| | | |  | | By Jack Blanchard with Dasha Burns | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | | Good Tuesday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, celebrating Day Two of “The Playbook Podcast” alongside my fabulous colleague Dasha Burns. Do have a listen — we’re offering up a rapid-fire conversation stacked with everything you need to know about the day ahead in U.S. politics, in under 15 minutes. THE BUZZ: The book that half of Washington has been waiting for has leaked. Though Alex Thompson and Jake Tapper’s book — “Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again” — isn’t out until May 20, the Guardian obtained a sneaky advance copy yesterday evening and ran some key passages on its website. And here’s the killer quote, which confirms Democrats’ worst suspicions about Joe Biden’s top team after seeing the president implode on the CNN stage last summer. “We attempted to shield him from his own staff,” an anonymous senior ex-Biden aide admits, “so many people didn’t realize the extent of the decline beginning in 2023.” It’s an extraordinary mea culpa, given how things have since played out. Confession time: “I love Joe Biden,” the same former aide continues. “When it comes to decency, there are few in politics like him. Still, it was a disservice to the country and to the party for his family and advisers to allow him to run again.” This aide quit the White House because they did not think Biden should run again, the Guardian reports. For what it’s worth: Biden has continued to deny any suggestion that he experienced cognitive decline while in office. “They are wrong,” the former president said of insinuations otherwise during an interview last week for “The View.” “There is nothing to sustain that.” And now — the anger: Trying to defeat Donald Trump in just 107 days was a “fucking nightmare,” admits Harris campaign adviser David Plouffe, who appears to have gone on the record in Thompson and Tapper’s book to make his anger crystal clear. “And it’s all Biden,” Plouffe adds. “He totally fucked us.” Spin wars: Quotes like these perhaps explain why the Biden PR machine has recently cranked into action. Playbook’s own Adam Wren and colleagues scooped last week that Biden has hired Chris Meagher, a former White House aide, to help out on comms. And the former president has sought to get in his rebuttal early, via lowkey interviews on the BBC and “The View.” But Biden’s incoherent and rambling response to a simple question from The View’s Alyssa Farah Griffin about reports of his cognitive decline was honestly just … hard to watch. Eventually, wife Jill stepped in. And as for the leak … Close observers of D.C. politics will know the Guardian has form for bagging these book-related scoops, as the Washington Post first noted back in 2021. A Guardian journo “somehow manages to get a contraband copy of each book first,” WaPo’s Paul Farhi wrote, “and beat the world in spilling the most consequential and interesting details.” The byline may have changed (last night, it was D.C. bureau chief David Smith who broke the story) but the method — and the outcome — remains the same. In today’s Playbook … — President Trump’s royal tour of the Middle East begins in Saudi Arabia. — Three key House panels mark up pieces of the mega-bill later today in what promises to be the biggest day yet for the GOP’s budget plans. — Inside D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s new playbook for the Trump 2.0 era.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman speak during a coffee ceremony at the Royal Terminal of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 13, 2025. | Alex Brandon/AP | THE CROWN, SEASON II: Donald Trump touched down in Riyadh this morning for the first overseas tour of his second presidency — and already, the pomp and circumstance are dialed up to the max. Having been escorted through the skies by six Saudi F-15s (video here), Trump has now begun his formal state visit with a grand ceremony in the opulent surroundings of the Saudi Royal Court, with its 30-foot ceilings and polished marble floors. Trump was greeted off Air Force One by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), and the two men will spend much of the day together — just as they did on Trump’s first overseas visit in 2017, when the president again eschewed America’s closest neighbors and oldest allies in favor of the Middle Eastern monarchs. So here’s the thing: Trump loves this stuff — really loves it. White House aides say these grand regal