| | | |  | | 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 Megan Messerly talk about Democrats’ focus on their own language, why the White House is leaning in on its D.C. crackdown and the expected (partial) handover of some of the Jeffrey Epstein files to House Oversight.
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| Good morning, and happy Friday! I’m Adam Wren. Got news? Send me your tips: awren@politico.com. In today’s Playbook … — Is language what’s holding Democrats back from breaking through with voters? We have the exclusive on a new “blacklist” of terms some in the party want to avoid to connect with voters. — President Donald Trump’s crackdown in the capital broadens. (Among the targets: The Smithsonian.) — First in Playbook: Would Colin Allred beat Ken Paxton in a Senate race? We have a new poll from Texas that Dems will like. (Less welcome: A new poll in the Ohio matchup between Jon Husted and Sherrod Brown.)
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Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is one Democrat who Third Way holds up as a blueprint for the party to connect with voters. | Timothy D. Easley/AP Photo | TALK THERAPY: Democrats seem to think they can talk their way out of the political wilderness. Listen closely and you can hear it through the din of their all-caps Trumpian X feeds, their hourslong “manosphere” podcast interviews and their more frequent swearing. Nearly 10 months after the 2024 elections, and the party is still embroiled in self-recriminations over where they’re talking, what they’re talking about and, now, the actual words they’re using. Or, more precisely: which words they shouldn’t utter. First in Playbook — The blue blacklist: In a new memo, the center-left think tank Third Way is circulating a list of 45 words and phrases they want Democrats to avoid using, alleging the terms put “a wall between us and everyday people of all races, religions, and ethnicities.” It’s a set of words that Third Way suggests “people simply do not say, yet they hear them from Democrats.” They span six categories — from “therapy speak” to “explaining away crime” — and put in sharp relief a party that authors say makes Democrats “sound like the extreme, divisive, elitist, and obfuscatory, enforcers of wokeness.” In the document, titled “Was It Something I Said?” Third Way argues that to “please the few, we have alienated the many — especially on culture issues, where our language sounds superior, haughty and arrogant,” according to the memo. Among the blacklisted terms: privilege … violence (as in “environmental violence”) … dialoguing … triggering … othering … microaggression … holding space … body shaming … subverting norms … systems of oppression … cultural appropriation … Overton window … existential threat to [the climate, democracy, economy] … radical transparency … stakeholders … the unhoused … food insecurity … housing insecurity … person who immigrated … birthing person … cisgender … deadnaming … heteronormative … patriarchy … LGBTQIA+ … BIPOC … allyship … incarcerated people … involuntary confinement. “We are doing our best to get Democrats to talk like normal people and stop talking like they’re leading a seminar at Antioch,” says Matt Bennett, Third Way's executive vice president of public affairs. “We think language is one of the central problems we face with normie voters, signaling that we are out of touch with how they live, think and talk. In recent weeks, this has become a bit of a thing, with comedians like Jimmy Kimmel and Sarah Silverman highlighting how insane Dems can sometimes sound. Also, elected officials like [Delaware Rep.] Sarah McBride and [Kentucky Gov.] Andy Beshear are begging their colleagues to just be normal again.” “People can’t relate to something unless it has some edge about it,” Lanae Erickson, Third Way’s senior vice president, tells Playbook. “And we had shaved off all of our edges in an attempt to never make anyone upset about anything.” The group doesn’t base its list on any specific polling. And the authors don’t offer specific counter recommendations for these terms. But they do outline the values their vision of the party includes. “We will never abandon our values or stop doing things to protect those who need help, encouragement, trust, a second chance, acceptance, a fair shake, and the opportunity to pursue life, liberty and happiness But as the catastrophe of Trump 2.0 has shown, the most important thing we can do for those people and causes is to build a bigger army to fight them,” the memo reads. “Communicating in authentic ways that welcome rather than drive voters away would be a good start.” It’s worth noting that in certain parts of the country, a lot of people, especially now, do talk in this language and use the phrases Third Way recommends against, even if it doesn't scream big tent enough. It’s also worth noting an inherent irony in all of this: it’s hard to police how politicians talk at the same time that you're asking them to be authentic. The memo’s authors write “we are not out to police language, ban phrases or create our own form of censorship. Truth be told, we have published papers that have used some of these words as well. But when policymakers are public-facing, the language we use must invite, not repel; start a conversation, not end it; provide clarity, not confusion.” “The Democratic Party brand is toxic across the country at this point with way too many people — enough that there’s no way for us to win a governing majority without changing that,” Erickson said. “Part of the problem was that we were using words that literally no normal people used — that we were sticking to messages that were so overly scripted that they basically sounded like nothing.” What about bright spots for the party? Erickson cited three potential 2028 Democratic presidential contenders who she says are good examples of how to communicate: Beshear, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.).
