggest, as Obama did, that the issue was a distraction.) But she prefaced that answer with a blast at politicians, she said, who have worked to erase both the trauma and contributions of Black Americans. "First of all, we just need to speak truth about history,” she said. “In spite of the fact that some people are trying to erase history and try and teach our children otherwise, we need to speak truth about the generational impact of our history, in terms of the generational impact of slavery, the generational impact of of redlining, of Jim Crow laws, I could go on and on.” — And in what was probably her most passionate answer of the interview, Harris took on the conspiracy theories that Republicans have amplified about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. She did so by connecting it to an “age-old” line of racist rhetoric. “It’s a crying shame, literally,” Harris said. “This is not new in terms of these tropes. This is not new in terms of where it's coming from. You cannot be entrusted with standing behind the seal of the president of the United States of America, engaging in that hateful rhetoric that, as usual, is designed to divide us as a country, is designed to have people pointing fingers at each other. It's designed to do that. And I think most people in our country, regardless of their race, are starting to see through this nonsense.” Harris did not engage with a question about whether some sort of federal response might be justified to support those in Springfield. But she made clear that federal leaders, in her view, have a responsibility to lead with their words, if not always their deeds. It was a pretty good summation of her approach to racial topics generally: speak candidly and avoid papering over the issues, but stay fuzzy on the policy specifics and avoid becoming a lightning rod on America’s most explosive issue. Good Wednesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | A message from Instagram: Introducing Instagram Teen Accounts with automatic protections for teens.
Starting in September, Instagram is launching Teen Accounts with built-in protections limiting who can contact teens and the content they can see. Plus, only parents can approve safety setting changes for teens under 16.
This means parents can have more peace of mind when it comes to protecting their teens.
Learn more. | | WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE HARRIS MEDIA TOUR — “Harris Campaign Says She Will Meet the Press (on Her Terms)” by NYT’s Reid Epstein and Michael Grynbaum: “To avoid taking chances, she has granted only six interviews in the 58 days since President Biden withdrew from the race, three with friendly radio hosts. … Her team says this is about to change, promising a series of appearances across an array of media venues, including local and national outlets, podcasts, radio stations and daytime talk shows.” WHAT TO WATCH WITH THE FED TODAY — “Fed Prepares to Lower Rates, With Size of First Cut in Doubt,” by WSJ’s Nick Timiraos: “The decision over whether to cut the Fed’s benchmark interest rate, currently at a two-decade high between 5.25% and 5.5%, by either a larger half percentage point or by a traditional quarter point will come down to how Chair JEROME POWELL leads his colleagues through a finely balanced set of considerations.” Related read: “As Fed is set to lower interest rates, concerns rise about Trump’s desire to influence future decisions,” by the Boston Globe’s Jim Puzzanghera
| | A message from Instagram: | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The Senate is in. The House will meet at 10 a.m. 3 things to watch … - FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The House Republican majority has had its stumbles, to be sure, but it has achieved distinction in one area: closed rules. According to Rules Committee Democrats, Republicans in the 118th Congress have now advanced 106 closed rules — that is, floor-management resolutions that restrict or eliminate amendments — breaking a previous record set under former Speaker PAUL RYAN. In total this Congress, less than one-third of offered floor amendments have been made in order for debate. In a statement first shared with Playbook, Rep. JIM McGOVERN (D-Mass.), the top Rules Democrat, called it a reflection of the House GOP’s “broken promises and empty rhetoric.” It’s also a reflection, we’ll note, of their struggles to control the floor with a single-digit majority.
- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The House will take its delayed vote later this afternoon on the six-month continuing resolution orchestrated by Speaker MIKE JOHNSON. If it goes down, as is expected, one reason will be the qualms of defense hawks — which were underscored in a letter Playbook has obtained from Joint Chiefs Chair CHARLES Q. BROWN. A long-term CR, Brown writes to House Armed Services leaders, would “significantly impact and degrade acquisition of the warfighting capability and capacity required to defend the United States and our interests” and create “detrimental impacts to readiness and modernization across the Joint Force.”
