| | | | | |  | | By Anna Palmer, Jake Sherman, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross | Presented by |  | | | CAMPAIGNS, it is said, are about contrasts. And rarely is a candidate afforded the opportunity JOE BIDEN has today: the ability to sift through the wreckage and unrest piling up on his opponent's watch in real time. IF EVER THERE WERE AN OPPORTUNITY in this frenzied, crowded, loud and confused media climate for BIDEN to sear a split-screen image into the minds of Americans, it is today, MAY 29, 2020 -- 158 days before Election Day. BIDEN will speak about the unrest in Minneapolis from his home in Delaware sometime early this afternoon, and President DONALD TRUMP will hold a news conference in the White House Rose Garden at 2 p.m. THE TABLEAU on the 1,225th day of TRUMP'S presidency is grim: THE DEATH COUNT from Covid-19 is more than 100,000, and 20,000 more people are likely to die in the next few weeks, the CDC said. … 40 MILLION AMERICANS are out of work. … MINNEAPOLIS was on fire after protesters took to the streets to voice rage about police killing a black man. … THE PRESIDENT suggested Thursday night he may send the military to Minneapolis to control the protests. … THE PRESIDENT also invoked a 1960s-era Miami police chief in saying "when the looting starts, the shooting starts." … MINNESOTA STATE POLICE arrested and handcuffed a CNN correspondent, OMAR JIMENEZ, and his crew on live TV this morning while he was doing his job covering the protests. JIMENEZ and the three others were released. AT VARIOUS TIMES OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS, BIDEN'S candidacy for the White House has been predicated on unifying America and returning society to a sense of normalcy. That may be an attractive message for some today. It also comes a week after he got crosswise with some black voters for suggesting that "you ain't black" if you vote for Trump. BIDEN HAS PLEDGED BIGNESS -- vowed to reset the national dialogue -- but he's struggled to do so, his Democratic critics privately grumble. OF COURSE, fair-minded people may differ on how much blame the president should shoulder for all of this mess. TRUMP'S CHALLENGE is as it always is: compassion, control and message discipline. SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL'S TAKE: "I generally don't comment on the president's tweets, I can speak for myself. I think what's happening in Louisville and Minneapolis really needs to stop." (h/t NBC's Frank Thorp) MORE ON JIMENEZ: Watch the video … Jimenez's reporting before his arrest … CNN PR's statement | | A message from Google: Helping small businesses adapt with free tools and resources Small businesses across the country are facing unique challenges. Google is offering a number of resources to help them navigate these difficult times, whether it's connecting with customers or operating a business from home. Learn more. | | | VEEPSTAKES -- "Racial tragedies stoke pressure on Joe Biden to pick a nonwhite running mate," by WaPo's Sean Sullivan and Annie Linskey: "The recent episodes have fueled frustration among nonwhite activists who say their concerns are often ignored until tragedy strikes, and then quickly fade. They want Biden's campaign to push for a sweeping overhaul of the criminal justice system, and they see his vice-presidential pick as a test of his dedication to racial issues. … "More than for any other candidate, the heightening racial tensions across the country have created a potential obstacle for Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who is white. Critics have argued that when she served as a Hennepin County attorney, she was overly harsh to nonwhite communities and not tough enough on police. … Biden's decision is complicated by another factor: Some of the nonwhite women have also worked in a law enforcement." WaPo -- TOP-ED: VAL DEMINGS in WAPO: "My fellow brothers and sisters in blue, what the hell are you doing?": "When an officer engages in stupid, heartless and reckless behavior, their actions can either take a life or change a life forever. Bad decisions can bring irrevocable harm to the profession and tear down the relationships and trust between the police and the communities they serve. Remember, law enforcement needs that trust just as the public does. Think before you act! Remember, your most powerful weapon is the brain the good Lord gave you. Use it!" Good Friday afternoon. In this morning's Playbook, we misstated the date of our virtual interview next week with Transportation Secretary ELAINE CHAO. It's happening WEDNESDAY at 11 a.m. Register to watch NEW … THE NEW HOUSE SCHEDULE! … A few big changes are coming in the House schedule in the coronavirus era. Typically, the House schedule is divided between district work periods and D.C. work periods. House Majority Leader STENY HOYER is sending out a "Dear Colleague" letter later today that will detail a third category: committee work periods, during which major committees will be in D.C. for markups and hearings without votes on the House floor. The full letter THIS WOULD GIVE MAJOR COMMITTEES uninterrupted time to conduct their business with fewer people in the Capitol complex. -- THE THREE MUST-PASS BILLS over the next few months are the National Defense Authorization