| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels | | Presented by Zelle® | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | MALE CALL — “Both Parties Are Getting Men Wrong,” by Richard V. Reeves for POLITICO Mag: “There is a real political opportunity right now for a party to craft an agenda that speaks to men — and addresses their real problems.”
|  Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event at Washington Crossing Historic Park, Oct. 16, 2024, in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania. | Jacquelyn Martin/AP | HARRIS’ FOX TEST — Since she replaced President JOE BIDEN atop the ticket, the most pervasive knock on VP KAMALA HARRIS has been that she’s too buttoned up, employing a risk-averse strategy that hews toward friendly interviewers who lob softball questions and don’t challenge her enough. After her Fox News sitdown with BRET BAIER last night, you can forget that. There are 19 days left in the election. And with no debate and DONALD TRUMP playing it safe, Harris is showing that she understands she needs to take more risks in order to control her campaign narrative — and, despite some hiccups, she managed to do that. Yes, there was something of an ink-blot quality to the interview: Republicans thought it was a disaster for her (see Trump’s own reaction), and Democrats thought it was a pugilistic triumph. But set aside those knee-jerk responses, and you can see the bigger truth: This was a snapshot of a presidential candidate who knows she has work to do to close the deal, and is willing to take chances, play aggressively and, frankly, get comfortable with the street-fight mentality she’ll need to eke out a win. As NYT’s Michael Grynbaum wrote last night: “Harris may not get another debate with former President Donald J.Trump, but on Wednesday, she got one with Bret Baier.” Gone was the friendly chit-chat about workout routines and music preferences. Baier hit Harris with some of the toughest questioning we’ve seen this cycle, including:
- When she noticed that Biden was mentally “diminished.”
- Whether she thought Trump’s supporters were “stupid.”
- How many immigrants she thinks have entered the country illegally under the Biden administration.
- Whether she wants to apologize to the parents of a 12-year-old who was murdered by undocumented migrants.
But Harris came ready to rumble. She fairly smoothly responded to all of the above — even if she didn’t always answer his questions outright. She asserted herself as Baier frequently interrupted her (“ But I’m not finished” … “I was beginning to answer” … “May I finish responding, please?”). She pivoted to attacking Trump on the right-leaning network that rarely broadcasts such criticism, emphasizing, for instance, all the former Trump administration officials who say he’s too dangerous to lead again. And she got her points across to Republican viewers — some of whom she’ll need as part of her electoral coalition — even if most won’t agree with her. And she landed some blows. One of her strongest moments came when she took Baier to task for playing a watered-down version of Trump’s recent comments threatening to sic the U.S. military on his political foes. Baier instead played a clip of Trump cleaning up the comments at the Fox News town hall that had aired earlier in the day: “I’m not threatening anybody. They’re the ones doing the threatening.” Harris wasn’t having it. “Bret, I’m sorry, and with all due respect, that clip was not what he has been saying about the ‘enemy within,’” she said, before delivering a fiery answer about Trump’s proposal to start “locking people up because they disagree with him.” Yes, there were plenty of tough questions that exposed Harris’ weak spots.
- She ducked inquiries about giving taxpayer-funded benefits to undocumented immigrants — as, Baier noted, running mate TIM WALZ had as governor.
- She refused to say if she had “regrets” for ending Trump’s “remain in Mexico” policy at the beginning of the Biden administration.
- She defended Biden’s fitness for office when Baier pressed her on the president’s ability to do his job — then quickly pivoted.
- And while some Democrats cheered that Harris finally answered a question about how she’d be different from Biden, she was pretty damn vague about it. (“I, for example, am someone who has not spent the majority of my career in Washington, D.C.”)
