| | | |  | | By Adam Wren with Dasha Burns | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine and Ali Bianco On today’s Playbook Podcast, Adam Wren and Dasha Burns deliver the inside scoop on yesterday’s momentous White House summits with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders, how Trump world feels about it all and where things go from here.
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| Good morning, and happy Tuesday. I’m Adam Wren. Send me your tips: awren@politico.com. In today’s Playbook … — What Trump administration insiders really think about yesterday’s diplomatic breakthroughs — and where there might be trouble ahead. — First in Playbook: VP JD Vance heads to Georgia to sell the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — which the White House is not-so-subtly rebranding. — Three more GOP states line up to send National Guard troops to patrol Washington.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
From the moment President Donald Trump complimented Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on his suit, it was a totally different mood than their disastrous February meeting. | Annabelle Gordon for POLITICO | PRESSING RESET: For Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, yesterday began with a diplomatic whirlwind. It ended with a great sigh of relief. Hours of meetings in Washington — Zelenskyy with President Donald Trump; Trump with a coterie of Europe’s most powerful leaders; all of the above together in the Oval Office — culminated in a “breakthrough,” in the words of NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte: Trump expressed a willingness to participate in security guarantees for Ukraine. On the international stage, that alone amounts to a new dawn not only for the relationship between the U.S. and Ukraine, but also between Zelenskyy and Trump — and America’s with some of its closest transatlantic allies. On the home front, it could be a bit more complicated. While there are no specifics yet on what exactly U.S. security guarantees might look like for Ukraine — Zelenskyy suggested those would be ironed out within 10 days — even the vague allusion to them hints that MAGA may be careening toward another foreign policy divide. In public, there are a few topline takeaways from yesterday. The biggest are the security guarantees, and the reality that Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin are hurtling toward a bilateral meeting; German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that summit could happen within the next two weeks. After that, Trump intends to join Zelenskyy and Putin for a trilateral meeting with the aim of ending Russia’s war on Ukraine, he announced on social media. “[T]he optimism of your president is to be taken seriously,” French President Emmanuel Macron told NBC’s Kristen Welker. “So if he considers he can get a deal done, this is great news, and we have to do whatever we can to have a great deal.” In private, there are more interesting details. And the Playbook team has been up all night working our phones to bring you a comprehensive readout of what exactly went down yesterday, how the White House sees it and how it perhaps recontextualizes parts of last Friday’s Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska. Here’s what Trump world insiders are talking about, based on the late-night conversations we had with people in and around the administration. 1. The Trump-Zelenskyy reset is real. From the moment Trump complimented Zelenskyy on his suit — all the way through to VP JD Vance’s more easy rapport with the Ukrainian president and the many “thanks” Zelenskyy offered — it was a totally different mood than the disastrous February meeting. “The vibe between the president and Zelenskyy was terrific,” a senior administration official told Playbook’s Dasha Burns. “What happened in that first Oval meeting is well gone.” This official described the ensuing talks as “really productive.” 2. The Europeans proved difference-makers. The goal of convening the Europeans was “to say ‘We’re in charge; you’ll sign on to anything we say,’” the senior administration official told Dasha. And the White House was mostly pleased. “The Europeans were positive today, but they are tedious,” the official said. “But they were really good. And if you just were an observer of the two hours today, you'd say, ‘Wow, that’s like a family — a happy family.’ But they all have their own little thing that they want to have happen.” Was it unwieldy to have them all in a meeting together? Yes. “They're heads of state,” the official continued. “They’re used to being in charge. And when you put seven of them in one room, you get what you would think. But it wasn't bad.” 3. Trump offered to go straight to a trilateral meeting. The senior administration official told Playbook that when Trump called Putin to offer his presence at a meeting between Zelenskyy and the Russian leader, Putin said, “You don’t have to come. I want to see him one on one.” Trump’s team “started working on that,” the official said. “Steve Witkoff has the assignment to get it figured [out].” 4. Alaska paved the way for the “security guarantees” discussion. If there was any concern within the administration about how the Putin meeting in Anchorage went down, Monday all but evaporated it. “After Alaska, we were excited that Putin was at least talking and there were signs we could negotiate,” a second senior administration official told Dasha. One of those signs came on the topic of security guarantees: Putin was “engaging on a conversation about security guarantees instead of, ‘Nyet, nyet, nyet,’” this second official said. “If Alaska was not successful and Putin didn’t give us a little bit of an opening, we wouldn’t have [had] the Europeans at the White House.” Of Putin: “He’ll drive a hard bargain, but that opening is huge.” 5. Those security guarantees could be a sticking point internationally. It remains unclear just how big a commitment the U.S. has on the line here. “We haven’t even started [that discussion] other than a commitment,” the first senior administration official told Playbook. “The question is, ‘Who participates to what percentage?’ But the president did commit that we would be a part of it. No specifics. And then he said he would also help it get organized. And he alone could sell that to Putin. I don't think Putin would pay any attention to the others, and I’m not sure the others would do it without him.” 6. And those same guarantees could be a problem for Trump domestically. Does the administration have a red line when it comes to committing U.S. troops to keep a peace in Ukraine? “I don’t think there's a red line,” the first senior official told Playbook. “So I think it just kind of remains to be seen. [President Trump] would like the Europeans to step up. But I think if the last piece of the puzzle was for a period of time to be a part of a peacekeeping force, I think he would do it.”
| | | WHAT ABOUT ‘AMERICA FIRST’?: As European leaders arrived at the White House, MAGA coalition minder Steve Bannon took to his influential “War Room” podcast to warn about the U.S. security guarantees in Ukraine. “I’m just lost how the United States offering an Article 5 commitment for a security guarantee to Ukraine is a win for the United States,” Bannon said on his show Monday morning. Playbook caught up with Bannon late last night to debrief. He had a lot on his mind — and some implicit warnings for the White House. “President Trump has done more than enough to bring the parties together,” Bannon told Playbook. “Once again, this is a European problem; we have all the leverage here. If we don't fund this, it stops happening. The only way this goes forward — the only way this continues every day — is American money and American arms. The Europeans don’t have enough either military hardware and/or financial wherewithal.” Bannon told Playbook he hopes Trump “eventually stops listening to the [Sens.] Lindsey Grahams and Tom Cottons and the Mitch McConnells, and realizes that there can’t be any guarantee here from the United States, because that’s going to inextricably link us to this conflict.” About that linkage: In a Truth Social post about next steps, Trump said Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Witkoff “are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine.” That callout was striking. “That’s the first time JD and Marco have been dragged into a big foreign policy issue together,” the second senior administration official told Playbook. “If it’s JD and Marco and Witkoff, who gets the credit and who gets the blame if it fails? This could be the first test of 2028.” All of which raises an interesting thought. A potential MAGA split over security guarantees for Ukraine would mark the third such foreign policy fissure in recent months, following disagreements about the military strikes aimed at Iran’s nuclear capabilities and U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza. Both of those bent Trump’s coalition, but didn’t break it. So what is “America First” now? Is it whatever Trump decides it is, as the president memorably told The Atlantic’s Michael Scherer? If so, do these sorts of foreign policy divides really matter? Are Trump’s would-be successors just chasing the wind, as far-right activist and MAGA loyalty enforcer Laura Loomer recently hinted on X? And can Vance or Rubio — or anyone else, for that matter — really inherit a movement if it is rooted more in id than ideology?