ceremonies are a key part of the appeal of Middle Eastern trips, along with the chance to unveil some big-ticket investment deals. Trump loves the red carpet welcomes. He loves the state dinner toasts. He loves being with royalty. For him, it’s part of the point. Don’t forget, this is a president who, rather than rejecting accusations that he wants to rule America as an all-powerful king, chose to lean right into them instead. And it’s not just about ignoring constitutional norms, but the trappings of regal power. Trump has installed gilded edging throughout his Oval Office. His next confirmed state visit is to Britain in September, following a handwritten invite from King Charles III — with all the royal baubles that implies. Trump will hope to fly there in his “Palace in the Sky.” The next regal moment: Trump and MBS will cohost a VIP banquet shortly for the world’s top business leaders, according to an email invitation obtained by Playbook’s Dasha Burns. “This moment will see some of the world’s biggest dealmakers break bread,” Dasha tells me via text, “and could yield some of the major investment announcements the White House is hoping to make the centerpiece of Trump’s trip.” The reports from Riyadh says the guest list for today’s grand luncheon includes a bunch of big-name CEOs, including Tesla’s Elon Musk, BlackRock's Larry Fink, Amazon’s Andy Jassy, Nvidia's Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman. And there’s still more: There’s also a big investor conference planned in Riyadh later today. Then there’s a state dinner with MBS at the Diriyah At-Turaif district. And this is just Day One. Next up for Trump are formal state visits to see the Emir of Qatar tomorrow, and the royal families of the United Arab Emirates on Thursday. What to watch for: Deals, deals, deals. Dasha writes in with another overnight scoop on one major deal coming out of the investment forum today — U.S.-based Burkhan World Investments just signed $15 billion in strategic MoUs with Saudi partners covering critical minerals, AI, semiconductors and defense. The man behind the company is Shahal Khan, a big Trump supporter. A bigger prize? There have been mutterings that Trump is lining up a big diplomatic moment whilst in the Middle East. One rumor is that it could be an extension of the Abraham Accords, which he and his team brokered in the first term, normalizing relations between Israel and Arab countries. Also possible is some sort of agreement with the new Syrian leadership, following the revolution which toppled dictator Bashar al-Assad. The Times of London says a meeting with Syria’s leader may be in the works. But how about Gaza? Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X this morning that he just met with Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee to discuss a proposal for the release of more hostages held by Hamas. Netanyahu said he will send a negotiating team to Doha tomorrow — where Trump and co. are also headed. Beyond the Middle East … The other big diplomatic story moving this week is of course Ukraine, with the proposed Russia/Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul now just two days away. Ukraine’s European allies last night pulled back from their threat of hitting Russia with new sanctions, vowing instead to await the outcome of Thursday’s planned talks. With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowing to turn up in person in Istanbul on Thursday and urging Trump to do the same, there is mounting pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to get involved. The big question is how Trump reacts if/when Putin stays away. COMING ATTRACTIONS: U.S. diplomacy will be top of the agenda at POLITICO’s security summit, which kicks off on Thursday morning. Register here for a stellar cast of speakers. Highlights will include my Playbook colleague Dasha Burns interviewing Trump loyalist and anti-terrorism adviser Seb Gorka, and your Playbook author interviewing Biden-era national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
| | | | A message from The Vapor Technology Association: The U.S. vaping industry and the thousands of small businesses it supports were crushed by the Biden Administration, which used broken policies and regulations to keep flavored vapes out of the country and hands of American consumers.
But President Trump and his administration can save flavored vapes – and the Americans who depend on them to quit smoking.
President Trump, American vapers and small businesses nationwide are counting on you.