But even in difficult moments, Harris found a landing. When Baier played clips of Americans whose loved ones had been killed by an illegal immigrant and asked the VP whether she owed those families an apology, Harris showed empathy and admitted that illegal immigration was a big problem before pivoting to Trump: “But let’s talk about … an individual who does not want to participate into solutions.” She also found a response to the flurry of GOP attacks on transgender issues — with the help of a just-breaking scoop from NYT’s Glenn Thrush about Trump’s own administration had allowed gender-affirming care for federal prison inmates. That teed up her accusation that Republicans are spending millions to create a sense of fear over a secondary issue because Trump has no plan to meet the needs of the American people. Needless to say, the Harris folks are happy. “Constant interruptions and 20 straight minutes of attempted Fox-style gotchas, and she schooled him, shut him down, and got hits in that Fox’s audience literally never gets to hear,” one person close to Harris texted us last night. Baier, on the other hand, seemed frustrated. “I tried to redirect numerous times without interrupting too much, but at some point, you kind of have to redirect to get back in the game,” he said on Fox News after the interview aired. Good Thursday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels.
| | | | A message from Zelle®: Millions of people already count on Zelle® to send and receive money. And our impact doesn't stop there. We're helping users spot scams and fraud. Take Safety 101. | | | MEANWHILE … Across the country, in Doral, Florida, we saw a slightly different version of Trump at the Univision town hall with undecided Hispanic voters — one who did not once mention his plan to enact mass deportations and suggested that he instead wants more immigrants to come to the U.S. (We’re betting that’s news to STEPHEN MILLER.) When a California farmworker described the hard labor of picking strawberries and broccoli and asked Trump who would do the job if most of the primarily undocumented workforce was deported, Trump dodged a bit. He first blasted migrants who are “terrorists” and “murderers,” claimed some of them are from “mental institutions” and suggested that once here, they take the jobs of Black and Hispanic Americans. Then he said he wants more immigration, just through the appropriate legal channels. ”I want them in even more than you do, and we’re going to make it so that people can come into our country legally,” he said. But at other times, it was unvarnished Trump. When a former supporter told the candidate he’d lost his vote over Jan. 6 but wanted to give the former president a chance to earn it back, Trump defended his actions that day. “You had hundreds of thousands of people come to Washington. They didn’t come because of me; they came because of the election,” Trump said. “Some of those people went down to the Capitol — I said, ‘Peacefully and patriotically.’ Nothing done wrong at all, nothing done wrong. … ASHLI BABBITT was killed. Nobody was killed. There were no guns down there; we didn’t have guns — the others had guns, but we didn’t have guns. … But that was a day of love.” Video of that remarkable exchange At another point, when a different registered Republican asked Trump if he really believed the false claim that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, were eating pets, he suggested that “I was just saying what was reported.” The stepback: Some observers may be flummoxed at how Trump can have any pull with Hispanic voters after a performance like last night’s. But keep in mind that he’s successfully wooing a not-insignificant chunk of Hispanic men away from Harris.
| | | | A message from Zelle®:   Over 40 million Americans saw our safety education content in 2023. Can you spot the payment scam? Explore our tips to find out: https://www.zellepay.com/safety-education | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The Senate and the House are out. What we’re watching … We’re less than two weeks from the release of perhaps the year’s most anticipated political book, “The Price of Power” ($32.50), Michael Tackett’s biography of MITCH McCONNELL — and Tackett’s AP colleague Mary Clare Jalonick has exclusive excerpts this morning. They largely focus on private comments McConnell made over the years about Trump — the man who ended up redefining the Kentuckian’s career and becoming his indelible partner in history, for better or worse. McConnell called Trump “despicable,” “ill-tempered” and “not very smart, irascible, nasty” at various points before and after the 2021 Capitol attack. “In 2022, as Trump continued to criticize him and made racist comments about his wife, former Transportation Secretary ELAINE CHAO, McConnell told Tackett that ‘I can’t think of anybody I’d rather be criticized by than this sleazeball,’” Jalonick writes. Yet not even two years later, McConnell again found himself endorsing Trump. Tackett’s conclusion: “It was the price he paid for power.” At the White House Biden will leave the White House this morning to travel to Berlin. On the trail Harris will travel through Milwaukee, La Crosse and Green Bay, Wisconsin, stopping by a college business class and then holding two rallies. In the evening, she’ll head to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Sen. JD VANCE (R-Ohio) will speak in Pittsburgh at 12:30 p.m.