Act, fiscal year 2021 spending bills and a refresh of highway spending authority. Other priorities include a major water policy bill and bolstering the Affordable Care Act. Committees will hold hybrid hearings in July, with some members in D.C. and others participating from home. The House's chief administrative officer is busy retrofitting committee rooms with protective equipment like plexiglass. -- THE SCHEDULE looks like this: The House will be in session "at some point in June, once the Senate does act, for further Floor action" on responding to the coronavirus pandemic, Hoyer writes. He said lawmakers will get at least 72 hours' notice before any floor action. -- THE HOUSE will hold committee work from July 6-17, followed by votes July 20-31. This will, in theory, help preserve the August recess. The schedule SEN. BOB CASEY (D-Pa.) has tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies. More from Marianne LeVine | | | | THIS MONDAY 9 a.m. EDT – "INSIDE THE RECOVERY" PART I: PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW WITH WHITE HOUSE DOMESTIC POLICY ADVISOR BROOKE ROLLINS. Join Playbook co-authors Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman for a virtual discussion with newly named White House domestic policy adviser Brooke Rollins centered on President Trump's domestic agenda, the administration strategy for the next coronavirus relief package, and the policy initiatives she believes could gain momentum before the election. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | TRUMP VS. TWITTER -- @realDonaldTrump at 7:10 a.m.: "Twitter is doing nothing about all of the lies & propaganda being put out by China or the Radical Left Democrat Party. They have targeted Republicans, Conservatives & the President of the United States. Section 230 should be revoked by Congress. Until then, it will be regulated!" THE PANDEMIC CAMPAIGN -- "Trump embraces a new kind of rally: The 'Trumptilla,'" by Marc Caputo: "President Trump can't hold his large energetic rallies because of coronavirus. But his campaign has discovered the next best thing: massive pro-Trump flotillas that are taking his message to waterways across the country. The large boat parades — which began organically among MAGA devotees in South Florida and spread to Florida's Gulf Coast, Arizona's Lake Havasu, South Carolina's Charleston Harbor and Southern California's Newport Harbor during Memorial Day weekend — quickly caught the notice of the president and his campaign. "Now, the campaign is encouraging the flotillas and utilizing its robust data operation to organize and excite a demographic that turns out to be heavily represented in some of the most closely-contested swing states from the Sun Belt to the Great Lakes. Heading into the holiday weekend, the campaign reports, its biggest seller from its online store were its blue nautical flags emblazoned with the president's last name." POLITICO GERSTEIN ON GITMO: "Showdown looms over Guantanamo virus measures": "The coronavirus pandemic has unleashed a new round of legal battles between the Pentagon and lawyers for Guantanamo detainees, who say the Defense Department is unreasonably refusing to allow simple measures like telephone calls that could allow the war-on-terror prisoners at the island camp to keep in contact with their legal counsel. "The U.S. government has been so resolutely opposed to such calls that it is now risking forfeiting its legal right to hold some of the prisoners pursuing habeas corpus claims in court, detainee lawyers contend. … The government, for its part, warns that allowing such calls risks the disclosure of 'top secret' classified information." POLITICO BLOOD MONEY -- "Blood of Recovered Covid-19 Patients Is Becoming a Hot Commodity," by WSJ's Denise Roland: "This normally obscure trade has been set alight by the race to develop Covid-19 antibody tests, which use blood to tell whether someone has already been infected with the coronavirus. The tests are seen as key to easing lockdowns that have shut down economies around the world. However, while surging demand has proven a boon for the traders known as blood brokers who source this commodity, diagnostic companies say high prices for the blood of recovered Covid-19 patients are posing a hurdle to developing tests. "'We've had a terrible time trying to obtain positive specimens at a decent rate,' said Stefanie Lenart-Dallezotte, manager of business operations for San Diego-based Epitope Diagnostics Inc., which sells an antibody test for Covid-19. ... She said one broker quoted $1,000 for a one-milliliter sample of convalescent plasma, a term for the antibody-containing part of the blood from recovered patients. Executives at other diagnostics companies say they have been quoted prices of several thousand dollars for one milliliter of plasma." WSJ BEYOND THE BELTWAY -- "Cuomo's coronavirus halo begins to fade," by Anna Gronewold and Erin Durkin in New York: "Two and a half months into the crisis, Cuomo's take-charge attitude has begun to soften. The governor, who gained legions of fans for his briefings that blended an authoritative tone with a personal touch, is increasingly on the defensive — and casting blame on the federal government and its guidance. … The limelight's fade coincides