- “Gallego is doing a great job talking about economic success,” she says. “He goes into communities and he’s like, ‘I want you to have a big ass truck, if that’s what you want.’”
- Buttigieg, she said, is “doing a great job of going into spaces that are maybe not hostile, but unusual spaces for him to be in and having real conversations about complicated topics, like transgender people in sports, and saying, ‘you know, I think you should have empathy toward people that are figuring this issue out for the first time. And you should have empathy toward transgender kids and their families.’ But he's not afraid to say those things, and he’s getting yelled at.”
- And Beshear is “getting this so exactly right, talking about how these terms aren't even what those communities use to call themselves,” she said. She recalled Beshear “talking about the fact that ‘justice-involved individuals’ is not a thing that any justice-involved individual would call themselves. They would call themselves incarcerated, call themselves convicted, or they would call themselves a whole lot of other things, but that's not what they or their families would call themselves. So inventing terms that the people that we're talking about and trying to protect don't even use, and then enforcing that that's the only way you can talk about those people, is crazy.”
So, can Democrats really talk their way back to power? It’s an Aaron Sorkin-eqsue idea to think that everything can be solved by the right words and a compelling speech. (And it’s one that the party has been tantalized by, on and off, for decades.) Of course, Democrats face bigger and deeper problems — a yawning voter registration gap among them — and are still figuring out which policies to advocate. In some ways, Third Way is reaching the same political conclusion VP JD Vance arrived at during his interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham this week. “I mean, look, the autopsy for the Democrats, some free political advice from the president of the United States is: stop sounding like crazy people,” Vance said. Vance’s remarks came on the same day he had burgers with the National Guard troops at Union Station. Which is itself a glaring reminder of some of the stakes if Democrats don’t get this right. Erickson mentioned crime as a key issue on which Democrats need to recalibrate, citing Trump’s “invasion of D.C.” “It shows that people don't think Democrats want to hold criminals accountable at all,” she said. “Like we don't care about violent crime and we don't care if someone hurts someone, that they should be held accountable. That's not true. We’re afraid to say that because we’re afraid that someone is going to criticize us for being too ‘tough on crime.’” Third Way sees it as a place to start. “We need to reflect on the ways that our bubble and our fear of being criticized by anyone on the left has led to a problem with both our policy and our language,” Erickson said.
| | | | A message from Comcast: Comcast is focused on connecting millions of Americans now and into the future. With $80 billion invested to expand broadband infrastructure in the U.S., Comcast is actively supporting the goal of bringing internet connectivity to everyone, including rural communities across the country. Learn more. | | | | TRUMP 2.0 THE CRACKDOWN: In a visit with National Guard troops and police forces carrying out his crackdown in Washington, Trump touted its success and claimed D.C. is “better than it has been in years.” He made it clear the federalization of the police presence — including the alphabet soup of agencies playing a part in enforcement — won’t be ending anytime soon, as he handed out Wiseguy Pizza to the troops. Just hours later, a crowd of protesters chanting “free D.C.” gathered at U Street and 14th. More from POLITICO’s Irie Sentner On the ground: The enforcement has seen the removal of homeless tents, FBI agents patrolling Shaw and immigration authorities on 14th, as captured by NYT’s Chris Cameron and colleagues. Delivery drivers on mopeds across the city are being detained after being questioned about their immigration status, WaPo’s Teo Armus and colleagues report. And it’s only set to grow, as Trump teased yesterday that after D.C., “we’re going to then go on to other places,” per CNN’s Kristen Holmes and colleagues. It’s all playing out at the federal level, too. The FBI is lowering its hiring and training standards, with new agents come October receiving fewer training weeks and forgoing the college degree requirement, NYT’s Devlin Barrett and Adam Goldman write. The new plan pushed by FBI Director Kash Patel is to bring in new people and “focus more on street crime, rather than on complicated cases touching on