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Former President Donald Trump speaks during a Univision town hall, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024, in Doral, Florida. | Alex Brandon/AP | MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO GEORGIA — Trump is looking stronger lately in the Peach State, due in part to eating into Democrats’ margins with Black men, Natalie Allison reports this morning from Albany. She finds plenty of voters — even former Biden supporters, BILL CLINTON event attendees and Creole-speaking Haitian door-knockers — drifting toward the former president. Though many of them don’t love Trump’s controversies, they variously cite the economy, immigration, abortion, his attitude and sometimes a conspiracy mindset about his opponents. The latest Quinnipiac poll bears out that Georgia might be strong for Trump: He leads by 7 points, even as Harris claims a 2-point advantage in nearby North Carolina. But Trump allies suffered a notable loss as a judge struck down seven of their new election rules yesterday, the second day in a row that the state election board’s Republicans were swatted down in court, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Mark Niesse reports. Judge THOMAS COX JR. excoriated the rules — including hand counts, certification requirements and more room for partisan poll watchers — as “ILLEGAL, UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND VOID.” Regardless, the second day of early voting continued to break records yesterday, per ABC, and 100-year-old JIMMY CARTER was confirmed to have reached his goal of getting to cast his vote, per the AJC. In Macon, the Boston Globe’s Jim Puzzanghera finds that election officials are better prepared to handle disruptions and ensure a smooth vote than in 2020. CASH DASH — With a deluge of campaign finance reports getting filed, here are some takeaways that jumped out to us yesterday: Trump’s numbers softened as his legal troubles moved out of the news, per Jessica Piper. He got $5 million last quarter in cryptocurrency, per WSJ’s Caitlin Ostroff and Vicky Ge Huang. … ERIC HOVDE and Sen. RICK SCOTT (R-Fla.) have plowed huge amounts of their own money into their campaigns, but the GOP’s other wealthy Senate recruits have been stingier, per Ally Mutnick. … Democrats are way outpacing Republicans in House fundraising, with EUGENE VINDMAN leading the way, per Madison Fernandez. On the GOP side, KEVIN McCARTHY’s PAC has started to spend, per Lara Korte. RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE DEMOCRACY WATCH — “Right-wing activists pushed false claims about election fraud. Now they’re recruiting poll workers in swing states,” by Phoebe Petrovic for Wisconsin Watch and ProPublica IN TRANSITION — Under the radar, the Harris and Trump teams have begun transition planning that are characteristic of the candidates, AP’s Zeke Miller and Jill Colvin report: Harris’ process is very traditional, while Trump’s is more freewheeling and without standard federal support. HuffPost’s Paul Blumenthal and Kevin Robillard have a deep look at the moderate-vs.-progressive battle that will take place over economic policy staffing if Harris wins — with both sides uncertain about which direction she’ll take. And new reporting from NOTUS’ Jasmine Wright gets specific about some of the early conversations in Harris world: BRIAN DEESE wants FTC Chair LINA KHAN to stay. KAREN DUNN is interested in White House counsel. Sen. CHRIS COONS (D-Del.) wants to be secretary of State. JEFF ZIENTS is in the mix for Treasury secretary. And New York Gov. KATHY HOCHUL has expressed interest in a position (though her spokesperson denies this). YIKES — AARON KOFSKY, a leading financial policy adviser to Vance, posted for more than a decade on Reddit about using hard drugs and sneaking them through airport security, Wired’s Makena Kelly reveals. He also once called Vance a “Trump boot licker.” Kofsky told Wired that he previously “struggled with drug use,” regretted his comments and has moved on in his life. RACE FOR THE HOUSE GOP CONCERNS — CNN’s Sarah Ferris has a dishy piece about Republicans struggling to keep up with the Democratic money gusher in key House races. Among the details: Republicans think Reps. BRANDON WILLIAMS (R-N.Y.), JOHN DUARTE (R-Calif.) and LORI CHAVEZ-DeREMER (R-Ore.) will probably lose, with Reps. MIKE GARCIA (R-Calif.) and