with mounting scrutiny of New York state's response to the crisis, particularly in nursing homes." -- AP: "Virus taking hold in rural, old plantation region of Alabama," by Jay Reeves and Kim Chandler in Hayneville: "Sparsely populated, deep in Alabama's old plantation country, has the sad distinction of having both the state's highest rate of COVID-19 cases and its worst unemployment rate. "Initially spared as the disease ravaged cities, the county and other rural areas in the state are now facing a 'perfect storm:' a lack of access to medical care combined with poverty and the attendant health problems, including hypertension, heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease and diabetes, that can worsen the outcomes for those who become sick with the coronavirus, said Dr. Ellen Eaton." AP | | | | WINNERS PLAY THE LONG GAME: If there is one thread linking the greatest challenges facing our society, economy and planet, it's the tension between short-term and long-term thinking. "The Long Game," presented by Morgan Stanley, is designed for executives, investors and policymakers who are leading the conversation about how our society can thrive in the future. Engage with the sharpest minds on our biggest challenges, from pandemics to plastics, climate change to land use, inequality and the future of work. Searching for a nuanced look at these issues and possible solutions? Subscribe today. | | | | | CARES ACT FALLOUT -- "Democrats urge DeVos to punish student loan firm for emergency relief blunder," by Michael Stratford: "Democrats are urging Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to take 'immediate and aggressive action' against a student loan company that incorrectly dinged the credit reports of nearly 5 million borrowers whose payments were automatically suspended under the CARES Act. "POLITICO first reported last week that the Trump administration was rushing to fix errors made by Great Lakes Educational Loan Services in how the company reported information about federal student loan borrowers to credit bureaus." POLITICO THE INCOMPLETE HEALTH PICTURE -- "South Africa has virus testing backlog of nearly 100,000," by AP's Cara Anna in Johannesburg VALLEY TALK -- "Tech's First Big Plan to Tackle Covid-19 Stumbles: 'An App Is Not Going to Fix This,'" by WSJ's Kirsten Grind in San Francisco: "In March, a cohort of influential technology leaders formed a task force to devise tech solutions for the pandemic, a signal that the nation's innovation engine was kicking into gear. Employees of Facebook Inc., Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc. were involved, along with the White House and famed venture investors. "Months later, the Technology and Research Task Force's biggest plans, such as a hospital-bed tracker, contact-tracing tools and a project to ship Kindle devices to nursing-home residents, have failed to materialize amid what members say were disagreements over privacy and other issues. It has cycled through members and a leadership change, and some of the group's biggest names, from Microsoft and Facebook to the White House, have dropped out or are playing minimal roles." WSJ AFTERNOON READ … THEO MEYER in Baltimore: "Who Wants to Run the Deadliest Big City in America?": "Next week, voters will choose a new mayor in a race that's been fought over who can possibly reverse the trend. Sixty percent of voters say stopping violent crime is the most urgent task facing the next mayor, according to a poll conducted for the Baltimore Sun, the University of Baltimore and WYPR released last week; only 10 percent said combatting coronavirus … "The race is wide open. [Mayor Bernard] Young, running for a full term, is one of six Democrats facing off in Tuesday's primary—which in deep-blue Baltimore might as well be the general election. But voters seem disinclined to keep him in office. … Instead, voters are torn between three challengers: Sheila Dixon, the city's no-nonsense former mayor who resigned in scandal a decade ago; Brandon Scott, the brash young city council president; and [former Treasury undersecretary Mary] Miller." POLITICO Magazine SWAMP READ -- "Probe: U.S. Interior official used office for personal gain," by AP's Matthew Brown in Billings, Mont.: "A senior Trump administration official misused his office for private gain by capitalizing on his government connections to help get a family member hired at the Environmental Protection Agency, investigators said. "The Interior Department's Inspector General found that Assistant Interior Secretary Douglas Domenech reached out to a senior EPA official in person and later by email in 2017 to advocate for the unnamed relative when that person was seeking a job at the agency. Investigators said Domenech also appeared to misuse his position to promote a second family member's wedding-related business to the same EPA official, who at the time was engaged." AP LITTLE ROCKET MAN -- "North Korea still operating, improving major nuclear fuel plant, experts say," by NBC's Ken Dilanian and Andrea Mitchell | | | | A message from Google:   Grow with Google OnAir offers free virtual workshops, events and 1:1 coaching sessions to teach small businesses and job seekers digital skills. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
