| | | |  | | By Adam Wren | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine, Ali Bianco and Rachel Umansky-Castro On today’s Playbook Podcast: Adam and POLITICO White House reporter Megan Messerly discuss why President Donald Trump’s trip to Asia is so risky and what to expect from his planned meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. | 
| Happy Friday. This is Adam Wren. Get in touch. MUST LISTEN: Sen. Rand Paul didn’t hold back in an interview for this week’s “The Conversation” with Playbook’s Dasha Burns. The Kentucky Republican took issue with being what he identifies as the only Republican willing to stand up to Trump, said he’s tired of being the GOP “whipping boy” and urged his fellow Republicans to retain their “independent voice” in the Trump era. Stand by your man: Paul vowed to support his fellow Kentuckian, Rep. Thomas Massie, who is facing a Trump-backed primary challenger. “It’s a warning sign,” Paul said. “‘Oppose me or any of my policies and I’ll come after you.’ And I don’t think that’s good for the Republican Party, nor do I think it’s good for the country.” Right on cue: Paul cautioned Trump over his foreign policy, warning that he could see “all hell break loose” if Trump gets the U.S. further involved in Ukraine or Venezuela. “It'll be much bigger than [Jeffrey] Epstein, because Epstein — there was a segment of the MAGA movement that was concerned about it, a significant segment. There’s an even bigger segment of the MAGA movement that is concerned with intervention overseas. And if all of a sudden President Trump becomes the president of regime change in Venezuela and giving arms and money to Ukraine, I think a lot of people will feel abandoned.” Shutdown solution: Paul predicted that the shutdown would end in a “week or two” once Democrats decide to negotiate. “They always come to the table ultimately,” Paul said. “I think it's an untenable position, and eventually they will come back and they will negotiate and they will vote yes, open the government, and then they'll get a future negotiation on these Obamacare subsidies. That's the way it will end.” Watch the full episode … Listen and subscribe In today’s Playbook … — Duggan digs into Democrats’ dilemmas. — Trump says Canada trade talks are “TERMINATED.” — And the president is set to take his riskiest trip yet.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
“It's just been so frustrating to watch the Democratic Party lose its way,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan told Playbook in an interview. | Paul Sancya/AP Photo | MICHIGAN MAN: Last year, one of the earliest and most worrisome post-November signs that Democrats could find themselves in the wilderness for a long, long time came when then-Democratic Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced that he was running for governor — as an independent. “What would happen if we upended the system,” he said in his December 2024 launch video, “and gave Michigan voters a new choice: a governor who didn’t run as a candidate of either party, but who went to work everyday with no goal except to get people to work together for all of Michigan.” Now, more than 10 months later, Duggan is closing the gap in polls to replace term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, with one recently conducted by Schoen Cooperman Research for his campaign showing Duggan at 26 percent, behind Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (30 percent) and Republican Rep. John James (29 percent). Duggan’s get-it-done, old-school approach hasn’t earned him the spotlight that some other big city mayors and candidates have garnered, but he is starting to pick up some national notoriety. This week, the Washington Post editorial board wrote that New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani “could learn a lot from Mike Duggan,” noting that Detroit’s “rebound offers lessons for other struggling large cities.” More broadly, Duggan’s run points to the unpopularity of both parties, particularly in a key 2026 battleground state over which Republicans and Democrats will contend, dumping hundreds of millions of dollars in the closely watched Senate race. “It turns out that no matter where you go in this state, people are angry at both parties,” Duggan told Playbook. In the race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, the Democrats are locked in a battle royale: Rep. Haley Stevens, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and former public health official Abdul El-Sayed are already in a bitter clash for the nomination, as Republican Mike Rogers runs unopposed. In a wide-ranging interview with Playbook, Duggan talked about the problems facing his former party’s brand and how he has stayed off Trump’s radar amid the president’s incursion into other big, blue cities. — On the Democratic brand: “Entirely negative in its messaging. Everything the Democrats have to say is terrible about Republicans. ‘Republicans want to cancel your hot lunches. Republicans want to cut your health care. Republicans can't be trusted.’ I am waiting for the Democratic Party to step forward and say, ‘Here's our affordable housing proposal. Here’s our mental health treatment proposal.’ It's just been so frustrating to watch the Democratic Party lose its way.” — On why his independent bid is playing: “The reason I am doing so well is because both parties' messaging is to make you hate the other party more.” — On how candidates can win in 2026: “I would say they should run against the negative partisan tone of their parties.” — On how Detroit has avoided Trump’s incursions: “We just never were crossways with the Trump administration the first time, and we're not any different this time. Our policy on immigration has not changed in the entire time I've been here, which is that the Detroit police do not enforce federal immigration laws. Our officers cannot ask people their immigration status.” — On fellow (likely soon-to-be) big city mayor Zohran Mamdani: “I think it shows people want change, and people want authentic change. I think it shows you how badly people want change. I’m not sure his policies are driving it.” But for all of the talk about a path forward for both parties to reconnect with voters, Duggan insists that he doesn’t have a presidential path in mind for himself. “I’m not that ambitious,” he said.