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From 2019-2023, Universal Orlando generated $44 billion in economic impact for the nation. Learn more. | | | | DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — New branding for megabill: Vance will visit Peachtree City, Georgia, on Thursday to sell Republicans’ recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act — which the White House is now referring to as “working family tax cuts.” The event will take place at an industrial refrigeration manufacturing facility, and Vance will deliver remarks at an RNC member meeting earlier that day. And their target is clear: Look for Vance to take a swipe at Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is up for reelection in 2026. "President Trump’s working families tax cuts will result in bigger paychecks for Georgia families by as much as $10,000 per year,” said William Martin, Vance’s comms director. “The bill increases the child tax credit for millions of families, eliminates taxes on social security for our seniors, and modernizes both our military and air traffic control systems. It’s an absolute disgrace that Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff voted against these tax cuts. Working families in Georgia deserve better and that’s something Vice President Vance will be sure to emphasize during his visit to Peachtree City.” HOOSIER DADDY: The White House isn’t afraid of primarying lawmakers in Indiana who don’t get onboard with the push to draw new congressional maps ahead of 2026, your author and Liz Crampton scooped yesterday. It’s a ramp-up of the nationwide pressure campaign that Trump hopes will effectively guarantee that the GOP holds the House next year. By the end of the day, Indiana’s entire GOP congressional delegation got on board with drawing new maps. CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’: California Democrats officially kicked off the legislative portion of their own redistricting effort yesterday, taking their fight from strongly worded tweets to a tit-for-tat escalation that could halve the number of GOP House seats in the state. State Democratic lawmakers are hoping to push through legislation by the end of the week that will put a remapping before voters in a November special election. The rundown from the LA Times’ Seema Mehta and Laura Nelson What’s in it: The ballot measure would allow Californians to put in place a new map for the next three election cycles, but only if other GOP states move forward with their redistricting plans (which, at this point, is almost certain). It also brings back the state’s independent redistricting commission after the 2030 Census. But but but: The new map isn’t on a glide path — the legislature has to move fast this week, voters still have to pass it and there’s also the possibility that the state’s Republicans challenge the new maps in court, AP’s Tran Nguyen and Sophie Austin write. MESSIN’ WITH TEXAS: After officially reaching a quorum as Texas Democrats filtered back into Austin, Republicans in the state legislature also officially launched their own redistricting effort, introducing a bill for a new map — yes, different from the one they held public meetings about — which Trump promptly raved about on Truth Social. Every step you take: Texas’ Democratic lawmakers are being greeted with round-the-clock supervision; the GOP-controlled House is not allowing them to leave the chamber unless they agree to be monitored by a state trooper, the Houston Chronicle’s Taylor Goldenstein and colleagues report. One Democrat, state Rep. Nicole Collier, refused to allow that, and is camping out in the chamber until the House returns tomorrow morning. SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED: Trump said on Truth Social yesterday that he plans to “lead a movement” to get rid of mail-in ballots. During his meeting with Zelenskyy, he repeated his false claims that the ballots are “corrupt,” WaPo’s Dylan Wells reports. Trump said his lawyers are working on an executive order to curb mail-in voting, but the exact details are still unclear. What is clear is his motivation: Without mail-in voting, “you're not going to have many Democrats get elected,” Trump said. “That's bigger than anything having to do with redistricting, believe me.” Can he do that?: That’s the question Trump and co. will almost definitely run into in court. Elections are run by the states, and some states run their voting through even smaller local jurisdictions — plus the U.S. Constitution only allows Congress to make or alter election rules, AP’s Nicholas Riccardi and Ali Swenson break down. A tinge of irony: Republicans spent millions in 2024 to show voters that mail-in ballots are safe after years of Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. And as POLITICO’s Lisa Kashinsky and colleagues write, it got Republican voters to nearly close the mail-voting gap with Democrats. TRAIL MIX: Tom Begich, Alaska’s former Senate minority leader, is running for governor, Alaska’s News Source’s Wil Courtney reports. He’s the first Democrat to announce a run, but may not be the only entry as former Rep. Mary Peltola has drawn speculation as a potential candidate. … Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) is weighing a bid for Arizona governor, Punchbowl’s John Bresnahan and colleagues report, which would open up his key swing district in the House.
