Current Affairs Of Pakistan & World: POLITICO Playbook: The Trump convention

POLITICO Playbook: The Trump convention

Aug 23, 2020

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By Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman

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DRIVING THE DAY

ALL EYES WILL BE ON THE PRESIDENT this week as Republicans kick off their convention. The Democrats spent the past week trying to cast DONALD TRUMP as a chaotic leader with no moral compass while shoring up support for JOE BIDEN. This will be TRUMP'S opportunity to take control of the narrative.

IT WILL BE NO SMALL TASK. Trump has spent much of the last several weeks painting a dark picture of the country, using apocalyptic language to describe American cities under a Biden presidency. "If you want a vision of your life under a Joe Biden presidency, imagine the smoldering ruins of Minneapolis, the violent anarchy of Portland and the bloodstained sidewalks of Chicago coming to every city and town in America," Trump said during a campaign speech in Old Forge, Pa., last week.

BUT IT WILL BE TRUMP'S PRESIDENCY that many Americans are going to be evaluating in the run-up to the election. THE CORONAVIRUS continues to rage: More than 5.6 MILLION AMERICANS have tested positive for the disease, and 176,361 AMERICANS have died. While other countries have gone back to some semblance of normal life, many schools remain shuttered as parents grapple with how to provide an education for their children.

THE ECONOMY is in a recession with job cuts appearing to be permanent. Millions of Americans are struggling to pay their bills and are worried about getting evicted as enhanced unemployment has lapsed and Washington appears nowhere close to any semblance of a deal to provide relief.

ONCE AGAIN … TRUMP will be pushing the bounds of the presidency with his convention. He will make his acceptance speech from the White House, and other events will be held on federal property. ALSO, let's not mistake that this convention is all about Trump and not the future of the Republican Party.

TRUMP IS HOLDING a press conference tonight at 6 p.m., and then he is expected to speak all four nights of the convention. Traditionally, the party's presidential nominee only speaks one night. But this GOP convention will be more like Trump placing the crown on his own head than it being bestowed by the party.

THE GOP CONVENTION -- ALEX ISENSTADT: "An Apprentice producer and a TV-obsessed president: Inside the GOP's convention scramble": "President Donald Trump had just pulled the plug on plans for an in-person convention bash in Jacksonville, Florida when a handful of his top political aides met in a conference room in suburban Washington, sitting in front of a blank whiteboard.

"Their task seemed overwhelming: To plan out a four-day convention in four weeks — an undertaking that typically takes a year or more. It was the second time this summer that the president had blown up the GOP's convention. The group — which included lead convention planner and ex-White House official Tony Sayegh, deputy campaign manager Justin Clark, head of advance Max Miller, and the president's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump — had no set budget. They had no speakers lineup and no venue. In short, they had to figure out from scratch what the whole thing should look like.

"The result of their efforts will become known starting at 8:30 p.m. Monday: One of the key decisions Trump and his advisers made was to start a half-hour earlier than Democrats, meaning Republicans will have two-and-a-half hours of programming each night. With the help of a former producer for The Celebrity Apprentice — and input from the president that extended to minute details — they decided that the convention would be heavy on non-politicians, with a mix of recorded and live speeches, and crisp video production. The goal was to make it a gripping TV show." POLITICO

-- NYT'S MICHAEL GRYNBAUM and ANNIE KARNI: "As Monday's kickoff looms, Republican officials were still deciding what segments to air live and what would be taped in advance. Typically, convention broadcasts require weeks of highly technical preparation. By the weekend, producers at the major TV networks had only a foggy idea of what to expect, although Republicans provided a more detailed rundown on Saturday evening. Still, broadcasters will head into the week with some unknowns. …

"Republicans involved in the planning admit that anxiety began to set in two weeks ago. But on Saturday, they said that they were now confident that a fully realized lineup was in place — and that in contrast to the Democrats' virtual event, voters could expect something more akin to a regular convention, with a focus on live onstage moments featuring Mr. Trump, whom aides described as the week's 'talent in chief.'" NYT

BIG PICTURE -- WAPO'S PHIL RUCKER and DAN BALZ: "Trump is not the first recent incumbent to head into a convention facing a difficult reelection. In 2004, President George W. Bush was dealing with mounting opposition to the war in Iraq that threatened to take him down. In 2012, President Barack Obama was in trouble because of a sluggish economic recovery and tepid approval ratings.