- We’re about 15 months away from the expiration of large parts of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and the battle over what will come next is well underway. Trump raised eyebrows yesterday with his promise to “get SALT back” — a reference to the state and local tax deduction he capped as president. But doing so would be quite costly, and GOP tax writers did not seem overly enthused by the suggestion yesterday. Also notable in the tax realm: Johnson told CNBC yesterday that he’s against a wholesale repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act, preferring to “use a scalpel and not a sledgehammer.”
At the White House Biden will receive the President’s Daily Brief in the morning. At 5 p.m., Biden will host a reception in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will brief at 1 p.m. Harris will deliver remarks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's 47th Annual Leadership Conference at 12:15 p.m. Later in the afternoon, Harris will participate in a virtual campaign event. On the trail Trump will hold a rally at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York at 7 p.m. Vance will deliver remarks in Raleigh, North Carolina at 3 p.m.
| | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | TRUMP CARDS
| AG Merrick Garland suggested yesterday that DOJ “could pursue more serious charges" than the two firearms violations facing Ryan Routh. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT FALLOUT — AG MERRICK GARLAND vowed yesterday to “spare no resource” in investigating the would-be assassination attempt against Trump, suggesting that DOJ “could pursue more serious charges than the two initial firearms violations” facing RYAN ROUTH, WSJ’s C. Ryan Barber and Katy Stech Ferek write. But, but, but: “Additional charges could present challenges for prosecutors since law-enforcement officials have said Routh never fired a shot or had Trump in his line of sight.” The second apparent attempt on Trump’s life, meanwhile, has “accentuated international concerns, raising fears of violent turmoil spiraling toward civil war,” NYT’s Roger Cohen reports. “There is now widespread concern across the globe that the November election will not end well and that American democracy, once a beacon to the world, has frayed to the breaking point.” And while golf has been a standard exercise for presidents for decades, “Trump’s approach to golf — including his frequency of play and his overt preferences for a handful of courses — has posed especially steep challenges for the Secret Service, which gets nervous when someone it guards settles into predictable patterns,” NYT’s Alan Blinder writes. Related reads: “Private Messages Reveal What the Accused Trump Gunman Did In Ukraine,” by Time’s Simon Shuster … “Violent threats and attacks escalate tensions in Trump-Harris race,” by WaPo’s Hannah Knowles and Hannah Allam … “Task force on Trump assassination attempts will probe second effort,” by the Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch and Emily Brooks More top reads:
- Trump’s legal team has “requested a 30-day extension to respond to the government’s appeal of U.S. District Judge AILEEN M. CANNON’s dismissal of his classified-documents case, making it less likely that a ruling on whether the indictment should be restored will come before Inauguration Day,” WaPo’s Perry Stein reports.
ALL POLITICS
| Sen. Jon Tester's (D-Mont.) race against GOP challenger Tim Sheehy has quickly moved in the wrong direction for Dems. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | TESTER IN TROUBLE — Democrats’ gambit to retain control of the Senate appears to hinge almost entirely on one man: incumbent Sen. JON TESTER. But his race against GOP challenger TIM SHEEHY has quickly moved in the wrong direction for Dems as Tester has fallen behind his opponent in poll after poll, Ursula Perano and Ally Mutnick report. With the situation seeming to worsen — including a decision yesterday by the Montana Supreme Court to keep Green Party candidate ROBERT BARB on the ballot — the race is raising uncomfortable questions for national Democrats trying to figure out how to hold the Senate. “How far should they go to protect someone in a state Trump won by 16 points in 2020? Should they mount a long-shot offense somewhere they haven’t been playing as much, like against Sens. TED CRUZ (R-Texas) or RICK SCOTT (R-Fla.)? Would some of that money be better spent shoring up the many other battleground seats they’re defending? The answer, for now, is to stay the course.” More top reads:
- Federal authorities are “investigating several suspicious pieces of mail sent to election officials in at least 11 states, some of which contained a questionable substance and led to building evacuations,” WaPo’s Maegan Vazquez and Amy Gardner report. One letter “says the sender is the ‘United States Traitor Elimination Army’ and has a return address originating in Maryland.”
- In Arizona, a Maricopa County election official “asked the state’s highest court Tuesday to prohibit nearly 100,000 longtime residents from voting in state and local races this fall after discovering that the state has no record of asking them for documents proving their U.S. citizenship,” WaPo’s Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Patrick Marley report from Phoenix.