| | | | The California Agenda-- Don't miss POLITICO's inaugural California policy summit in Sacramento. Join us in-person or virtually to explore policyy debates around tech, energy, health care and more. Hear from Sen. Alex Padilla (D), Katie Porter, GOP gubernatorial candidates and more! Register to watch. | | | | | CAPITAL PUNISHMENT SEND IN THE TROOPS: Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee will send hundreds of their National Guard troops to D.C. — the latest Republican-led states to join Trump’s efforts to take charge of law enforcement in the capital, per AP’s Matt Brown and Mike Pesoli. On the ground: Local officials say the mobilization of so many National Guard troops “doesn’t make sense” — though ultimately, it’s not in the city’s control, WaPo’s Brittany Shammas and colleagues write. The role of the National Guard is pretty limited: They’ve been conducting roving patrols in high-tourist areas like the National Mall or Union Station, but they’re not making arrests. But the city’s top officials say that the expanded federal presence isn’t making the MPD officers’ jobs any easier. “I say repeatedly, we need 500 more officers,” Bowser said, per ABC’s Luke Barr and Beatrice Peterson. “What is not necessary, however, is this kind of commandeering or the attempted commandeering of the force itself.” On social media: The White House has social media teams joining agents making arrests as they blast the internet with Trump’s crime crackdown in the capital, an unusual deviation from the FBI’s typical modus operandi of distancing themselves from political influence, Reuters’ Sarah Lynch reports. THE IMMIGRATION AGENDA: Immigrants in Washington are now living in anxiety of the enhanced ICE presence and warn that it may deter them from reporting crimes or assisting law enforcement, WaPo’s Jazmine Ulloa and Christina Morales write. “Many of the immigrants interviewed said they now carry their green cards and work permits, worried about agents accusing them of being in the country improperly. Unauthorized immigrants said they had tried to limit their outings and had asked their friends with legal status for rides to school and work.”
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94K jobs created by Universal Orlando just in 2023. Learn more. | | | | BEST OF THE REST POLL POSITION: The newest Reuters/Ipsos poll pegs Trump’s approval rating at 40 percent — the lowest level so far this term. And it had one result that might prompt some concern about the redistricting gamble in Texas, which bets heavily that GOP gains among Latinos will hold: “The latest poll showed Hispanics, a group that swung toward Trump in last year's election, have also soured on the president. Some 32% approved of his performance in the White House, matching their lowest level of approval for Trump this year.” THE EPSTEIN FILES: House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said yesterday that DOJ will begin sending over the Jeffrey Epstein files Friday, less than two weeks following the panel’s subpoena of them, POLITICO’s Haley Fuchs reports. It may take a while to get the full records, Comer said, but he’s had “constructive, productive conversations” about it with DOJ. Meanwhile, Democrats are prepared to turn the heat up once they come back in September, as the case continues to demand attention in Washington and across the country despite Republicans’ (and Trump’s) many efforts to change the subject, NYT’s Michael Gold writes. THE LATEST IN GAZA: Hamas accepted a new ceasefire proposal pushed by Egypt and Qatar that would release Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, though it’s unclear if the terms are agreeable to Israel, NYT’s Adam Rasgon and colleagues report. … Meanwhile, Israeli officials are discussing possibly relocating Gazans to South Sudan and have held talks with the country about taking them in, per NYT’s Aaron Boxerman and colleagues. STATE CAPITALISM WATCH: The White House is in talks to take a 10 percent stake in Intel, which would make the U.S. the chip company’s largest shareholder, Bloomberg’s Mackenzie Hawkins and colleagues scooped. It would convert some or all of the investments from the US Chips and Science Act into equity in the company. COMINGS AND GOINGS: AG Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel tapped Missouri AG Andrew Bailey to serve as co-deputy director of the FBI, along with Dan Bongino, Fox News’ Brooke Singman scooped. … Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin announced he’s leaving his position early and retiring this fall, POLITICO’s Jack Detsch and colleagues report. He didn’t give a reason for his departure, but is now the fourth military chief to exit since Trump’s second term began. … A federal court in Manhattan upheld Jay Clayton’s appointment as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, NYT’s Benjamin Weiser writes.