financial fraud, public corruption and national security.” But Trump’s crackdown isn’t just against crime … Museums: Trump once again blasted the Smithsonian as “woke,” WaPo’s Janay Kingsberry and colleagues report. Earlier this week, Trump complained that the iconic museum system was focused too much on “how bad Slavery was.” That fight escalated dramatically yesterday as the White House put together a list detailing exhibitions that mention race, slavery, transgender issues and more, calling out nearly all of the Smithsonian’s museums — plus the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women’s History Museum (which have yet to be built). Immigration: A new survey shows the immigrant population has dropped by nearly 1.5 million since January — meaning more immigrants are leaving the U.S. than arriving, the first such drop in decades, NYT’s Miriam Jordan reports. … The State Department announced that it will review more than 55 million visa holders for any violations that could lead to their deportation, AP’s Matthew Lee writes. … A federal judge ruled that the State Department can’t use Trump’s latest travel ban to deny visas to immigrants, but Josh writes the scope of the ruling is limited and only applies to a batch of immigrants who were already accepted via the diversity visa program. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Sign of things to come?: Fresh polling out this morning from POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab finds that Trump’s immigration raids may be backfiring out in California, even among Republicans and independents who otherwise support tougher border security, POLITICO’s Tyler Katzenberger reports. NOT EVERYTHING’S COMING UP TRUMP: Salvadoran national Kilmar Abrego Garcia is expected to be released from a Tennessee jail today while he waits for his trial on human smuggling charges, per AP’s Ben Finley. … And overnight, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from expanding its “Alligator Alcatraz” facility in South Florida — and from transferring any more immigrants there, per CBS’ Camilo Montoya-Galvez. Over in New Jersey: A federal judge ruled that Alina Habba, New Jersey’s U.S. attorney, has been serving illegally in that role for over a month. The judge said Habba “must be disqualified from participating in any ongoing cases” but delayed implementing that order as the case goes to appeals, per NYT’s Tracey Tully and Jonah Bromwich. Can’t escape Epstein: The first batch of Jeffrey Epstein files are being turned over to the House Oversight Committee today. But the files are being shared in pieces — and to protect the confidentiality of the victims, it may be a while before the public gets to see them, POLITICO’s Hailey Fuchs writes.
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We extended our network to over 1.25 million new homes and businesses in the last year alone and are on track to do the same this year. Learn more. | | | | MIDTERMS MAYHEM MESSIN’ WITH TEXAS: The Texas Senate is meeting today at 11 a.m. Eastern, after adjourning last night without voting on the Republican-led redistricting bill that would carve out five potentially winnable GOP seats in Congress next year, per CNN’s Eric Bradner. The Senate vote is the last hurdle before the bill reaches Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk for signature and becomes the new law of the land. But there’s plenty of news giving us an early taste of Texas’ 2026 fortunes. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) announced that he won’t run for reelection if the new GOP map goes into effect. The decision would end his over 50-year run in Congress but clears the way for Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) to represent the new 37th district, per WSJ’s Olivia Beavers. More from the Texas Tribune First in Playbook — Poll position: Former Rep. Colin Allred leads AG Ken Paxton 49 to 47 percent in a hypothetical matchup in the Texas Senate race, according to a new GBAO poll of likely midterm voters, per an internal campaign memo obtained by Playbook. The poll also shows independents back Allred by a 32-point margin and Hispanic voters by a 22-point margin — and Allred maintains a lead under a Trump +11 turnout model. Read the memo First in Playbook — Catch a rising star: A PAC backing Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) is launching a half-a-million-dollar ad campaign touting him as a former veteran and telling voters to “trust” Hunt on his conservative record — and it’s running in nearly every media market in Texas. It comes as Hunt is widely speculated to be considering a dark-horse bid for the Texas Senate. Watch the ad CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’: The California legislature approved two redistricting bills yesterday, and Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a special election will take place on Nov. 4 that leaves California voters to decide whether to “fight fire with fire” as Democrats look to beat back possible GOP gains in Texas. Where things stand: The mad dash to get new maps on the ballot culminated in “more than five hours of debate that featured yelling, mic-cutting, indulgent speeches, personal digs, and political attacks,” the San Francisco Standard’s Hannah Wiley writes. Knowing Newsom: Beyond catapulting his national profile with his Trump-centric social media presence, he’s raked in $6.2 million in contributions in the last week in his push to overhaul California’s districts, NYT’s Shane Goldmacher reports. “The ballot fight also gives Mr. Newsom a growing list of contributors whom he could solicit in a potential presidential run in 2028, at a time when he has emerged in many ways as the face of opposition to President Trump.” ICYMI: On Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. Pacific, POLITICO will host its first-ever California Policy Summit in Sacramento. The summit will convene key leaders like Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla, gubernatorial candidates Katie Porter, Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton, and more to dig into the debates on tech, immigration, health and AI. Register for the livestream here THE MIDWEST WILDERNESS: Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown is trailing Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) by six points in a new Emerson College poll of Ohio’s Senate race, POLITICO’s Gigi Ewing reports. … Democrats in Iowa said it was a mistake for the national party to forgo Iowa on the 2024 nominating calendar — and they are considering going rogue in 2028 to bring back the state’s status as one of the earliest bellweathers, AP’s Hannah Fingerhut writes.
| | | | 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. | | | | | BEST OF THE REST A BIG, BUZZY FRIDAY READ: “What a Young JD Vance Saw in Iraq,” by POLITICO Magazine’s Ian Ward: “Vance is the first veteran of the post-9/11 wars to serve as vice president, and the first veteran of any sort to occupy the office since Al Gore. … On the rare occasions that he has publicly mentioned his time in the armed forces, he has done so to describe its influence on his foreign policy thinking. … In the Marine Corps, Vance began to form many of the ideas and inclinations that have come to define his broader political philosophy: his skepticism of political elites, his antagonism toward the news media, his ambivalent view of liberal democracy and even his restrictive ideas about immigration and American citizenship.” FED UP: Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to deliver remarks at the central bank’s policy symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at 10 a.m. Eastern — a speech that could signal if the Fed’s next move will be an interest rate cut come September. Powell is in a tough spot, and not just because of Trump’s personal attacks, POLITICO’s Victoria Guida writes. “Powell is staring at the double-barreled threats of rising prices and slowing growth — potentially the early stages of a phenomenon known as stagflation that the U.S. hasn’t seen in four decades. And at some point, he will have to decide which is the bigger danger.” KNOWING BILL PULTE: “Meet the Trump housing official leading probes into the president’s foes,” by POLITICO’s Danny Nguyen MIDDLE EAST LATEST: The world’s “leading authority on food crises said Friday the Gaza Strip’s largest city is gripped by famine, and that it is likely to spread across the territory without a ceasefire and an end to restrictions on humanitarian aid,” AP’s Sam Mednick and Wafaa Shurafa report. Meanwhile, Israeli strikes slammed through Gaza City yesterday as the ground offensive to seize central Gaza goes into effect, WaPo’s Claire Parker and colleagues report. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu approved the plans to expand the war — while also instructing negotiators to begin talks to release the remaining hostages and end the war, WSJ’s Anat Peled and Suha Ma’ayeh write. WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN: “Trump weighs using $2 billion in CHIPS Act funding for critical minerals, sources say,” by Reuters’ Ernest Scheyder and Jarrett Renshaw: “The proposed move would take from funds already allocated by Congress for semiconductor research and chip factory construction, avoiding a fresh spending request as it seeks to reduce U.S. dependence on China for critical minerals used widely in the electronics and defense industries.”