- New York Republicans have “quietly built a seven-figure operation” to encourage early voting in key congressional districts, Bill Mahoney reports from Albany. “Rep. ELISE STEFANIK is leading that push, which mirrors GOP efforts in other battleground states. She’s committing at least $1 million to drive up early GOP turnout in an effort to boost five of her congressional colleagues and help elect two new ones.”
2024 WATCH JUST VANCE — Back in 2012, JD Vance “wrote a scathing rebuke of the Republican Party’s stance on migrants and minorities, criticizing it for being ‘openly hostile to non-whites’ and for alienating ‘Blacks, Latinos, [and] the youth.’ Four years later, as Vance considered a career in GOP politics, he asked a former college professor to delete the article,” CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski reports. His former professor, BRAD NELSON, “told CNN that during the 2016 Republican primary he agreed to delete the article at Vance’s request, so that Vance might have an easier time getting a job in Republican politics. However, the article, titled ‘A Blueprint for the GOP,’ remains viewable on the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.” Read Vance’s 2012 article Related read: “JD Vance Has Written About Scapegoating Before. Now He’s Putting Ideas into Practice,” by Ian Ward for POLITICO Magazine FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Building Back Together, Voto Latino Foundation and Vote to Live Foundation (the c3 arms of Voto Latino and Collective PAC, respectively) are launching two parallel six-figure educational campaigns to inform Black and Latino communities across the country about programs and actions the White House has taken to benefit those communities. The digital programming is a first-of-its-kind effort, providing a strategic alliance between two of the largest constituency-focused organizations for Latino and Black Americans. MUSK READ — America PAC, the ELON MUSK-backed group supporting Trump’s campaign, has “switched up its ground game in Arizona and Nevada,” NYT’s Teddy Schleifer reports. The super PAC “cut ties with the canvassing firm it hired to knock on hundreds of thousands of doors and turn out Republican voters.”
| | A message from Instagram: | | CONGRESS THE PRICE OF FREEDOM — Rep. ANDY HARRIS (R-Md.) is the new leader of the House Freedom Caucus after Arizona Rep. ANDY BIGGS, Harris’ only competition, bowed out of the race to succeed ousted Rep. BOB GOOD (R-Va.). Harris will serve as chair at least through the end of 2024, Jordain Carney and Olivia Beavers report. “Those who wanted Harris, an appropriator, viewed him as a new path forward for a caucus that has remained largely divided over which procedural tactics to use for leverage and when to use them.” MUSICAL CHAIRS — Sen. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-N.Y.) is maneuvering to succeed Sen. GARY PETERS (D-Mich.) as chair of the DSCC next cycle, Axios’ Stephen Neukam reports. “Gillibrand is known as a strong fundraiser with relationships in both New York and California, the two Democratic money hubs.” POLICY CORNER
| Lobbyist Andrew Kingman has in many ways reshaped American policy on a key tech issue.| Shuran Huang for POLITICO | UNDER THE INFLUENCE — Lobbyist ANDREW KINGMAN has in many ways reshaped American policy on a key tech issue — without ever setting foot on Capitol Hill, Alfred Ng reports. “As the State Privacy and Security Coalition’s counsel, Kingman represents companies that want to keep lax rules on how data can be collected and used” and his organization has lobbied “in at least 32 states looking to pass data privacy regulations. Kingman worked to block tougher regulations or support business-friendly laws in at least 22 of those, a POLITICO review of public records and interviews with state lawmakers found. “His playbook illustrates an irony of modern American policymaking: As energy shifts to state legislatures — which have often been called “laboratories of democracy” — a sophisticated lobbying operation can create a default national standard by pushing a consistent message, one state at a time.” THE FUTURE IS NOW — POLITICO hosted the AI & Tech Summit yesterday, convening leaders in the space to talk about American leadership, security and democracy. Here’s a few highlights from the discussions:
- Sen. MIKE ROUNDS (R-Idaho) identified the energy supply as one of the most crucial challenges facing American dominance in artificial intelligence — calling the energy race for AI something that “could shut everything down” if the U.S. doesn’t get it right, Mohar Chatterjee writes.