Learn more at VaporTechnology.org. | | | | IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID INFLATION NATION: The latest Consumer Price Index for April will come out at 8:30 a.m., one of the first big tests of whether Trump’s trade wars are pushing up costs for American consumers. Economists expect the inflation metric to rise 0.3 percent on the month after March’s surprise retreat, per Bloomberg’s Augusta Saraiva. Even this data may not yet fully price in Trump’s tariffs, which — even after this weekend’s deal with China — remain at the highest level the U.S. has seen in nearly 90 years. Bessent’s big deal: Behind the deal with China was genuine U.S. concern about an economic downturn — and “an acknowledgment that a full-on economic divorce of the U.S. and China would be too painful for both sides,” POLITICO’s Victoria Guida and colleagues report. “Even Teflon Don can’t outrun economic reality,” they write. The breakthrough is also a victory for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s more moderate approach, which included a secret meeting three weeks ago at the IMF with Chinese counterpart Lan Fo’an, FT’s Demetri Sevastopulo, Joe Leahy and Peter Foster scooped. Up next: Three months to craft a more thorough deal with Beijing, along with ongoing efforts to lay out trade deal frameworks with dozens of other countries. “This is really the first time it’s been possible to actually see the path to land this plane without some cataclysmic economic disaster,” one Republican senator tells CNN’s Phil Mattingly. The WSJ editorial board took a rather less positive tone as it scorched Trump’s latest U-turn: “Rarely has an economic policy been repudiated as soundly, and as quickly.” One to watch: The U.S. Court of International Trade could yet throw a wrench into the administration’s trade war at its 11 a.m. oral arguments today — when it will hear a challenge to the legal basis for the tariffs, POLITICO’s Doug Palmer previews. If the court rules against Trump’s use of emergency powers and agrees to a preliminary injunction against the levies this month, the “trade war could come to an abrupt halt.”
| | | | A message from The Vapor Technology Association: President Trump understands what consumers want – including flavored vapes.
That's why VTA and 65% of Americans support President Trump in keeping his promise to save flavored vapes, not ban them.
President Trump: American vapers are counting on you to stand up for our freedom to vape.
Learn more at VaporTechnology.org. | | | | ON THE HILL TRIPLE WHAMMY: Deep breath — it’s the biggest day yet for Republicans’ budget plans, with three key House panels due to mark up their pieces of the mega-bill today: Energy & Commerce at 2 p.m., Ways & Means at 2:30 p.m. and Agriculture at 7:30 p.m. All three could be marathon sessions. For more, sign up for our must-read Inside Congress newsletter The GOP struggles: Speaker Mike Johnson and his committee chairs still face skepticism from both flanks of their conference. Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) both said they’re still no (or indeed, “hell no”) votes right now because of insufficient increases in the state and local tax deduction. From the other wing of the party, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) laid out a litany of concerns about the scale of the spending, and said his support would require “SIGNIFICANT additional changes.” And that’s to say nothing of senators: Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) outlined his opposition in the WSJ, and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) indicated to CNN’s Manu Raju he’d vote no, too. The loyal opposition: Democrats will do their part to protest Republicans’ sweeping proposed changes, including a rally/presser against cuts to the social safety net outside the Capitol at 12:15 p.m. Inside the Ways & Means markup, Dems plan to paint the bill as a debt-inflating giveaway to the wealthy, Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass) tells Semafor’s Eleanor Mueller. So what’s in — and out — of the Ways & Means text? The panel put out its all-important tax plans yesterday, as POLITICO’s Brian Faler breaks down. And it’s a win for many of Trump’s tax priorities, POLITICO’s Benjamin Guggenheim and Meredith Lee Hill report.
- In: The extensions of Republicans’ 2017 tax cuts.
- In: Major cuts to green-energy subsidies. Heatmap’s Emily Pontecorvo reports the changes “amount to a back-door full repeal” of the Inflation Reduction Act’s historic climate investments
- In: A $4 trillion increase to the debt limit.
- In: Higher taxes on wealthy colleges’ endowments. Harvard, Princeton, Yale, MIT and Stanford would be hit especially hard, Bloomberg’s Amanda Albright and Janet Lorin report.
- In: Higher taxes on private foundations and nonprofits.
- In: An expansion of the Child Tax Credit.
- In: Trump’s campaign pledges for tax breaks on tips and overtime pay, though not permanently.
- In: A new “MAGA” savings account providing money for babies born in the next few years. This was Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) idea, Semafor’s Burgess Everett reports.
- Out: A higher tax rate for the wealthy.
- Out: Waiving taxes for Social Security — instead Republicans crafted a new deduction for seniors.
- Out: Doing away with the carried interest loophole — a big win for private equity.
- Uncertain: SALT. The bill text would lift the cap to $30,000 for people making under $400,000, but pro-SALT Republicans are still negotiating for a last-minute change.
