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By Ali Bianco |
Presented by JPMorganChase |
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THE CATCH-UP |
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Reporters hoping for an extended introduction to Trump’s new chief spokesperson, White House press secretary Katie Zacharia, got a short one. | Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP |
Two stalwart MAGA women were under the spotlight at the White House today — for very different reasons. By the close of the morning, only one was still standing. What began with the highly anticipated introduction of Katie Zacharia as the new White House press secretary, quickly took a turn when Zacharia called for the resignation of U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, who shortly after announced she would step down from her post amid a string of bad headlines that have incensed President Donald Trump. Guilfoyle’s exit comes on the heels of reports of her urging a donor to help settle $100,000 of credit card debit in exchange for White House access — committing one of Trump’s cardinal sins for his inner circle: trying to make money off his name. One person close to Trump called it “not shocking whatsoever” and that they were waiting for another proverbial shoe to drop, as Playbook reported this morning. Guilfoyle called the allegations “false” in her resignation announcement, adding she would “vigorously” defend her name. Her lawyers have disputed the authenticity of the messages reported by the WSJ. But the episode had already raised red flags in the West Wing, where Trump told reporters just yesterday he was “not happy.” This morning, Trump underscored his frustration. “She I guess dated my son a long time ago,” the president told reporters. “She was doing a good job, but we didn’t like what we were reading.” It’s a stunning fall for Guilfoyle — who was at one time engaged to Donald Trump Jr. — and who was among MAGA’s most recognizable faces as a former Fox News host and surrogate on the 2020 campaign trail. The hammer dropped on Guilfoyle just as Zacharia held her first White House briefing, where her call for Guilfoyle to step down drew audible gasps from reporters in the room. “She has been a wonderful asset to the team and we wish her well,” Zacharia said. But Zacharia’s opening performance was otherwise dominated by a lengthy recitation of Trump’s accomplishments and upcoming midterm campaign stops. The other piece of news she dropped was that Trump is heading to Kentucky on Saturday for a campaign rally next door to battleground Ohio. Reporters hoping for an extended introduction to Trump’s new chief spokesperson got a short one, POLITICO White House reporter Ben Johansen, who was in the room, writes in to Playbook. Zacharia’s debut offered an early glimpse at how she might approach a job her predecessor, Karoline Leavitt, left in August: heavy on promoting the president’s agenda, lighter on taking questions from the press corps. “I want to thank President Trump for his trust that he has placed in me,” she told reporters. “I have wanted to work for him for a very long time.” Zacharia wrapped up after roughly 15 minutes, taking questions from just three outlets — Breitbart, which occupied the administration’s designated new media seat, Fox News and the Daily Mail — before directing reporters to ask Trump himself their remaining questions as he departed for Alaska. Leavitt’s first White House briefing lasted over 45 minutes, where she took her first two questions from new media before turning to more established outlets. Zacharia’s rise to be one of the Trump admin’s top figureheads also came in part from her own spins as a media personality on Fox News. Zacharia checked Trump’s schedule and planned her on-air appearances accordingly, and she’s been “well regarded in the White House,” as Playbook reported this morning. But the clock is ticking now for Zacharia too, both in her ability to step into Leavitt’s confident shoes and how she handles what increasingly looks like a brutal midterm environment for Republicans. Zacharia also offered a revealing description of how she views her new job, Ben writes in: “amplify, multiply and expand upon President Trump’s incredible agenda.” Good Tuesday afternoon. This is Ali Bianco. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at abianco@politico.com.
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6 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW |
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1. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — State of the governor’s map: The DGA is making a big bet that they can take 26 governor’s mansions across a slate of states Trump won in 2024 — but they are cash-strapped, being drastically outspent and need $20 million more to cross the finish line, the group warns in a memo shared first with Playbook. The memo penned by the group’s executive director, Meghan Meehan-Draper, offers a rare look at where the organization has spent its campaign dollars and leaves the door open to more investments in key red-state races. It comes as the group and its chair, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, have come under fire over their spending moves — especially in possible flip opportunities like Texas. Read the memo
- The spending: DGA has put at least $10 million each into Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin’s races — and it’s dropped seven figures in Alaska, Kansas and Texas. Texas in particular has stirred controversy, but the group confirmed to Playbook they’re investing $1 million in Democrat Gina Hinojosa’s campaign. DGA is also leaving the door open to investing in states like Florida, Oklahoma and Nebraska, which have drawn more attention in the election’s final stretch.
- The big prizes: The group is heavily touting the over $37 million investment in Black candidates, including Georgia’s Keisha Lance Bottoms, Wisconsin’s David Crowley and Nevada’s Aaron Ford. It’s also spent $5.5 million on Spanish-language ads in Nevada and Arizona, “two perennial toss-up states” heavy on Latino voters.
- The quiet part out loud: The memo outlines spending from the GOP, which has over $100 million in states like Ohio and Georgia, plus massive GOP groups like Turning Point in Arizona that are going all-in on the statewide contest. DGA calls out the “significant challenge” of raising national money within the Democratic Party for statewide elections, saying “a large gap still remains” and calling on a “late surge in investments totaling at least $20 million.”
