| | | |  | | By Adam Wren | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine, Ali Bianco and Rachel Umansky-Castro Happy Saturday morning. This is Adam Wren. Get in touch.
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be watching the matchup between the Florida State University Seminoles and the University of Florida Gators | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | FIELD OF PLAY: Ron DeSantis knows ball. And he wants you to know he knows ball. Today, on a Saturday when millions of Americans will plop themselves in front of a screen if not in a stadium to take in the final Saturday of regular season college football and its rivalry week (your Playbook author included, go Bucks beat Michigan) DeSantis is no different. The question: Why now? The rundown: DeSantis will be watching the matchup between the Florida State University Seminoles and the University of Florida Gators, his office told Playbook, and also kept an eye on the Egg Bowl yesterday between Ole Miss and Mississippi State. But there’s perhaps a deeper play unfolding on the field for the former Yale outfielder. Just peruse the X timeline of the term-limited Florida governor, cheerleader of the “Alligator Alcatraz” immigrant detention center and former 2024 GOP presidential primary candidate. Let’s go to the tape … Exhibit A: Does Indiana University’s football team have a case to be No. 1 in the country? “They will have a chance to prove the case in the conference championship game, but until then the defending champs are #1 until someone beats them,” DeSantis posted on Oct. 25. Exhibit B: Who does he want to prevail in the Navy vs. Florida Atlantic game? “I’m a Navy guy so I win either way,” he told the X user @Phantom2Phlyer the same day. Exhibit C: On the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game against the New England Patriots being blacked out: “It said to sign up for Paramount, so I did — and they only had the Jaguars-Texas game, which was already on CBS broadcast. What a joke!” he posted earlier this month. Exhibit D: On whether the late Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Roberto Clemente was a top-15 player: “He is definitely top 25 and borderline top 15 but not ahead of: Ruth, Mays, Aaron, Gehrig, Cobb, Mantle, Williams, DiMaggio, Musial, Griffey Jr., Ohtani, Bonds, Pujols, Hornsby,” DeSantis posted a few weeks ago. All told, a Grok analysis shows that from Aug. 28 to Nov. 28, DeSantis posted about sports nearly four dozen times. In the previous three months before that? He posted about sports just 18 times. What’s happening? “Those of us that have known him for 25-plus years? He loves sports, he loves live sports, and he’s got little kids that are getting into sports as they get older, and it’s a big passion of his, so I’m not surprised,” Mike Elias, a longtime DeSantis friend and former fellow Yale University baseball player a few years behind him, told Playbook. “I think it's nice of him to bring that part of his personality public,” added Elias, who is currently the Baltimore Orioles president of baseball operations and general manager. Why's he doing it more? Our own Florida Playbook author Kimberly Leonard quizzed Florida Lt. Gov. Jay Collins about the new DeSantis public image: “I think it’s a side of him that’s always been there, people just didn’t get to see it.” Here’s another theory: Every future presidential candidate has their own tell they’re interested in a run: launching a podcast, doing town halls in early states and the Midwest, losing weight. For DeSantis, who struggled with the image of an awkward automaton during his own prior presidential run, grumbling about the ump and jawing about the Hall of Fame ballot could very well be the Florida man’s own tell. POLITICO previously reported that chief of staff turned presidential campaign manager turned Florida AG James Uthmeier urged DeSantis to begin showing more of his personal side on social media that included posting football prediction videos with his son, according to one GOP lobbyist granted anonymity to relay behind-the-scenes dynamics. DeSantis would be just one in a long line of politicians to use sports as a conduit to connect with voters. And he’s not alone in 2025: Ambitious Democrats, trying to win back men, are doing much the same. Pulse check: We asked POLITICO’s Sunshine State scribes for the latest inside thinking on what’s next DeSantis. “This more unplugged version of DeSantis comes amid an uncertain future once his term as governor is finally finished,” POLITICO’s Gary Fineout writes in. “At one point those around DeSantis expected him to run for president in 2028. But now when asked, those in his orbit are unsure about his next moves given the anticipation that VP JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio are likely to be the top GOP contenders for president.” It’s not that DeSantis isn’t authentically a sports fan. He is. It’s that he’s embracing that fandom in a very public way — evidence, perhaps, of a chance to connect with Bubba voters. Asked about whether this is unfolding in advance of a 2028 presidential bid, a DeSantis spokesperson told Playbook: “It’s just Ron being Ron.” Choose your sports metaphor: DeSantis is leaving it all on the field. HOT ON THE RIGHT: Kentucky GOP Rep. Andy Barr, who is running for Senate, saying in a video from 2021 that, “We have failed in our obligation to help many of these Afghans who risked their lives and in many cases died for the cause of their own country in assistance to the United States, and we owe them to help them get into our country with these visas, and the P1 and P2 visas as well, and I voted for these special immigrant visas.” The comment is resurfacing in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard soldiers in D.C. this past week, with the suspected shooter being an Afghan refugee. Laura Ingraham and other MAGA figures have hit Barr for the remarks. Barr’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment by POLITICO. HOT ON THE LEFT: Indiana GOP state Sen. Mike Bohacek, who has a daughter with Down syndrome, saying in a Facebook post he is a “no” on redistricting because of President Donald Trump’s use of a slur in a Truth Social post. Of Trump, he said: “perhaps he can use the next 10 months to convince voters that his policies and behavior deserve a congressional majority.”