| | | | Want to know how policy pros stay ahead? Policy Intelligence Assistant — only with POLITICO Pro — merges trusted reporting with advanced AI to deliver deeper insights, faster answers, and powerful report builders that drive action. Get 30 days free. | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Jimmy Carter will be honored by the USPS with a commemorative “Forever” stamp to be released on Oct. 1, which would have been his 101st birthday. CULINARY CORNER — Barbecue joint Federalist Pig is opening a fancier location on Barracks Row next year. MEDIAWATCH — “TV-Station Owner Sinclair Proposes Merger With Tegna,” by WSJ’s Lauren Thomas and Joe Flint: “Sinclair, one of the country’s largest owners of local television stations, has offered to merge its broadcast TV business with Tegna … The interest comes as Tegna is already in advanced talks to sell itself to Nexstar Media Group.” TRANSITIONS — Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu will be the next head of trade group Airlines for America. More from Reuters … Walter Smoloski is now comms director for the House Administration Committee. He most recently was comms director for Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.) and is an Athos PR and Andy Harris alum. … Christopher Kirchhoff is joining Scale AI as head of applied AI strategy and global security. He previously was an adviser at Aeolus Labs, and is an NSC and Pentagon alum. … Catie Bailard and Ethan Porter are now co-directors of the Institute for Data, Democracy and Politics (IDDP) at the George Washington University. Both are associate professors in the School of Media and Public Affairs. … Brian Mullis is joining the John Locke Foundation as VP of development. He previously was senior director of partnerships at the Cato Institute. … Avery Selby Kiker is now digital operations manager at the Department of Health and Human Services. She previously was digital and research director for Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). WEEKEND WEDDING — Mel Plummer, political director for DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), and Will Brandl, who works in real estate, got married Saturday in Seattle. DelBene officiated. The couple met on Hinge. Pic … SPOTTED: Aaron Schmidt and Justin Zielke, Nick Martin, Victoria Honard, Viet Shelton, Kurt DelBene, Becca and Garrett Holbrook, Casey Katims, Chris Russell, Lyle Del Mar Canceko, Rachel Alger, Lindsay Angerholzer, Jess Frahs, Kelly Evans, Chad Prince, Anna Hevia and Maddie Orser. — Morgan McCue, legislative director to Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and senior adviser on the House Natural Resources Committee, and Alexander Eberhardt, a law student at American University Washington College of Law, got married on Friday in Ben Lomond, California in a grove of redwoods. The two started dating in 2018 in San Diego. Pic … Another pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Virginia Boney Moore, senior manager for public policy at Amazon and a Trump White House and NSC alum, and Andrew Moore, chief of staff to Eric Schmidt and a State Department alum, on Aug. 5 welcomed Margaret Roberts Moore, who came in at 6 lbs. 13 oz and 19 inches. Pic ... Another pic — Mandy Gunasekara, principal and general counsel at Section VII Capital and a Trump EPA alum, and Surya Gunasekara, principal at Section VII Capital and a Trump DHS and DOE alum, last Wednesday welcomed Margaux Rose, who joins big brother Rhyder and big sister Scout. Pic ... Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Former President Bill Clinton … Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) … Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) … NYT’s Joe Kahn … Molly Jong-Fast … McClatchy’s Emily Goodin … Mary Matalin … Julius Genachowski of the Carlyle Group … Brody Mullins … WSJ’s Madeline Marshall … McKinsey’s Neil Grace … Neil Patel … CNN’s Paula Reid … Adam Tomlinson … BGR Group’s Steve Pfrang … Pat Jones … former Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) … Steve Sothmann … Andrew Vlasaty … Maria Reynolds of Sen. James Lankford’s (R-Okla.) office … Christian McMullen … Adam Conner of the Center for American Progress … Alan Pyke … Shannon Campagna … Meta’s Eva Guidarini … Rob Damschen of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s office … Ralph Alswang … former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder … Carol Blymire … POLITICO’s Nicole Markus, Hana Attia and Deidre DeHoust … Tipper Gore BIRTHWEEK (was Saturday): Tyler Grimm 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, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
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