Playbook PM: Trump heading north, with good economic news

Jun 05, 2020

By Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer, Garrett Ross and Eli Okun

Presented by

THE PRESIDENT LEAVES FOR MAINE this afternoon with good news: The economy added 2.5 million jobs, the unemployment rate dropped to 13.3% and the market is skyrocketing. OF COURSE, 13.3% of the country out of work is still quite grim. This is still higher than any pre-pandemic unemployment number since the 1940s. But this is the first positive movement the nation has had in months.

THE PRESIDENT took a victory lap at the White House this morning and suggested that GEORGE FLOYD, who died after being choked by a police officer, would approve of today's economic data.

"THIS IS BETTER THAN A 'V,' this is a rocket ship," TRUMP said, referring to the shape of the economic recovery. "Now the trajectory is great."

HE SAID HE HOPED "George is looking down right now, and saying, 'This is a great thing that's happening for our country.' This is a great day for him, it's a great day for everybody. … This is a great, great day in terms of equality."

OTHER TRUMP HIGHLIGHTS: "We made every decision correctly. … Today is, probably, the greatest comeback in American history."

NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES the president says he wants a payroll tax cut, it has next to no support on Capitol Hill. Could that change? Yes. Has it? No.

SENATE MINORITY LEADER CHUCK SCHUMER on the jobless rate on MSNBC: "It tells us that we still have a very long way to go. … My worry is these numbers will make the president and the Republican Senate complacent."

-- SCHUMER IS RIGHT: The jobs numbers today will likely delay another coronavirus stimulus package, or push lawmakers to be less aggressive.

-- THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATES for black and Asian American people ticked up slightly.

THE MARKET is rocking! The Dow was up 3.6% -- or roughly 930 points -- as of 1 p.m. … The S&P 500 was up 2.8% -- or roughly 88 points.

-- CNBC'S @carlquintanilla: "JUNE 5, 2019: S&P 500: 2826 … Unemployment rate: 3.5% … JUNE 5, 2020: S&P 500: 3112… Unemployment rate: 13.3%."

COTTON/NYT LATEST -- NYT'S @tripgabriel: "A.G. Sulzberger, NYT publisher, tells the staff the Cotton Op-Ed was 'contemptuous' in tone and should not have been published. In future, fact-checkers will be added to Op-Ed staff & fewer will be published."

-- BURGESS EVERETT (@burgessev): "Sen. Cotton's office sez: 'We originally approached the Times about possibly writing on a separate, but related topic. They countered with a piece on the Insurrection Act, which Senator Cotton had talked about on Monday during a television interview.'"

Happy Friday afternoon.

BREAKING … WSJ'S MICHAEL GORDON and GORDON LUBOLD: "Trump Directs U.S. Troop Reduction in Germany: The move would reduce the U.S. troop presence in Germany by 9,500"

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D.C. MAYOR MURIEL BOWSER announced this morning that she ended the state of emergency and sent TRUMP a letter requesting he remove "all extraordinary federal law enforcement and military presence" from the city. The letter … The city and local artists painted "BLACK LIVES MATTER" in giant letters on 16th Street near the White House. D.C. also renamed a section of the street Black Lives Matter Plaza. Video

-- SALT LAKE TRIBUNE'S THOMAS BURR: "What it's like for Utah National Guard troops deployed in D.C."

BACKSTORY -- "How Mattis reached his breaking point — and decided to speak out against Trump," by WaPo's Carol Leonnig and Dan Lamothe: "He was especially upset to see [Gen. Mark] Milley — whom Mattis believed had sought to curry favor with Trump when he was defense secretary — appear in his Army combat uniform at a peaceful demonstration. That jarring image highlighted the military's involvement in a heavy-handed crackdown on civilians. …

"Mattis's decision to thrust himself in the maw of the country's fraught politics — after long hovering on the sidelines — grew out of his ongoing concern about the Defense Department's independence … His former colleagues still serving in the military had warned him in recent months about Trump's sway over its leadership. Some told him that [Secretary Mark] Esper had been dubbed 'Yesper' by some in the Pentagon because he seemed unable to say no to the president. And they said they believed Milley was effectively running the department by talking to Trump directly." WaPo

NEW, via CNN's KAITLAN COLLINS, on Anthony Scaramucci's podcast: "Former chief of staff John Kelly says he agrees with Mattis. 'I think we need to look harder at who we elect. I think we should look at people that are running for office and put them through the filter: What is their character like? What are their ethics?'"