| | | | A message from The Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance: This football season, Americans want to watch their favorite teams - not #BigPharma's ads. Despite regulators cracking down on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising, industry spending on DTC ads surged this September. Instead of taking meaningful steps to slash prices for Americans, Big Pharma is spending millions to push their products. Read more about how Big Pharma is doubling down on ads nobody wants to see. | | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD DEVELOPING OVERNIGHT: Trump in a winding post on Truth Social announced that “ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED” over an ad produced by Ontario that enlisted the voice of former President Ronald Reagan to warn Americans that Trump’s tariffs could ultimately kill their jobs, POLITICO’s Mickey Djuric reports from Ottawa. “The offices of Prime Minister Mark Carney and Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said they would not be commenting on Thursday, but they would likely have more to say on Friday.” Stay tuned. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS: Trump is set to jet off to Asia, departing D.C. on Air Force One en route to Malaysia tonight around 10:40 p.m. This trip, though, is the riskiest foreign excursion of his second term, POLITICO’s Megan Messerly and colleagues report this morning in a must-read curtainraiser on the high-stakes itinerary. Why this time is different: “Unlike his highly choreographed foreign trips to Europe and the Middle East, where leaders were eager to fête the president, his weeklong trip through Asia is replete with potential pitfalls. An anticipated meeting between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea could defuse yet another economy-roiling trade war between the two nations, but the outcome — or whether the meeting will even take place — is far from certain.” The two ends of the spectrum: “Trump could return celebrating deals that will strengthen U.S. ties in the region — or, if talks with Xi collapse, confronting an escalating trade war likely to rattle markets, ripple through supply chains and expose how dependent the U.S. remains on China for critical minerals.” But it’s not just the China trade tensions that are looming. Malaysian officials are trying to drum up a peace ceremony for the president to preside over between Cambodia and Thailand — but the two countries haven’t resolved the simmering border dispute that boiled over into intense fighting in July. And Trump is eager to solidify investment pledges from South Korea and Japan. What Xi said: During Trump’s second term, Xi has tried a new tack with Trump, and sources close to Xi describe him as “confident and emboldened,” WSJ’s Lingling Wei reports. The new approach “embraces Trump’s self-image as a master dealmaker, offering concessions on high-visibility issues he personally cares about,” but punching back hard when Trump comes down on China “in a bid to gain leverage over Trump while projecting strength and unpredictability — qualities he believes the U.S. president admires.” SOUTH OF THE BORDER: After the U.S. carried out another strike against an alleged drug-trafficking boat from Venezuela this week, Trump told reporters yesterday he has the authority to continue his controversial strikes without a war declaration from Congress, CNN’s Adam Cancryn reports. The president also previewed the next phase: “The land is going to be next,” he said. “I think we are going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country, OK? We are going to kill them, you know? They are going to be, like, dead.” The Senate is expected to vote next week on a bill “that would bar the United States from engaging in hostilities inside Venezuela without explicit authorization by Congress,” NYT’s Robert Jimison notes. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: The White House is growing increasingly frustrated with Israel and PM Benjamin Netanyahu just two weeks after a hard-won peace deal was struck with the help of Trump, POLITICO’s Eli Stokols and Felicia Schwartz report. “The mounting frustrations come as a succession of senior officials are passing through Israel this week looking to keep a fragile ceasefire in place. They see some recent developments — the Israeli Defense Force’s counter-attack in Gaza on Sunday, and the Knesset’s vote in favor of West Bank annexation, which Trump has ruled out — as detrimental to the already fragile agreement between Israel and Hamas.” RUSSIA-UKRAINE LATEST: Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) are pressing for a vote on their bipartisan Russia sanctions bill, though some leaders caution the legislation is still a “work in progress,” POLITICO’s Connor O'Brien and Jordain Carney report. Graham even said the Senate could designate a “Russia week” to take up several bills related to punish Moscow. Asked if Trump supports the sanctions bill, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said as a “general matter, yes,” though there are still some things the White House wants incorporated.