What’s in the Ag text: House Agriculture Chair G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) last night put out his bill text, which would move significant costs for food aid to the states, POLITICO’s Grace Yarrow reports. More Energy & Commerce fallout: The panel’s cuts and changes would more than meet its budget-saving goals. But they’d also lead to several million people losing health coverage, according to a nonpartisan CBO report, as ABC’s John Parkinson and Lauren Peller note. Today’s hardest job: E&C Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) will have to keep both GOP moderates and hard-liners on board with the bill’s Medicaid compromises today, POLITICO’s Ben Leonard and Meredith Lee Hill report. Some conservatives are furious about what’s planned — but “the mild-mannered Kentucky Republican,” is managing to sway members round.
| | | | A message from The Vapor Technology Association:  
| | | | BEST OF THE REST FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: “Bowser tosses Trump resistance playbook for a new strategy,” by POLITICO’s Myah Ward, Ben Johansen and Eli Stokols: D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has moved to “avoid public clashes, tame her criticism, identify opportunities to build political capital and lean into what she repeatedly refers to as ‘shared priorities’ with the White House.” Read the full story IMMIGRATION FILES: DHS announced that it would end Temporary Protected Status for Afghans, putting several thousand at risk of deportation to the Taliban-led country as soon as July, per WaPo. That made for a striking contrast with 59 white South Africans who were brought to the U.S. yesterday and feted as refugees, per NBC. The crackdown continues: In April, apprehensions at the southern border were down 93 percent from a year prior, per new Customs and Border Protection data, Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom and Bill Melugin scooped. Rodney Scott, the nominee to lead the agency, will be up for a vote in the Senate Finance Committee at 10 a.m. MUST SEE: Trump’s huge foreign aid cuts are starting to have dire effects, The Atlantic’s Lynsey Addario captures in eastern Chad. There, refugees from the Sudanese civil war — which has displaced more people than Ukraine and Gaza combined — are encountering “the first humanitarian crisis of the post-American world,” with serious shortages of assistance and staff to help them in a desolate desert, Anne Applebaum writes. TRAIL MIX: Trump waded into the New Jersey gubernatorial race to endorse Republican Jack Ciattarelli, which could power the 2021 nominee to another general election, per POLITICO’s Madison Fernandez. … The Iowa gubernatorial race heated up with the entrances of Democratic state Auditor Rob Sand, per the Des Moines Register’s Brianne Pfannenstiel, and GOP Rep. Randy Feenstra, as CBS’ Jennifer Jacobs and colleagues scooped. … Georgia state Insurance Commissioner John King jumped into the state’s GOP Senate primary, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein. … Former Kentucky state Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson is launching a congressional bid in a reach district for Democrats. HIGH ON THE HOGG: A DNC panel voted to nullify the elections of David Hogg and Malcolm Kenyatta as party vice chairs, per NBC’s Ben Kamisar. This is about whether the vote ran afoul of DNC procedural rules on gender balance, not Hogg’s separate controversial effort to intervene in Democratic primaries — but Hogg quickly cast it as a back-door effort to target him because of the latter. It will now be up to the full DNC. IN THE DOGE HOUSE: A federal judge gave the green light for the IRS to offer ICE confidential taxpayer information of immigrants, per the AP, a remarkable new cooperation similar to what Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency had sought to facilitate. … Meanwhile, Musk’s Boring Company is now discussing a major Amtrak project with the Federal Railroad Administration, NYT’s Ryan Mac and Mark Walker report. TOP TALKER: “Hasan Piker detained at the border and questioned for hours over politics,” by User Mag’s Taylor Lorenz: “He was detained in Chicago and questioned for two hours about protected journalistic activities like who he’s interviewed and his political beliefs.” HEADS UP: “Wellness CEO files ethics complaint against top RFK Jr. adviser,” by POLITICO’s Daniel Barnes: “An internal battle has emerged inside the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ movement, with the CEO of a supplements company and a top adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leveling accusations against each other that include making threats of retribution, conflicts of interest and leaking false information to far-right activist Laura Loomer.” AROUND THE WORLD: Canadian PM Mark Carney is due to lay out his new cabinet today, The Globe and Mail previews, while a recount narrowly flipped another seat to his Liberal Party, leaving Carney tantalizingly short of a majority. … British authorities are investigating suspicious fires at PM Keir Starmer’s properties as possible targeted attacks, per The Telegraph.
| | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Joe Biden has a “small nodule” on his prostate. Chuck Edwards was accused of hitting someone at a Rotary event, but he says the other man was the belligerent, drunk one. PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “A fight to lead Washington’s influential bar association has drawn triple the votes of a typical cycle, animated by the candidacies of two lawyers connected to Trump appointees [Bradley Bondi and Alicia Long] who some members fear could transform the body into a retaliatory arm for the president’s administration,” WaPo’s Keith Alexander reports. — Last week’s ICE raids in D.C. yielded 189 arrests, per Fox 5’s Homa Bash. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a fundraiser for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) yesterday hosted by Karina Lynch at DLA Piper’s offices with former Grassley staff: co-host Dean Zerbe, Jill Kozeny and Helen Rhee. MEDIA MOVE — Alexandra Petri is joining The Atlantic as a staff writer. She previously has been a columnist at WaPo. TRANSITIONS — Cameron Rohall is now a federal affairs manager at Uber. He most recently was federal affairs and PAC manager at Ford Motor Co. … Chase Adams is now SVP at Milne, Wiener & Shofe Global Strategies. He most recently was assistant VP for the National Pork Producers Council. … Jordan Goldberg is now policy director of the Reproductive Freedom Alliance. She most recently was director of policy at the Primary Care Development Corporation. … … Debra DeShong is now SVP at Invariant and head of its crisis comms and corporate risk practice. She most recently was head of corporate comms for Qcells and Hanwha USA. … Riya Vashi is joining the DCCC as regional press secretary for the Northeast. She most recently was press secretary for Debbie Mucarsel-Powell’s Florida Senate campaign, and is a Chuck Schumer alum. … Sofia Jones is now director of member services and coalitions for the House Agriculture Committee. She previously was deputy director of member services for the House Appropriations Committee. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Dan Diamond, a White House reporter at WaPo and a POLITICO alum, and Alicia Daugherty, a health care consultant, on April 28 welcomed Scout Jasper Daugherty, who joins big brother Dash. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) … Reps. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and Michael Cloud (R-Texas) (5-0) … Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-U.S. Virgin Islands) … NBC’s Ken Dilanian … Stephen Colbert … Amy Grappone of the McCain Institute … Amy Bos … Sarah Gunion … Dan Cox of AEI and the Survey Center on American Life … Shaila Manyam … Charlyn Stanberry … Phil Musser of NextEra Energy Resources … Mike Lux … NYT’s Mark Mazzetti … VoteVets’ Jon Soltz … former FDA Commissioner David Kessler ... National Journal’s Jeff DuFour ... Tara Bradshaw … Erica Farage … former Ohio Gov. John Kasich … Austin Gage … former Rep. Chris Gibson (R-N.Y.) (6-0) … Matt Smith of Atlas Advocacy … Sydney Cox … Marcia Lee Kelly … Mark Titus Hoover … MSNBC’s Ana Cabrera … Brian Fung … Andrea Covington. 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 editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
| | | | A message from The Vapor Technology Association: Nearly 500,000 Americans die annually from smoking cigarettes. 67% of Americans say the government should promote nicotine alternatives to help Americans quit smoking – and they're counting on President Trump to save flavored vaping.
In 2019, President Trump took action to protect flavored vapes and small businesses that make up this multibillion-dollar industry. He implemented commonsense age restrictions that allowed adult smokers to vape while pushing youth tobacco rates to an all-time low.
After four years of crushing Biden regulations and enforcement, flavored vaping must be saved again. 71% of Trump voters want Biden's illegal policy and regulations banning flavored vapes replaced. And 62% of Trump voters say small businesses should not be penalized just because their products are made in China, as Biden was doing.
President Trump, your voters are counting on you to keep your promise – save flavored vaping and save American lives.
Learn more at VaporTechnology.org. | | | | | | | | Follow us on X | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Canada Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | |
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