PROTEST IMPACT -- "Democrats Push for New Criminal Justice Measures in Party Platform," by WSJ's Tarini Parti: "Some members who have been appointed by DNC Chairman Tom Perez say including new restrictions on police will be a top priority that they will want the presumptive presidential nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden, and other Democratic candidates to adopt. …

"[Bakari] Sellers and others on the platform committee said they also want racial disparities to be part of platform discussions on the economy, health care and the environment." WSJ

-- CNBC: "George Floyd protests created a surge in voter registrations, groups say," by Brian Schwartz: "The efforts are by groups including Latino voter registration organizations, Rock the Vote and one co-chaired by former first lady Michelle Obama. Latino voter registration groups in recent weeks have noticed an uptick in their communities mobilization to vote, particularly from younger voters. …

"Maria Teresa Kumar, CEO of [Voto Latino], told CNBC the group has already surpassed its June goal of registering 20,000 people, including in the key states of Arizona and Texas, and is expected to have 50,000 Latino youth registered by Sunday. … Carolyn DeWitt, [Rock the Vote's] CEO, told CNBC that since Monday, it has seen over 50,000 new voters." CNBC

THIS MONDAY 9 a.m. EDT – "INSIDE THE RECOVERY" PART II: PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH LEE SAUNDERS, HEAD OF AFSCME: Join POLITICO Playbook co-authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman for a virtual interview with Lee Saunders, President, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees focused on how the union is navigating worker safety concerns around the coronavirus, what they believe is needed in a new relief package, and the importance of politics during a health, economic, and societal crisis. REGISTER HERE

BUSINESS BURST -- "Brooks Bros., 'Made in America' Since 1818, May Soon Need a New Calling Card: The clothing brand, which has dressed all but four U.S. presidents, could end up closing its three American factories as it navigates the pandemic," by NYT's Vanessa Friedman and Sapna Maheshwari

THE VACCINE RACE -- "In Race for Covid-19 Vaccine, China Tries for a Coup," by WSJ's Chao Deng: "The U.S. is home to the world's biggest and best-known pharmaceutical companies. But China is giving the U.S. a run for its money in the race to develop a vaccine for Covid-19—a feat that would instantly change the dynamics of the fight against the deadly virus, and the geopolitical competition between the U.S. and China.

"Beijing's government, including its military and several state-backed firms, has committed hundreds of millions of dollars and cleared regulatory barriers to accelerate research and development. Even before a front-runner is clear, domestic drug manufacturers have begun ramping up production capacity as leader Xi Jinping vows to share a Chinese-backed vaccine with the world. China's government and Chinese companies are now behind five of the 10 vaccine candidates being tested on people world-wide, according to the World Health Organization." WSJ

CORONAVIRUS FALLOUT -- "Research Shows Students Falling Months Behind During Virus Disruptions," by NYT's Dana Goldstein: "New research suggests that by September, most students will have fallen behind where they would have been if they had stayed in classrooms, with some losing the equivalent of a full school year's worth of academic gains. Racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps will most likely widen, because of disparities in access to computers, home internet connections and direct instruction from teachers.

"And the crisis is far from over. The harm to students could grow if schools continue to teach fully or partly online in the fall, or if they reopen with significant budget cuts because of the economic downturn. High school dropout rates could increase, researchers say, while younger children could miss out on foundational concepts in phonics and fractions that prepare them for a lifetime of learning and working." NYT

QUITE THE HEADLINE … "New Trump Appointee to Foreign Aid Agency Has Denounced Liberal Democracy and 'Our Homo-Empire,'" by ProPublica's Yeganeh Torbati: "In one post, Merritt Corrigan, who recently took up a position as deputy White House liaison at the U.S. Agency for International Development, wrote: 'Liberal democracy is little more than a front for the war being waged against us by those who fundamentally despise not only our way of life, but life itself.'