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Comcast employees are delivering top WiFi, mobile, and entertainment across the country. Learn more. | | | | THE WEEKEND AHEAD TV TONIGHT — PBS’ “Washington Week”: Laura Barrón-López, Jonathan Karl, Michael Scherer and Matt Viser. SUNDAY SO FAR … FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.). Panel: Olivia Beavers, Josh Kraushaar, Kevin Roberts and Juan Williams. NBC “Meet the Press”: VP JD Vance … Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). Panel: Monica Alba, Matt Gorman, Heidi Heitkamp and Amna Nawaz. CNN “State of the Union”: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Panel: Xochitl Hinojosa, Brad Todd, Jonah Goldberg and Karen Finney. NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”: Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) … Jonathan Rauch. Panel: James Hohmann, Emily Brooks, John Tamny and Tal Kopan. CBS “Face the Nation”: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore … Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) … Catherine Russell. MSNBC “The Weekend”: David Hogg.
| | | | Don’t just keep up with policy shifts — set the pace. POLITICO Pro’s Policy Intelligence Assistant combines unmatched reporting with advanced AI to deliver sharper insights, faster answers, and two powerful report builders that turn intelligence into impact. Try it free for 30 days. | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Both Democrats and Republicans seem to hate the Cracker Barrel logo rebrand — a rare moment of bipartisanship. The White House is temporarily suspending public tours during the construction of the new state ballroom. Kamala Harris announced she’s going on a 15-city tour for her new book “107 Days.” NEWS YOU CAN USE: Summer Restaurant Week in D.C. has been extended to next Sunday, Aug. 31, with over 120 places participating, per Axios’ Anna Spiegel. IN MEMORIAM — “James Dobson, Focus on the Family founder and key leader on the Christian right, dies at 89,” by AP’s Mike Catalini and Holly Meyer: “James Dobson, who founded the conservative Christian ministry Focus on the Family and was a politically influential campaigner against abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, died on Thursday. He was 89. … At its peak, Focus on the Family had more than 1,000 employees and gave Dobson a platform to weigh in on legislation and serve as an adviser to five presidents.” MEDIAWATCH: “The $6.2 billion deal that could reshape local TV across America,” by WaPo’s Scott Nover: “TV watchers in Indianapolis may soon flip through the local news channels and find three of them owned and their broadcasts produced by the same company. Nexstar, the largest TV station owner in the United States, already owns two of the city’s top stations, CBS 4 and Fox 59. Under a proposed deal to buy a smaller rival, Tegna, it would own NBC affiliate WTHR, too.” FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Lise Clavel will serve as the first executive director of The States Forum. She previously was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and a practitioner fellow at the Karsh Institute of Democracy at the University of Virginia, and is a Biden White House alum. TRANSITIONS — Anne Neuberger has joined Andreessen Horowitz as a senior adviser. She previously served as deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology during the Biden administration. … David Meale is now China practice head of the Eurasia Group. He most recently was a senior foreign service officer at the State Department, with his last overseas assignment as the deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. … Nigel Sizer is joining The Good Food Institute as its new CEO. He previously was president and CEO of the global biodiversity nonprofit Rainforest Alliance. ENGAGED — Jordean Stein, operations director at the Republican Attorneys General Association, got engaged to Sam Draver, an attorney at Kohner, Mann, & Kailas, last night on the shore of Lake Michigan in downtown Milwaukee. The pair met at the Republican National Convention in 2024. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NBC’s Steve Kornacki … Paul Singer … Axios’ Stef Kight … National Review’s Rich Lowry … The Hill’s Alex Gangitano … Ken Farnaso of Brunswick Group … FGS Global’s Jennifer Loven … former Reps. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), Thad McCotter (R-Mich.) (6-0) and Bud Cramer (D-Ala.) … POLITICO’s Rishika Dugyala and Rosalinda Diaz … MSNBC’s Luke Russert (4-0) and Michael Cadenhead … NewsGuard’s Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz … Tom Edsall … Meta’s Jen Nedeau Helm … Bill Miller of the American Gaming Association … Nick Mildebrath of Convergence Targeted Communications … AP’s Nebi Qena … Chevron’s Bill Turenne Jr. … CBS’ Nancy Chen … AnnaMaria Di Pietro … Mother Jones’ Pema Levy … Jordan Goldes … Rob Borden … Alyssa Palisi … Hailey Arends … Jessica Dean … Ashley Grace Novak of the NRSC … Robin Wright … Crooked Media’s Shaniqua McClendon … Chris Lapetina … Bill Cortese of Mercury Public Affairs … Miriam Smallman of the Belgian Embassy … Steve Kroft (8-0) … Natalie Apsell … Scooter Libby … Brystol English … Sabrina Siddiqui of Foretell … Axios’ Gigi Sukin 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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