"But neither Bush nor Obama faced the kind of obstacles that exist for Trump. He is confronting multiple crises at home and has been running a deficit in state and national polls throughout the spring and summer. If the election were held today, Trump probably would become the first one-term president since George H.W. Bush was defeated in 1992." WaPo

-- JASON MILLER, a Trump campaign adviser, told CHUCK TODD on NBC'S "MEET THE PRESS" that the campaign only needs to "win one of these Upper Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states with Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania to reelect the president. We have many more pathways to victory than Democrats do. I'd rather be in our shoes than theirs right now."

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MEANWHILE … IN CHARLOTTE -- "In Year of Virtual Politics, Republican Delegates Flock to Charlotte Convention," by NYT's Annie Karni: "Even the scaled-back event has been tricky to pull off. The delegates participating were required to take at-home tests before arriving, and are being tested daily now that they are here (two people who planned to attend tested positive before traveling, and had to stay home).

"The R.N.C. has spent half a million dollars on tests and safety measures, according to officials, drafted a 42-page health plan, and still had to get an exemption from the state to host a large indoor gathering of out-of-towners. Convention participants on Saturday were all wearing privacy-hardened safety fobs, which are supposed to provide notifications if they come into close contact with someone infected with the coronavirus.

"And they still have to abide by the rules of a city that is only in Phase 2 of reopening. Bars in Charlotte are still closed. Restaurants are allowed to open only at 50 percent capacity. Delegates are being told they can't necessarily bring their spouses to planned dinners, and masks are required at all times, even outdoors."

Good Sunday morning. The president is at Trump National Golf Course in Sterling, Va., this morning.

FIRST JOINT BIDEN-HARRIS INTERVIEW … ABC released snippets of DAVID MUIR and ROBIN ROBERTS' interview with BIDEN and KAMALA HARRIS. It will air in full at 8 p.m. tonight.

-- BIDEN ON TRUMP ATTACKING HIS MENTAL ACUITY: "I think it's a legitimate question to ask anybody over 70 years old whether or not they're fit and whether they're ready. But I just, only thing I can say to the American people, it's a legitimate question to ask anybody. Watch me." Clip

-- BIDEN ON WHETHER HE FELT PRESSURE TO PICK A BLACK WOMAN: "No, I didn't feel pressure to select a Black woman. … The government should look like the people, look like the country. Fifty-one percent of the people in this country are women. As that old expression goes, 'women hold up half the sky,' and in order to be able to succeed, you've got to be dealt in across the board." Clip

THE HOUSE passed a $25 billion emergency funding bill for the U.S. Postal Service on Saturday afternoon. Every Democrat backed the bill, and 26 Republican lawmakers broke with their party leadership. The bill passed 257-150. More from Heather Caygle and Sarah Ferris

-- OF COURSE, this bill is going nowhere in the Senate.

BEHIND THE SCENES -- "How Trump, Mnuchin and DeJoy edged the Postal Service into a crisis," by WaPo's Lisa Rein, Michael Scherer, Jacob Bogage and Josh Dawsey

INSIDE THE ROOM .... SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI on TRUMP during a House Democratic leadership meeting Sunday: "He wants two things: the market to go up and the checks to go out in the mail with his name on the letter. He doesn't care about food insecurity, eviction, health, the virus, of course state and local, election money, none of it. He doesn't care about any of it, except the direct payments with his name on the letter." PELOSI to her leadership team about Republicans' posture regarding the USPS: "Can you believe Republicans are in there saying this is a conspiracy that we all made up and the rest? Don't they listen to their constituents? My goodness."

PELOSI also said that the enhanced unemployment insurance bill being pushed by House Democrats -- it ties the payments to triggers in the economy -- could cost as much as $5 trillion. "By the way, the low estimate for what it would cost is $1.9 trillion. The highest point is $5 trillion."