"Corrigan's new position in the Trump administration, confirmed by two officials, has not been previously reported. Corrigan previously worked for the Hungarian Embassy in the United States and tweeted that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is 'the shining champion of Western civilization,' Politico reported last year." Brussels Playbook in November

POLITICO Magazine Justice Reform: The Decarceration Issue, presented by Verizon : Over the past decade, the longstanding challenge of criminal-justice reform has emerged into the spotlight with a new twist: Both Republicans and Democrats are on board with reform. But if both parties want to lower the incarceration rate, why are U.S. jail and prison populations still so high? The latest series from POLITICO Magazine searches for answers to this important question and takes a deeper look into what it will take to make progress toward real justice reform. READ THE FULL ISSUE.

AD WARS -- "Trump campaign pulls ad about SpaceX launch after astronaut's wife, herself a former astronaut, calls it political propaganda," by WaPo's Christian Davenport: "The Trump campaign took down a video late Thursday trumpeting NASA's return to human spaceflight, after harsh criticism that it was politicizing the event and violating NASA advertising rules. The video featured Trump watching last week's launch from the Kennedy Space Center along with the slogan 'Make Space Great Again' and historic footage from the Apollo era.

"On Twitter, Karen Nyberg, a former astronaut and wife of Doug Hurley, who was carried to the International Space Station by the SpaceX launch, blasted the advertisement, saying she found 'it disturbing that a video image of me and my son is being used in political propaganda without my knowledge or consent. That is wrong.' … The ad also runs against NASA regulations that prohibit the agency from endorsing 'a commercial product, service or activity.'" WaPo

PRIMARY WATCH -- "'AOC effect' put to the test in heated New York primaries," by Erin Durkin in New York: "One of New York City's congressional primaries [June 23] is among the progressive movement's best hopes for a repeat of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's upset win in 2018. Another could deal a blow to that movement. …

"In the 16th Congressional District in the north Bronx and part of Westchester, Jamaal Bowman is taking on Rep. Eliot Engel … Meanwhile, in New York's 15th Congressional District in the South Bronx, Pentecostal Rev. Rubén Díaz Sr. -- a bombastic social conservative who opposes abortion rights and was censured last year for saying his City Council colleagues were controlled by the 'homosexual community' -- appears to be out front in the race to replace Rep. José Serrano, who is retiring after three decades in office." POLITICO

-- BOWMAN says he raised $264,644 in three days this week.

MEDIAWATCH -- "BBC appoints insider as new boss to negotiate future finance model," by Reuters' Michael Holden and Paul Sandle in London: "Tim Davie, currently head of BBC Studios and responsible for international brand and editorial strategy, will replace Tony Hall at the start of September in the most high-profile broadcasting job in Britain." Reuters

AFTERNOON READ -- "The Story Behind Bill Barr's Unmarked Federal Agents," by Garrett Graff in POLITICO Magazine: "To understand the police forces ringing Trump and the White House it helps to understand the dense and not-entirely-sensical thicket of agencies that make up the nation's civilian federal law enforcement. With little public attention, notice and amid historically lax oversight, those ranks have surged since 9/11—growing by roughly 2,500 officers annually every year since 2000. …

"Nearly all of these agencies are headquartered in and around the capital, making it easy for Attorney General Bill Barr to enlist them as part of his vast effort to 'flood the zone' … [A]t last count in 2016, the federal government employed over 132,000 civilian law enforcement officers—only about half of which come from the major 'brand name' agencies." POLITICO Magazine

BONUS BIRTHDAY: Todd Zubatkin, Biden campaign deputy research director (h/t Andrew Bates)

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