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| | | | TRAIL MIX FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Fight for first: New Hampshire Democrats are circulating a memo to DNC members, arguing their case to return to the first-in-the-nation primary slot, after being demoted ahead of the 2024 cycle. The memo, scooped by POLITICO's Elena Schneider, argues that New Hampshire should retain its coveted first-place slot, not "based simply on tradition," but because "we are a small, purple state with unmatched civic participation." The memo takes a more conciliatory tone, in a shift for the state that held an unsanctioned primary in 2024 with in-state Democrats organizing a write-in campaign on behalf of then-President Joe Biden. It is timed ahead of Monday's meeting of the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee , which is charged with setting the Democrats' presidential primary calendar. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Red-light redistrict: As the redistricting arms race continues to ramp up amid pressure from the White House for red states to draw new congressional maps, The Cook Political Report’s David Wasserman is up this morning with a detailed look at how that might go down in Florida, where Republicans could turn soon to carve out two (or more) seats. “In the Trump era, Democratic voting strength in Florida has evaporated into more or less five puddles: Orlando, Tampa Bay, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach,” Wasserman writes. “That means a logical approach for Republicans could be to try to pack as many Democratic voters as possible into just five seats: one in Orlando, one in Tampa/St. Petersburg and three in South Florida (one each in Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach). Under that kind of architecture, the most endangered Democratic members would be Reps. Darren Soto (FL-09), Jared Moskowitz (FL-23) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25).” The gamble: “It’s very likely Florida Republicans could squeeze out two Democrats without posing much midterm risk to their own incumbents, with Soto and either Moskowitz or Wasserman Schultz topping the list of Democrats at risk. A third or fourth seat would require South Florida and Tampa Bay GOP incumbents to make bigger sacrifices, and would require the Florida Supreme Court to turn even more of a blind eye to a fairly obvious partisan gambit.” THE MAINE PROBLEM: Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner is trying to shake up his campaign construction amid a string of controversies, your Playbook author and Jessica Piper report. The campaign is also issuing non-disclosure agreements to staffers, which began in the wake of controversial years-old social media posts that came to light last week, according to his former top political director, Genevieve McDonald, who said she declined to sign one. “The campaign offered me $15,000 to sign a NDA,” McDonald told POLITICO in an interview. “I did not accept the offer. I certainly could have used the money. I quit my job to work on Platner’s campaign, believing it was something different than it is.” But Platner’s supporters appear to be sticking it out and shrugging off the controversies, Drop Site’s Nathan Bernard reports from Gunquit, Maine. “It’s been a helluva week,” said Platner as he took the stage at the crowded Leavitt Theatre. “I went from being a communist on Thursday to a Nazi by Monday.”
| | | | Join POLITICO and FICO for a policy briefing that delves into the latest obstacles to preventing financial fraud, and the new technologies aimed at protecting consumers. Gain insights from government leaders and industry experts from Aspen Institute, Identity Theft Resource Center, Microsoft Security and more! Register to attend or watch online. | | | | | BEST OF THE REST ANOTHER BIT OF PODCAST BUZZ: Cheryl Hines, the actress and wife of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., will appear on the “The Katie Miller Podcast” next Tuesday, and Playbook has an exclusive sneak peak in which Miller asks Hines the question that was on everyone’s mind this time last fall. Asked by Miller how she deals with “rumors or speculation” about her marriage and how she decides what to respond to, Hines said she ultimately trusts Kennedy. “I think you always have to consider the source, right? So that’s where I start,” Hines, who is promoting her new memoir “Unscripted,” said in a clip viewed by Playbook. “And then it ends with a conversation with Bobby.” Miller then asked about how Hines responded to allegations that Kennedy engaged in a relationship with journalist Olivia Nuzzi. Hines said she largely dismissed it as noise. “Bobby had been running for president and it was a — an exhausting year-and-a-half of headlines and rumors and articles and chaos. And at that time, I thought ‘OK, this is more chaos and more rumors.’ And, um, it was a lot,” Hines said. (Nuzzi has previously said her relationship with Kennedy turned “personal” but was not physical. A Kennedy spokesperson said at the time the allegations surfaced that he “only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece.”) As for the memoir that Nuzzi is reportedly releasing that is said to include details about her relationship with Kennedy, Hines declined to get into it. “I don’t know this person. Don’t know their intentions,” Hines said. “I could guess, but I won’t. But you can if you want.” WEAPONIZATION WATCH: New York AG Letitia James is scheduled to appear in court in Norfolk, Virginia, at 11 a.m. following her indictment earlier this month on two felony charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. Ahead of her appearance today, James filed a notice that her attorneys plan to ask for the indictment to be dismissed on the grounds that Lindsey Halligan was unlawfully appointed as U.S. attorney by Trump, per CNN. Mark your calendars: Oral arguments in James Comey’s case also challenging Halligan’s appointment are scheduled for Nov. 13, per Reuters. “The James and Comey challenges could be consolidated, as has happened in other districts where criminal defendants have challenged the appointments of other U.S. attorneys in New Jersey and Nevada.” Shifting on Schiff?: Despite months of investigation, federal prosecutors in Maryland have not produced enough evidence to bring any charges against Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) after Trump urged action against him, NBC’s Ryan Reilly and colleagues report. “Kelly Hayes, the U.S. attorney overseeing the investigation, met with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche earlier this week and asked him how to proceed,” per NBC, and the “decision out of that meeting was for Hayes to pursue more evidence, and the case remains ongoing.” SHUTDOWN SHOWDOWN: Republicans are barreling toward the upcoming Obamacare enrollment period without a unified plan to address the sticker shock that awaits enrollees who are set to see skyrocketing costs, POLITICO’s Alex Gangitano, Meredith Lee Hill and colleagues report. “Republicans in the White House and Capitol Hill have no plans to change that strategy, confident that Democrats will blink and face blame for the funding lapse. Republicans also feel they’re making headway with the message that Obamacare is in need of rescue, because, as they argue, it’s grown too expensive and is failing Americans.” Read more from POLITICO’s Inside Congress. PRIVATE PAYROLL: Trump said a private donor has contributed $130 million to cover potential military pay shortfalls during the government shutdown, calling the contributor a “patriot” and “friend,” while declining to name them, Reuters’ Gram Slattery and Jarrett Renshaw report. KNOWING DANIEL LURIE: San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie’s quiet diplomacy helped spare his city from an influx of federal law enforcement this week — and it may have provided a roadmap for other leaders to head off Trump’s interventions, POLITICO's Dustin Gardiner and Jeremy White report. “Lurie’s allies cast Trump’s standing down as an affirmation that his more measured approach — focusing on public safety statistics and avoiding partisan saber rattling — may have saved San Francisco from a chaotic and dangerous moment. They said it also underscored Lurie’s ability to leverage relationships with prominent CEOs who have direct access to Trump.” DEMOLITION DERBY: Trump’s decision to knock down the East Wing to make way for his grand ballroom has rankled some uncomfortable with the level of disruption he’s bringing to the White House, and now the effort has drawn its first legal challenge, POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein reports. A Virginia couple filed a motion in Washington federal court seeking a temporary restraining order against any further White House demolition, arguing it is taking place “without legally required approvals or reviews.” POLITICO DRIVING THE HEADLINES: “Watch those texts! Smartphones emerging as a new way for public figures to get into hot water,” by AP’s David Bauder COMING ATTRACTIONS: POLITICO is hosting a policy briefing on Wednesday, Oct. 29, exploring the latest obstacles to preventing financial fraud, and the new technologies aimed at protecting consumers. Featured speakers include: Reps. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa), Sean Casten (D-Ill.) and Bill Foster (D-Ill.) and more. Click here to register for the livestream or to attend
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| | | | THE WEEKEND AHEAD TV TONIGHT … C-SPAN “Ceasefire”: Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.). PBS “Washington Week”: Peter Baker, Susan Glasser, David Ignatius and Toluse Olorunnipa. SUNDAY SO FAR … POLITICO “The Conversation”: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) ... Katelyn Jetelina CBS “Face The Nation”: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries … Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) … Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.). NBC “Meet the Press”: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent … Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) … Marcus Samuelsson. Panel: Marc Short, Ashley Etienne, Susan Glasser and Andrew Ross Sorkin. ABC “This Week”: Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) … Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) … Jonathan Karl. Panel: Donna Brazile, Reince Priebus, Sarah Isgur and Charles Lane. NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”: Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) … Scott Lincicome. Panel: Molly Ball, James Hohmann, Laura Weiss and John Tamny. MSNBC “The Weekend”: Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) ... Skye Perryman … Julia Ioffe. CNN “State of the Union”: Arnold Schwarzenegger. Panel: Brad Todd, Kristen Soltis Anderson, Adam Kinzinger and Xochitl Hinojosa. | | | | As the shutdown fight deepens, stay on top of every twist with POLITICO’s essential newsletters.