PELOSI told JAKE TAPPER on CNN'S "STATE OF THE UNION" that all Trump wants is "a letter to go out with a check in it. And he doesn't care about the rest of it, about the coronavirus funding, about the state and local, which really fund our schools."

-- ON THE NEGOTIATIONS : "We all want the negotiations to continue, but not just what the administration wants, but what the country needs. … It has a strategic plan to crush the virus, which they have ignored. … So, again, when we go to putting money into people's pockets, as the president wants to do with that letter, we have to do so, not in a bread and circuses way: 'I'm going to give you this, but I'm not giving you anything else.' This is like ancient Rome. Trump fiddles while Rome burns, while America burns, and Trump gives bread and circuses, without the bread."

-- WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF MARK MEADOWS told GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS on ABC'S "THIS WEEK" that he did meet with a number of Democrats on Saturday and that he plans to call PELOSI today.

MEADOWS: "My challenge to the speaker this morning would be this. If we agree on five or six things, let's go ahead and pass those. Why did you not do it yesterday? But let's go ahead and pass it. I spoke to the president early this morning. He's willing to sign that, including Postal Service reform and making sure that the money is there to make sure that deliveries of first call mail are handled quickly, efficiently and on time."

MEADOWS also spoke with CHRIS WALLACE on "FOX NEWS SUNDAY" about Trump's comments about the FDA: "What we will do is cut the red tape. And what the president was specifically addressing is something that I've been involved over the last three or four weeks, is a real frustration with some of the bureaucrats who think that they can just do this the way they normally do it. We're facing unprecedented times, which require unprecedented action. This president is right to call it out."

-- "Meadows: Trump doesn't know much about QAnon," by Maya Parthasarathy: "On 'Fox News Sunday,' Meadows seconded Trump's claim of lacking information on QAnon, saying, 'We don't even know what it is.' And he pushed back against media coverage of the group, arguing there are more pressing issues to focus on.

"'I find it appalling that the media when we have all of the important things going on, a list of Top 20s, that the first question at a press briefing would be about QAnon, which I had to actually Google to figure out what it is,' Meadows said. 'It's not an essential part of what the president is talking about. I don't know anything about it — I don't even know that it's credible.'"

BOMBSHELL -- "In secretly recorded audio, President Trump's sister says he has 'no principles' and 'you can't trust him,'" by WaPo's Michael Kranish: "Maryanne Trump Barry was serving as a federal judge when she heard her brother, President Trump, suggest on Fox News, 'maybe I'll have to put her at the border' amid a wave of refugees entering the United States. At the time, children were being separated from their parents and put in cramped quarters while court hearings dragged on.

"'All he wants to do is appeal to his base,' Barry said in a conversation secretly recorded by her niece, Mary L. Trump. 'He has no principles. None. None. And his base, I mean my God, if you were a religious person, you want to help people. Not do this.' Barry, 83, was aghast at how her 74-year-old brother operated as president. 'His goddamned tweet and lying, oh my God,' she said. 'I'm talking too freely, but you know. The change of stories. The lack of preparation. The lying. Holy shit.' …

"In the weeks since Mary Trump's tell-all book about her uncle has been released, she's been questioned about the source of some of the information, such as her allegation that Trump paid a friend to take his SATs to enable him to transfer into the University of Pennsylvania. Nowhere in the book does she say that she recorded conversations with her aunt.

"In response to a question from The Washington Post about how she knew the president paid someone to take the SATs, Mary Trump revealed that she had surreptitiously taped 15 hours of face-to-face conversations with Barry in 2018 and 2019. She provided The Post with previously unreleased transcripts and audio excerpts, which include exchanges that are not in her book."

-- MEADOWS on ABC'S "THIS WEEK" about Trump's sister: "I can tell you that I've never met the judge. I was at the funeral the other day. I was hoping to meet her there. She didn't show up for her brother's funeral. And the president that I have the privilege of serving is not the one that's being described on a 15-hour, I guess is what I'm reading, secret tape. I mean, what family member tapes another family member for 15 hours secretly?"