- Sen. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-Minn.), who is the lead sponsor of legislation that would ban AI-generated deep fakes of candidates and require disclaimers on political ads made with AI, expressed frustration that her bills stalled ahead of November’s election and warned of “rampant bad behavior” ahead, per Brendan Bordelon.
- ARATI PRABHAKAR, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, warned about the development of artificial intelligence being overly concentrated among the biggest tech companies. More from Christine Mui
MEDIAWATCH BURN NOTICE — The latest season of Slate’s “Slow Burn” podcast is launching today, with the series focusing on “The Rise of Fox News.” The first episode, titled “We Report. You Can Suck It,” is live, with host Josh Levin “exploring how Fox News went from bumbling to seemingly invincible.” The season will feature six episodes, with new episodes released on Wednesdays. Listen to the first episode
| | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Jimmy Carter is “looking forward to celebrating his birthday,” according to grandson Jason Carter. John Kennedy wouldn’t take no for an answer. Mike Johnson pulled out his Trump impression again. Jane Fonda is putting in the footwork for Kamala Harris in Michigan. OUT AND ABOUT — Bradley Tusk hosted a party at his SoHo apartment in Manhattan yesterday evening to celebrate the publishing of his third book, “Vote with Your Phone: Why Mobile Voting is Our Final Shot at Saving Democracy,” ($17.99) where guests sipped cocktails and dined on tacos. SPOTTED: Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner, Alisyn Camerota, Liz Claman, Molly Jong-Fast, Jeff Coltin and Preet Bharara. — The National Turkey Federation hosted its Turkey Meat and Greet Congressional Reception at the American Legion Hall yesterday. SPOTTED: Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Reps. Carol Miller (R-W.Va.) and Brad Finstad (R-Minn.), John Zimmerman, Leslee Oden, Dale Nellor, Alex Davidson, Lindy Chiaia and Damon Wells. — Joel & Dana Wood’s Foundation to Eradicate Duchenne hosted its 24th Annual Dining Away Duchenne at Eastern Market last night. The celebrity dine-around event raised over $640,000 for research into treatments for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and honored Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.). SPOTTED: Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Reps. Brian Babin (R-Texas), Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), Tim Kennedy (D-N.Y.), Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), Young Kim (R-Calif.), David Kustoff (R-Tenn.), Monica De La Cruz (R-Texas) and Brandon Williams (R-N.Y.). MEDIA MOVE — Katie Davies is returning to the DailyMail.com as the first female editor-in-chief of the site based in New York, where she will oversee the U.S. newsroom. She most recently was U.S. editor of The Times and Sunday Times. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — April Mellody is joining TechNet as its first SVP of comms. She most recently was CEO and founder of Ballina Strategic Communications, and is a longtime Democratic spokesperson. TRANSITIONS — Dabney Hegg is joining Cornerstone Government Affairs’ federal government relations team. She previously was staff director of the Senate Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee. … Danielle Lance is now an account executive at Renegade DC. She previously was a senior publicist at Regnery Publishing. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) (7-0) … Scott MacFarlane … former HUD Secretary Ben Carson … Bakari Sellers (4-0) … WaPo’s Griff Witte and Desmond Butler … Carly Lindgren … Darryl Fears … Jeff Sadosky of Applecart … Katrina Bishop … Chris Lucas … Joan Walsh of The Nation … Jackie Calmes of the L.A. Times … Luis Navarro … Safiya Ghori-Ahmad … Jess Morales Rocketto … Jala McFadden … Dayna Cade … Daniel Burnett … Erin Buechel Wieczorek of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency … Adam Keiper … Angela Flood of AFK Strategies … former Reps. Steve Watkins (R-Kan.), Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio) (4-0) and John Tierney (D-Mass.) … Andrew Church … POLITICO’s Emmy Martin … Carrie Hebert … Trevor Houser of Rhodium Group … Sara Haines … Natural Product Association’s Kyle Turk … Brooke Ainslie of the Herald Group … Rachel Irwin … Laura Hernandez-Smith of Rokk Solutions Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
| | A message from Instagram: Introducing Instagram Teen Accounts: a new experience for teens, guided by parents.
Starting in September, Instagram is launching Teen Accounts with built-in protections limiting who can contact teens and the content they can see. Plus, only parents can approve safety setting changes for teens under 16.
So parents can have more peace of mind when it comes to protecting their teens.
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