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➡️ Subscribe to West Wing Playbook | | | | | | | TALK OF THE TOWN | | OUT AND ABOUT — Back (again) to Cafe Milano last night, for the launch of Fox News star Bret Baier’s new biography of former President Teddy Roosevelt, “To Rescue the American Spirit” ($23.39). Truly bipartisan drinks parties are a rare treat in D.C. these days, but Baier can still pull it off — with a little help from old friend UAE Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, who sponsored a glitzy night of fine wine and canapés in the restaurant’s closed-off main room. Look who reads Playbook: “Very sorry to the diners who can't be at Cafe Milano tonight,” Baier told the crowd. “President Biden ... President Obama.” SPOTTED: Amy Baier, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, U.N. Ambassador Mike Waltz, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), Thomas Watkins, Steve Clemons, Amy Phelan, Woody Johnson and Suzanne Ircha and Robert Allbritton. Meanwhile: As Baier entertained guests at Cafe Milano last night, Status’ Oliver Darcy was reporting that new CBS News boss Bari Weiss has floated the idea of trying to lure Baier to the anchor chair on “CBS Evening News.” — Rep. Pat Ryan’s Patriot PAC hosted a launch event at Miru in New York City yesterday evening, where some of the 55 endorsed “Patriots” attended, including Joe Scianablo, Emiljana Ulaj, Josh Wojehowski and Matt Fascaldi. SPOTTED: Mandy Patinkin, Hilarie Burton, Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-Va), Mark Levine, Erik Bottcher, Robert Silverstein, Emily Cherniack, Aanchal Sahay, Tomas Kloosterman, Alyssa Cass, Morgan Harper, New York state Sen. Leah Goldman, Assemblyman Alex Bores, Alex Alex Navarro-McKay, Gerry Laybourne and Lisa and Steve Eisenstein. — SPOTTED at the Herald Group’s 20th anniversary party last night: Matt Well, Doug McGinn, Taylor Gross, Bill Bertles, Griff Jenkins, Carl Hulse, Grover Norquist, Amanda Eversole, Rebecca Karabus, Jack Mantua, Katelyn Bledsoe, Kelsey Zahourek, Andrew Langer, Michi Iljazi, Lem Smith, Chris Lamond and Chris Tymeson. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham … Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) … Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) and Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) … Tony Podesta … NYT’s Jonathan Weisman … Bloomberg’s Nancy Cook … The Counteroffensive’s Tim Mak … POLITICO’s Monica Akhtar and Aditi Madhok … Henry Schuster of “60 Minutes” … Antonia Ferrier … Melissa Luce … David Ferguson … Matt Thornton … Chris Tuck of the Senate GOP … FGS Global’s Michael Ahrens … Nareit’s Kierra Newton … Kristine Michalson of the House Press Gallery … Carl Cannon of RealClearPolitics … Jenna Schuette Talbot … Deadline’s Ted Johnson … Invariant’s Joey Smith … Tarrance Group’s Josh Davidson … former Reps. José Serrano (D-N.Y.) and Mary Bono (R-Calif.) … Liz Spayd … Law360’s Kellie Mejdrich … Marty Baron … Zephyr Teachout … Vox Media’s Lauren Starke … Patrick Cavanagh of the Steel Manufacturers Association … Carlton Forbes … Newsmax’s Marc Lotter … Chris Wilson … Manya-Jean Gitter 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 deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. | | | | A message from The Pharmaceutical Reform Alliance: Americans want to watch sports, not #BigPharma's ads. And yet, industry spending on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements surged 14% since the summer. Why? Big Pharma knows it has a captive audience as Americans hunker down to watch their favorite teams this football season. Luckily, Washington is taking action. The Trump administration, FDA, and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have taken critical steps to hold Big Pharma accountable for inundating Americans with harmful - and often intentionally misleading - ads. Bottom line? Americans want lower costs, NOT more ads from Big Pharma. Enough is enough. Read more. | | | | | | | | 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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