| | | | A message from McDonald's: Extra Value Meals are back at McDonald's, which means Americans can save when you make it a meal. McDonald's is committed to providing quality food at a good value, so this month, fans can get even deeper discounts on two of the most popular Extra Value Meals, the $5 Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddles® Meal and $8 10 pc. Chicken McNuggets® Meal, for a limited time*. | | | | 9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US 1. D.C. SHOOTING LATEST: Following the fatal shooting targeting National Guard officers near the White House, National Guard troops will now be paired with local law enforcement in D.C. for high-visibility patrols, starting next Thursday and Friday, WaPo’s Jenny Gathright and colleagues report. The suspect, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, has now been charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of assault with intent to kill, following the death of National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, per AP. None of the West Virginia troops have asked to leave D.C., Gov. Patrick Morrisey said yesterday, per CBS. The fallout: The suspect’s background as an Afghan evacuee has relit the firestorm of criticism over vetting during the Biden administration’s “Operation Allies Welcome.” But Lakanwal did undergo thorough vetting by counterterrorism authorities, WaPo’s Mariana Alfaro and colleagues report. “Lakanwal was vetted years ago, before working with the CIA in Afghanistan, and then again before he arrived in the U.S. in 2021. Those examinations involved both the National Counterterrorism Center as well as the CIA.” The shooting has also reinvigorated Trump’s sweeping anti-immigrant agenda, looking at a more intense crackdown on many legal immigrants from what the administration deems high-risk countries, WSJ’s Louise Radnofsky and Michelle Hackman write. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services was instructed to pause all asylum decisions, including any approvals or denials, indefinitely, CBS’ Camilo Montoya-Galvez scoops. The U.S. also stopped issuing visas to Afghan nationals “until we can ensure that every alien is vetted,” USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said, per NYT. Refugee groups are concerned that refugees already in the U.S. could be sent back to their unstable home countries, AP’s Martha Bellisle writes. 2. ROCKING THE BOAT: Trump spoke with Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro by phone last week and left open the possibility of a meeting between them even as he continues his threats against Venezuela, NYT’s Maggie Haberman and Anatoly Kurmanaev scoop. The phone call included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and happened just before the new foreign terrorist designations related to Venezuelan cartels. But in a split screen, Trump posted to Truth Social this morning that Venezuelan airspace should be considered “closed in its entirety,” hinting more threats in the area, per Bloomberg. Strike out: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s spoken orders on the very first Caribbean boat strike, targeting 11 people believed to be trafficking drugs, “was to kill everybody,” WaPo’s Alex Horton and Ellen Nakashima report. When two survived the initial first strike on Sept. 2, the Special Operations commander ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s order. Hegseth denounced the report on X as “fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory” and said the strikes have always been intended to be “lethal, kinetic strikes.” 3. SPEAKING OF LATIN AMERICA: “Trump Announces Pardon for Honduran Ex-President Convicted in Drug Case,” by NYT’s Annie Correal and colleagues: “Trump announced on Friday afternoon that he would grant ‘a Full and Complete Pardon’ to a former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, who, as the center of a sweeping drug case, was found guilty by an American jury last year of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. The news came as a shock not only to Hondurans, but also to the authorities in the United States who had built a major case and won a conviction against Mr. Hernández.” 4. TO ZELENSKYY, WITH LOVE: A Ukrainian delegation is U.S.-bound to further discussions over a potential peace proposal that would end the war in Ukraine, Bloomberg’s Daryna Krasnolutska and Alberto Nardelli report. The top lieutenants of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in Florida. The confab comes as Witkoff prepares to visit Moscow this week for talks with Russia. In the interim, Russia’s attacks remain relentless, with the latest bringing an overnight 10-hour barrage across Ukraine, per NYT. State of play: Absent from negotiations will be Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s right-hand man and top negotiator. Yermak resigned yesterday in the wake of a corruption scandal, marking “the biggest shake-up of Ukraine’s government since the start of the war and deprives [Zelenskyy] of a trusted emissary at a pivotal moment,” WSJ’s Ian Lovett and colleagues write. Also absent in talks next week will be Rubio, who plans to skip a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels and will send his deputy, Christopher Landau, instead, Reuters’ Gram Slattery and Humeyra Pamuk report. Must read: “Make Money Not War: Trump’s Real Plan for Peace in Ukraine,” by WSJ’s Drew Hinshaw and colleagues: “The Kremlin pitched the White House on peace through business. To Europe’s dismay, the president and his envoy are on board.”