ON WHETHER TRUMP READS -- MEADOWS: "There's a cardboard box that is brought on Marine One. What's in there are clippings and clippings, each and every day, he reads probably more than anybody I know, which causes me to have to read more because every morning he's giving me a to-do list. Every evening he's giving me a to-do list."

THE CORONAVIRUS RAGING …

-- AP'S JONATHAN LEMIRE and AAMAR MADHANI: "The bully pulpit: Trump pushes Washington, but virus resists": "Trump has spent his presidency bending Washington to his will. He has transformed a public health crisis into a political litmus test. He has presided over a booming, if stratified, economy, and claimed he created it. He has again forced race to the center of the American conversation, using federal police to enforce his view. He has alienated historical allies and changed how much of the world views the United States.

"At seminal moments — in set speeches, impromptu riffs and long-sought policy reversals, examined in this story — he has redefined, at least temporarily, the presidency. But he has not shaken the virus."

-- L.A. TIMES' ELI STOKOLS: "Coronavirus overshadows Trump's legacy in office": "As Trump prepares to accept his party's nomination again on Thursday, this time from the splendor of the White House, his legacy after one term is the vast political chasm between his grandiose promises and slipshod delivery.

"He has kept some of his 2016 campaign pledges, cracking down on immigration and nullifying dozens of Obama-era regulations and diplomatic achievements. But Trump's successes are deep in the penumbra of a devastating pandemic, economic calamity and painful racial reckoning, all on his watch."

-- WSJ: "Many Companies Planned to Reopen Offices After Labor Day. With Coronavirus Still Around, They're Rethinking That," by Lauren Weber and Chip Cutter

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TRUMP'S SUNDAY -- The president will hold a press conference at 6 p.m. tonight.

-- W.H. PRESS SECRETARY KAYLEIGH MCENANY tweeted Saturday that the press event will be focused on a "major therapeutic breakthrough" related to the coronavirus, and that HHS Secretary ALEX AZAR and FDA Commissioner STEPHEN HAHN will also attend.

INTRODUCING POLITICO MINUTES: These unprecedented times demand an unconventional approach to political news coverage. POLITICO Minutes is a new, interactive content experience that delivers the top takeaways you need to know in an easy-to-digest, swipeable format straight to your inbox. Get a breakdown of what we've learned so far, why it matters and what to watch for going forward. Sign up for POLITICO Minutes, launching at the 2020 Conventions.

PLAYBOOK READS

QAnon supporters marching in Minnesota are pictured. | Getty Images

PHOTO DU JOUR: Supporters of QAnon, the conspiracy theory deemed a domestic terror threat by the FBI, march in St. Paul, Minn. – one of hundreds of rallies planned around the country Saturday. | Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

THE ECONOMY -- "'Not just a low-wage recession': White-collar workers feel coronavirus squeeze," by Megan Cassella: "The coronavirus recession that began as a short-term shutdown devastating low-wage workers is now bearing down on white-collar America, where employers have been slower to rehire and job losses are more likely to be permanent.

"Lower-paid workers are losing their jobs at about three times the rate of higher-wage employees. But the drop in overall employment that white-collar industries like real estate, information and professional and technology services have seen in five months is already on par with or worse than the hits they took during the Great Recession — underscoring how even highly paid workers with the ability to telework are vulnerable now." POLITICO

NYT'S JEREMY PETERS: "Alex Morse Was Accused, Condemned and Then Vindicated. Will His Experience Change Anything?"

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PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION -- "Metro ridership increases as agency begins restoring service to pre-pandemic levels," by WaPo's Justin George: "Daily ridership during Metro's first week of nearly normal service in five months was up by several thousand, according to preliminary agency statistics. Ridership remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels, but the consistent daily increases show that more Washington-area residents are venturing out and resuming normal activities.

"The gains come as the Washington region is once again seeing a steady decline in reported coronavirus cases, but the dangers of the pandemic remain significant, locally and nationally. On Friday, Metro reported its first death of an employee from covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus — a Rail Operations Control Center manager who had been hospitalized for several weeks — and bus and rail operators remain concerned that added passenger loads could increase their risk of infection." WaPo

HMM -- "Trump is going to war on low-income housing in suburbs. He once embraced it," by Katy O'Donnell

VALLEY TALK -- "TikTok Plans to Challenge President Trump's Executive Order," by WSJ's Georgia Wells: "TikTok plans to challenge President Trump's executive order that would effectively ban the popular short-video app from the U.S. if it doesn't quickly find an American buyer, setting up a high-profile showdown with the U.S. government.