MARC MOLINARO (R.N.Y.) also in trouble. And “it’s the Democrats’ cash advantage that’s keeping them up at night.” On the flip side: Trump’s electoral strength and growing Latino support are giving Republicans optimism in some Western districts. Dems are especially worried about Rep. YADIRA CARAVEO (D-Colo.). WHAT ABOUT BOB — Both Rep. TOM KEAN JR. (R-N.J.) and Democratic challenger SUE ALTMAN are highlighting the scandals of Sen. BOB MENENDEZ (D-N.J.) and casting themselves as ethics champions in a tight race, Daniel Han reports. RACE FOR THE SENATE HEADS UP — “Arizona Supreme Court rejects Ruben and Kate Gallego's bid to keep divorce files closed,” by the Arizona Republic’s Ronald Hansen POLL POSITION FIRST IN POLITICO — Harris and Trump are virtually tied in Pennsylvania, while she’s ahead in New Hampshire, according to new polls from UMass Lowell/YouGov that Lisa Kashinsky got an early look at. Harris leads Trump in Pennsylvania, 46 percent to 45 percent, while Democratic Sen. BOB CASEY leads GOP challenger DAVE McCORMICK, 48 percent to 39 percent. Harris is ahead, 50 percent to 41 percent, in New Hampshire. But Republican KELLY AYOTTE has a slight edge in the governor’s race, with 42 percent to Democrat JOYCE CRAIG’s 41 percent. The Pennsylvania poll … The New Hampshire poll FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — A new internal poll for the NRCC and Rep. MICHELLE STEEL’s (R-Calif.) campaign finds her leading Democrat DEREK TRAN, 45 percent to 41 percent. She has the lead, and a net favorable rating, despite Harris leading Trump by 4 points in the district. The American Viewpoint survey of 400 voters has a margin of error of 4.9 percent. Full set of swing states: Redfield & Wilton Strategies finds Trump +2 in Arizona and North Carolina, Harris +1 in Wisconsin, and ties across Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania. National: Trump +2, per Fox News, even as Harris surprisingly leads by 6 among the seven swing states. Harris +1, per Marquette. Harris +3, per Reuters/Ipsos. Harris +3, per Fairleigh Dickinson . Harris +3, per The Economist/YouGov. Harris +4, per TIPP. … New Jersey: Kean +2, per Monmouth. North Carolina: An internal poll for Democratic Rep. DON DAVIS has him leading by 11.
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|  Smoke from an Israeli bombardment rises from the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Oct. 16, 2024. | Tsafrir Abayov/AP | MIDDLE EAST LATEST — The Biden administration is stepping up its pressure on Israel this week, from retaliation against Iran to humanitarian assistance in Gaza, Nahal Toosi and Robbie Gramer report . U.S. officials say the new urgency is not tied to the election, though of course progress toward peace could help Harris — and the administration wants to fight perceptions that it’s largely powerless to sway Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU. The unusually sharp warning over Palestinians’ hunger crisis was part of a carrot-and-stick approach, Reuters’ Phil Stewart and Jonathan Landay note. And Israel told the U.S. that it will improve the humanitarian situation quickly, Axios’ Barak Ravid reports. The question looms of what Biden officials will do to make sure aid actually arrives and endures, NBC’s David Hodari and Erin McLaughlin write. There are limits to the leverage: Top U.S. official LISE GRANDE said in August that the U.S. wouldn’t suspend arms shipments to Israel over the humanitarian concerns, Erin Banco, Nahal and Robbie scooped. Speaking with rare candor in private, she told aid group leaders that Israel was too strong a U.S. ally for the administration to oppose or deny. More top reads:
- The stakes for November: Trump’s plans for massive tariffs would remake the world economy (to a degree that most Americans have yet to comprehend), WaPo’s Jeff Stein and David Lynch lay out in a wide-ranging story. The U.S. would likely return to a level of trade isolation akin to the late 1800s, prices would jump for imported goods, stocks would fall, and trade disputes would be significant throughout the world.
- The brave new world: NBC’s Brandy Zadrozny has a must-read X-ray examination of how Russian propaganda filters through the U.S. and reaches as far as Congress. In the past year, there have been at least 50 fake narratives launched, largely trying to undermine Ukraine but also to boost Trump and attack Harris.
TRUMP CARDS THE TRUMP TRIALS — There was a flurry of news yesterday across the former president’s various legal cases. Georgia: Fulton County DA FANI WILLIS has asked an appeals court to bring back several criminal charges that a judge tossed out against Trump and other defendants in the 2020 election subversion case, per the AJC’s Bill Rankin. Florida: Prosecutors JULIE EDELSTEIN and DAVID RASKIN have departed special counsel JACK SMITH’s office, NYT’s Devlin Barrett reports. Both had worked on the now-moribund classified documents case against Trump. Washington: Judge TANYA CHUTKAN rejected most of the Trump team’s requests for more evidence in the federal election interference case against him, NBC’s Ryan Reilly reports, and dismissed the idea that Trump’s concerns about the election were rooted in foreign interference. A new filing from Smith, meanwhile, responded to the Supreme Court’s Jan. 6 ruling in Fischer v. U.S., WaPo’s Spencer Hsu and Perry Stein report. Smith argued that even the high court’s narrower view of obstruction charges still applies to Trump.
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The United States Environmental Protection Agency building is seen on August 21, 2024 in Washington. | Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images | SCOTUS WATCH — The EPA won a major if temporary victory from the Supreme Court yesterday on a crucial climate change policy, per CBS’ Melissa Quinn . The Biden administration’s restriction on emissions from coal-fired power plants will be allowed to go into effect as the justices declined to block it on an emergency basis. The court’s conservative majority still could step in on a longer timeframe. Justice CLARENCE THOMAS was the only one to dissent yesterday, but Justice SAMUEL ALITO recused himself, and Justices BRETT KAVANAUGH and NEIL GORSUCH wrote separately that they think the rule’s opponents have “a strong likelihood of success.” (The rule could also be axed, of course, if Trump wins the White House.) Also heading to SCOTUS: ROBERT ROBERSON is due to be executed today unless the Supreme Court grants a last-minute reprieve, per The Texas Tribune’s Kayla Guo. Texas denied his appeal in the shaken baby case, but his supporters say junk science helped convict him. More top reads:
POLICY CORNER WHAT LINA KHAN IS UP TO — In a 3-2 party-line vote, the FTC signed off on a new rule forcing companies to make subscription/membership cancellations much simpler, WSJ’s Dave Michaels and Joseph Pisani report. HOT ON THE RIGHT — “Stealth Edit: FBI Quietly Revises Violent Crime Stats,” by RealClearInvestigations’ John Lott Jr.
| | PLAYBOOKERS | | Robin Kelly and Sara Jacobs are eyeing House leadership, JD Vance doesn’t need to be anything other. Bill Clinton had a slightly unusual tribute to Ethel Kennedy. James Dolan and Patrick Ewing donated to Eric Adams’ legal defense fund. Rufus Wainwright slammed Donald Trump for using his song. Angus King’s latest video is very Maine. PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — The Transportation Department has tentatively selected the airline routes that will get new slots at Reagan National. Travelers going to Las Vegas, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle are in luck. WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Amish Shah is now counsel at Ropes & Gray. He previously was senior associate White House counsel. TRANSITION — Doug Heye is joining Steward Redqueen as senior adviser. He’s a veteran GOP strategist and political commentator. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) … Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) … Bloomberg’s Peter Grauer and Angela Greiling Keane … Reuters’ Bo Erickson … POLITICO’s Myah Ward, Jordan Wolman and Amanda Britton … Kelly Misselwitz of Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-Minn.) office … Diana Hamilton of Senate Appropriations … TikTok’s Michael Beckerman … NASA’s Alicia Brown … Rich Thomas of Monument Advocacy … KFF Health News’ Julie Rovner … Martin Matishak … Ken Baer of Crosscut Strategies … John Monsif … former Reps. Gene Green (D-Texas), Virgil Goode (R-Va.) and Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) … Bill Steiger ... Matthew Hennessy of Tremont Public Advisors … Morgan O’Brien … former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory … Aspen Institute’s Josh Good … CNN’s Caroline Klein … NBC News PR’s Hartley Messer … Tia O’Malley of FTI Consulting … Katie Peterson of Merchant McIntyre Associates … Modesta Vžesniauskaitė 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. Correction: Yesterday’s Playbook misstated Dave McCormick’s party affiliation. He is a Republican.
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