2. THE RISING AND FALLING MAP: The DCCC expanded its target list yet again, just three weeks out from Election Day, going on the air with coordinated spending in four more districts, POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill scoops. The move is part of $13 million in ads launching this week across nearly 40 races. The new districts include Florida’s newly redrawn 22nd District, Maine’s 2nd District, New Jersey’s swingy 7th District and Texas’ redrawn 35th District. On the Senate side, Senate Majority PAC — Senate Dems’ main group — is pulling some spending from Georgia and North Carolina. Over in the GOP: As the DCCC drops in money to New Jersey’s 7th, the GOP is pulling out. Top super PACs tied to Trump and congressional Republicans are cutting off support and canceling remaining ad bookings for Rep. Tom Kean Jr., as well as Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks over in Iowa, NYT’s Shane Goldmacher reports. The money from the triage is being spent across 16 other districts. On the ground: In Ohio, The Columbus Dispatch’s Jessie Balmert has a look at the third party candidates, like Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Don Kissick, that could eat into the margins in the state’s closest races. And in Kentucky, Republican Ed Gallrein has some bridges to mend after a vicious primary to replace Rep. Thomas Massie, the Louisville Courier Journal’s Keely Doll writes. 3. BRAVE NEW WORLD: A new super PAC, Tomorrow Together, by two longtime Dem operatives, Rob Flaherty and Karthik Ganapathy, is launching their first ad campaign as they look to get Democrats a winning message on AI, POLITICO’s Cheyenne Haslett and Brendan Bordelon scoop. They’re spending $4 million across four House races tying Republicans to the AI lobby — including PA-07, AZ-06, WI-03 and MI-07. More from Decoded by POLITICO |
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4. DISAPPEARING ACT: Yet another GOP campaign has scrubbed some mentions of the president from their campaign website — but this time, it’s Sen. Mike Rounds’ (R-S.D.) reelection bid in deep-red South Dakota, Fox News’ Alex Miller reports. Several mentions of Trump that were on his website last month have been removed, though Rounds’ campaign told Fox that the “president’s endorsement is still front and center.” 5. WAR REPORT: The threats from Iran are only ramping up as the possibility of renewed attacks after the midterm elections widens. Iran has been fortifying its defense systems, rallying loyalists and threatening a bigger response to attacks, warning their allies privately that they’ll further expand the conflict in the Middle East if they’re hit with new strikes, WSJ’s Benoit Faucon reports. The head of Britain’s domestic intelligence service is also warning that Iran is shifting its focus to bigger targets, WaPo’s Greg Miller reports. Also worrying Europe: Trump’s deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel and possibly ease high prices. European and British officials were surprised at the announcement, and left them in a familiar quagmire of trying to stand by Ukraine while also not risking Trump’s wrath, NYT’s Michael Shear and Jeanna Smialek report. 6. DOGE DAYS ARE OVER: The Supreme Court agreed to hear oral arguments in a watchdog lawsuit looking to gain access to public records on Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, per AP’s Michael Kunzelman. It’s the second time the high court will rule in this case, after they reined in a district court order for the government to hand over the records.
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TALK OF THE TOWN |
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BET ON IT — “The FTC Is Beginning to Probe the Sports Gambling Industry,” by The Washington Sun’s Jeff Stein: FTC officials “are probing the $167 billion online sports gambling industry, which has been celebrated by the White House but faces mounting skepticism from some conservative activists. The FTC’s interest in online sports gambling is expected to focus on online sportsbooks such as FanDuel and DraftKings — probably on allegations of deceptive and misleading advertisements … The review, which has not been previously reported, is not expected to include the ‘prediction markets’ such as Kalshi and Polymarket.” SPORTS BLINK — “FIFA’s Trump Tower Deal: 7 Years, $4 Million, One Mostly Unused Office,” by NYT’s Tariq Panja: “FIFA held a splashy opening for its latest office, a 17th-floor suite in Trump Tower. President Trump’s son Eric Trump said his family’s organization was ‘honored’ to host the global soccer body. FIFA signed a more than seven-year lease, worth about $4 million … The deal offers another example of how FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, sought closer ties to President Trump ahead of the 2026 World Cup, despite pushback from senior soccer officials.” HERE COMES ANOTHER PODCAST — Hillary Clinton is launching a new podcast series, called “High Stakes,” with tech journalist Kara Swisher, per NYT’s Ben Mullin. The podcast, launching with Vox Media, will kick off weekly episodes tomorrow. TRANSITIONS — Maddie Kriger has joined Tomorrow Together and Tomorrow Together Action as chief program officer. Kriger is an alum of the paid media teams on the Obama and Clinton campaigns, Priorities USA and Climate Power. … Ian Watson has joined Red Queen Bio PBC, the AI biosecurity company, as chief government affairs officer. He most recently served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense. … Ari Geller and Maia Shani have joined Israel Policy Forum as chief comms officer and comms associate, respectively. Geller previously worked at West End Strategy Team and Shani previously worked at Mllnnl Agency. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editors Giuseppe Macri, Garrett Ross and Kyler Alvord.
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