| | | | A message from McDonald's:  
Start your morning with a $5 Sausage, Egg & Cheese McGriddles® meal – which comes with Hash Browns and a small coffee – for a limited time*. | | | | 5. BIDEN, AGAIN: Trump announced yesterday that he’s revoking all executive orders signed by former President Joe Biden with an autopen, WSJ’s Alyssa Lukpat reports. “Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury,” Trump said on Truth Social. Biden has denied that his aides used the autopen to sign pardons and commutations without his approval. “Trump could potentially revoke Biden’s legislation or the dozens of pardons he issued, including to family members. Biden also gave thousands of commutations at the end of his presidency. Still, legal scholars say there is no mechanism to undo clemency after it is granted,” per WSJ. 6. TRAIL MIX: Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson will host a tele-rally on Monday evening to support GOP candidate Matt Van Epps in the high-stakes Tennessee special election on Tuesday, Axios’ Alex Isenstadt reports. Johnson is holding multiple campaign events in Nashville earlier in the day in the last-minute push. “Should Republicans lose — or win narrowly — it would further expectations that the party is heading toward a perilous midterm election.” On the numbers: Trump’s approval numbers have reached a new second-term low in the latest Gallup poll. His approval is now at 36 percent, while disapproval has gone up to 60 percent. Republicans’ approval of Trump dropped seven points, but remains high at 84 percent. Approval among independents dropped by eight points, now at 25 percent. Battleground players: One of the next big electoral tests for the GOP will be Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race, but Republicans in the state have been on a losing streak and remain at odds on the path to victory, POLITICO’s Gregory Svirnovskiy reports. … Democrats are hoping a “Trump slump” will help them win the governor’s seat in Nevada, but Gov. Joe Lombardo’s track record isn’t making it easy, POLITICO’s Natalie Fertig and Samuel Benson write. 7. SCHOOL TIES: “Northwestern reaches $75M deal with Trump administration to get federal funding reinstated,” by POLITICO’s Bianca Quilantan: “The university said Friday the agreement would end probes by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education on the school’s compliance with anti-discrimination laws. … Northwestern expects federal funds will start flowing within days and be fully restored within 30 days. … The university did agree to establish a special committee of the Board of Trustees to ensure compliance with the agreement.” 8. MEDIAWATCH: “Trump ramps up reporter attacks with White House media bias tracker,” by WaPo’s Scott Nover: “The White House launched a page on its website Friday devoted to naming and shaming media outlets and reporters that publish stories it disagrees with. … It also lists an ‘Offender Hall of Shame’ that features The Washington Post, CBS News, CNN and MSNBC — the former name of the cable network MS NOW. The page shows a database of news articles from these publications and others, the names of the reporters who wrote them and categories of offenses, including ‘bias,’ ‘lie’ and ‘left wing lunacy.’” DOD on arrival: “Pentagon’s right-wing, pared press corps gets a meet-and-greet,” by Nover: “The Defense Department is set to play host to right-wing media at the Pentagon early next week for its first in-person press event and briefing since the mainstream press corps walked out in October rather than sign the department’s new press policy.” 9. FOR YOUR RADAR: “Congo, Rwanda presidents to sign peace deal in Washington next week, sources say,” by Reuters: “The presidents of Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda will travel to Washington next week to sign a peace deal and meet with [Trump] … as the U.S. tries to broker peace in war-hit eastern Congo and attract Western mining investments to the region. Two diplomatic sources and Tina Salama, spokesperson for Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, told Reuters the meeting would take place on December 4.”