"The company on Saturday said it was preparing to file a lawsuit in the coming week. TikTok is expected to claim that the Trump administration failed to follow due process when it issued on Aug. 6 an executive order that set in motion a 45-day period for TikTok to find a buyer for its U.S. operations." WSJ

HAPPENING THURSDAY - POWERING AMERICA'S ECONOMIC RECOVERY: The economy will be a driving factor in determining the 2020 election outcome. Join POLITICO chief economic correspondent Ben White for a virtual conversation with Larry Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council, on how post-November economic and labor policies will lay the groundwork for an inclusive recovery that helps workers and businesses bounce back. REGISTER HERE.

PLAYBOOKERS

Send tips to Eli Okun and Garrett Ross at politicoplaybook@politico.com.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Morgan Butler, digital director for House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), and Jakeeya Veney, a nutritional manager for Alexandria City Public Schools, welcomed Nova Lynn Butler-Veney on Monday. Pic … Another pic

-- Rachel Weiss, director of external affairs at UnitedHealth Group, and Adam Weiss, partner at public affairs firm FIO360, welcomed Hudson Charlotte Weiss on Wednesday evening. She came in at 7 lbs, 3 oz and 21 inches. Pic … Another pic

-- Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, staff director for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Sam Singer, senior counsel for cyber at Boeing, welcomed son Lucca Reece on Thursday. He joins big sister Josephine.

BIRTHDAYS: Stephen Miller is 35 … Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) is 52 … Alexi McCammond of Axios (h/t Rachel Adler) … Richard Chalkey, associate director of the WH Office of Legislative Affairs … NBC's Mike Memoli and Julie Tsirkin … Brian Walsh, OSHA special assistant at the Labor Department … Miriam Sapiro, co-head of Sard Verbinnen & Co.'s D.C. office and vice chair at SVC Public Affairs … Chase Cushman … Roll Call's Niels Lesniewski ... Erin Collins, comms director for Rep. Troy Balderson (R-Ohio) … POLITICO's Caitlin Oprysko and Madina Touré … John Hall, partner at Targeted Victory … Tom Nowlan, strategic comms associate at Glover Park Group … Todd Van Etten … Mark Appleton … Rob Bluey is 41 ... Annah Backstrom Aschbrenner ... Emily David ... Ted Newton … Lindsey Boerma … Jesse Connolly … Patti Solis Doyle, partner at the Brunswick Group and CNN commentator … Robert Solow is 96 … Craig Silverman, media editor at BuzzFeed …

… James Baehr … Ian Jefferies, president and CEO of the Association of American Railroads … Mark Cruz … Democratic strategist Ed Mitchell … Lauren Dart … Jenna Alsayegh, director of public affairs at USTelecom, is 32 … Bryer Davis … David Wickenden, SVP of corporate strategy and strategic impact at AARP … Jessica (Jensen) Ketner … Kevin Siers, Charlotte Observer editorial cartoonist … former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam is 62 … former California Gov. Pete Wilson is 87 … Charlie Greene … Bradley Singer, talent agent at WME … Sarah Huang Spota … Jed Bhuta is 42 (h/t Ashley Margol) … Singaporean President Halimah Yacob is 66 … Connor Galvin … Kankakee, Ill., Mayor Chasity Wells-Armstrong … Christine Padilla … Janet Turner … Billy Feitlinger … Casey Hudek … Dennis Walto (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) … Derrick Crowe … former Surgeon General Antonia Novello is 76 … Queen Noor of Jordan is 69 … Norman Braman is 88

A message from the American Investment Council:

Private equity-backed companies are helping make learning safer and more accessible this fall.

We're providing free access to online learning platforms, making digital textbooks and virtual classroom software available to students and teachers, and working with individual school superintendents to develop health evaluation, testing, and reopening plans.

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Back to school will look different this year, but we're in this together.