| | | | A message from McDonald's:  
The return of Extra Value Meals ensures Americans can find everyday affordable pricing at McDonald's. | | | | CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 17 funnies
| 
|
GREAT WEEKEND READS:
— “Two Men. One Identity. They Both Paid the Price,” by NYT’s Eli Saslow: “Thousands of undocumented workers rely on fraudulent Social Security numbers. One of them belonged to Dan Kluver.” — “Why Is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. So Convinced He’s Right?” by The Atlantic’s Michael Scherer: “How an outsider, once ignored by the public-health establishment, became the most powerful man in science.” — “Ken Burns Still Thinks America Is Perfectible,” by Bloomberg’s Mishal Husain: “The American Revolution filmmaker talks about the hypocrisies of US history and what’s missing from our political lives today.” — “Disappeared to a Foreign Prison,” by The New Yorker’s Sarah Stillman: “The Trump Administration is deporting people to countries they have no ties to, where many are being detained indefinitely or forcibly returned to the places they fled.” — “ICE Sent 600 Immigrant Kids to Detention in Federal Shelters This Year. It’s a New Record,” by ProPublica’s Mica Rosenberg and colleagues: “Today, family separations are back, only now they are happening all across the country.” — “A conservative media war erupts. Both sides hope Trump is in their corner,” by POLITICO’s John Hendel: “Republican figures are locked in a fight over how big a TV broadcaster can get — with Trump and his regulator Brendan Carr in the middle.” — “Liberal media’s big year online,” by Chaotic Era’s Kyle Tharp: “This year has seen Democratic operatives pitch donors on more than a dozen new efforts, while established left-of-center outlets grew faster than ever.” — “How Not to Get Away With Murder,” by Toronto Life’s Sarah Treleaven: “When a friend got in the way of their plans, they combined forces and pulled off a murder plot so preposterous that one of their lawyers used stupidity as a defence.”
| | TALK OF THE TOWN | | Melania Trump has launched her own production company, Muse Films, and will premiere “MELANIA,” the documentary, in theaters worldwide on Jan. 30, 2026. YOWZA — “Embattled Rep. Cory Mills used campaign funds to party at beachfront resorts, charter private jets,” by the Washington Examiner’s Robert Schmad:“The reelection campaign for Mills ... spent nearly $80,000 on fine dining, luxury lodging, private jets, and limos between February 2023 and December 2024 … A spokesperson for Mills declined to comment on this story.” ENGAGED — Alex Monié, senior adviser of tax policy at the Department of Treasury, proposed to Stef Webb, managing VP of government relations at the National Association of Manufacturers, on Nov. 26 in Navy Yard. The two met at The Eastern in 2021 and started dating in January 2025. Pic, via Chris Ferenzi Photography … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rahm Emanuel … CNN’s Pamela Brown … Emily Lenzner … L.A. Times’ Mark Barabak … Margaret Carlson … Hayley Dierker of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee … Matt Hall … POLITICO’s Ian Ward and Neha Sati … Ceara Flake … Liz Schrayer of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and Schrayer & Associates … Janet Napolitano … Abby Duggan of Rep. John Mannion’s (D-N.Y.) office … Madeline Ryan … Chris Frates of Storyline … Alexandra Ulmer … Liza Acevedo of Amazon … Sarah Venuto … Public Citizen’s Robert Weissman … Ryan Leavitt … Stacy Rich … Ohio state Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) … Trent Spiner … Wade Chapman of Rep. Shomari Figures’ (D-Ala.) office … Graves Spindler … Sydelle Moore THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here): CBS “Face the Nation”: National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett … Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) … Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) … Claire Babineaux-Fontenot … Samantha Vinograd. NBC “Meet the Press”: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem … Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) … Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Panel: Val Demmings, Mike Dubke, Susan Glasser and Garrett Haake. ABC “This Week”: Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) … Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.). Panel: Chris Christie, Donna Brazile, Faiz Shakir and Frank Luntz. FOX “Fox News Sunday”: AG Pam Bondi … Sundar Pichai … Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) … Megan Garcia. Panel: Mary Katharine Ham and Kevin Walling. Sunday special: Zachary Levi. CNN “State of the Union”: Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) … Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) … Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.). Panel: Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.), Xochitl Hinojosa, Karen Finney and Kristen Soltis Anderson. Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures”: Border czar Tom Homan … Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) … Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) … acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba … Benny Johnson. MS NOW “The Weekend”: Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) ... Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) ... Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.). NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”: Hawaii Gov. Josh Green … Ezekiel Emanuel … Avik Roy … P.J. Parmar … Daniel Claassen. 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 McDonald's: McDonald's will always be a place where Americans can get affordable food at a good value. In celebration of the return of Extra Value Meals to menus nationwide, eight of the most popular Extra Value Meals will save customers 15 percent when compared to purchasing an entree, fries and a drink individually. With options across breakfast, lunch and dinner, there's an Extra Value Meal for every craving. *Prices & participation may vary. Prices may be higher in Hawaii, Alaska and California and for delivery. | | | | | | | | 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 | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment