TRUMP TAKES THE PRAYER BREAKFAST: President Donald Trump began this morning’s National Prayer Breakfast by once again joking that he might not make it to heaven. “I just don't think I qualify. I don't think there's a thing I can do,” the president said, returning to a common refrain. “But all of these good things I'm doing, including for religion — religion is back now, hotter than ever before.” Over the next 77 minutes, the president embarked on his famous oratory “weave” — and wove far from the topic at hand. He touted Speaker Mike Johnson as a “very talented man” with a “small majority” and added that Johnson sometimes calls him at three in the morning to request that he speak with the “same nine” members of the conference who “need a little love.” Trump called out Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) by name, joking that he always has to say, “let’s get breakfast, Chip, great.” He defended embattled DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, whose job he said is safe in the wake of a series of high-profile missteps by her department, including the shooting of two protesters in Minnesota by ICE officers. “They were saying about Kristi Noem yesterday … ‘sir, are you going to relieve Kristi Noem from her duties?’ No. Why would I do that?” Trump said. He touched on DNI Tulsi Gabbard, who has faced scrutiny over her presence at an FBI raid at an election center in Georgia. (“They say, ‘Why is she doing it?’ Trump said. “Because [AG] Pam Bondi wanted her to do it.”) He touched on Iran (“they’re negotiating”) and Venezuela (we’re “getting along fantastically with leadership”) and even Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, who he claimed was doing a “very humane job” running the notorious CECOT prison, which has been called the “cemetery of the living dead.” Still, the president at times returned to the breakfast’s religious theme. He joked that Johnson, a devout Southern Baptist, asks to pray over meals. “I’ll say, ‘excuse me, we’re having lunch,’” Trump quipped. He also claimed he’s done “more for religion than any other president,” slamming modern-day executives for being “neutral” and bashing Democrats in particular. “I don’t know how a person of faith can vote for a Democrat,” Trump said. In closing, Trump quoted Matthew 5:8, “blessed are the pure in heart.” He turned away from the teleprompter. “I don't know if that applies to me necessarily,” the president said. “I’m not so sure.” He turned to his spiritual adviser, the televangelist Paula White-Cain. “I don’t know, Paula, does that apply to me? I’m not sure. I try.” Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at isentner@politico.com.
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4. MAKING ’EM TAP DANCE: Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) refused to voluntarily comply with DOJ’s investigation into a video she organized telling members of the military not to comply with “illegal orders,” informing U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro and AG Pam Bondi that she would not sit for an interview, AP’s Joey Cappelletti reports. “I did this to go on offense,” Slotkin told AP. “And to put them in a position where they’re tap dancing. To put them in a position where they have to own their choices of using a U.S. attorney’s office to come after a senator.” 5. TRAIL MIX: Republicans in Kentucky are split over three candidates running to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), according to polling out today by Emerson College. The survey found that among the state’s GOP primary voters, 24 percent support Rep. Andy Barr, 21 percent back state AG Daniel Cameron and 14 percent support businessman Nate Morris. Nearly 40 percent of primary voters remained undecided. In the Democratic primary, the poll found that 30 percent support Charles Booker and 19 percent for Amy McGrath, the party’s nominees in 2022 and 2020, respectively. (It also comes after an internal poll from Morris’ campaign done by Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio that showed Cameron leading Barr and Morris.) Red all over: “To Win Back the House, Democrats Take the Fight to Deep-Red Areas,” by NYT’s Shane Goldmacher: “All across the country, the Democrats trying to take back control of Congress have been scouring, scouting and recruiting candidates with compelling biographies to compete in seemingly lopsidedly red regions — with remarkable success.” The elephant in the room: “Jesse Jackson Jr. pitches redemption in bid for old House seat years after campaign fraud conviction,” by AP’s Sophia Tareen: “[T]he efforts to reclaim the name belonging to one of the nation’s most famous political families haven’t been without eyerolls and jabs from candidates in the crowded March primary who say Jackson had his chance in a district plagued by political corruption.” 6. CRYPTO CONTROVERSY: “‘Another reminder’: Capitol Hill braces for Trump ethics standoff over crypto bill,” by POLITICO’s Declan Harty and Jasper Goodman: “A new controversy over [Trump’s] ties to the cryptocurrency industry is sharpening Democratic demands that a sweeping digital assets bill include a provision reining in the first family’s crypto empire … after news that an Abu Dhabi royal backed a $500-million investment in a Trump-linked venture called World Liberty Financial.” 7. ONE JOB DOWN: Secretary of State Marco Rubio now has one fewer responsibility: His term as acting national archivist has officially lapsed, CNN’s Aleena Fayaz reports. Rubio, who leads the State Department while serving simultaneously as national security adviser and overseeing the transitional Venezuelan government, also previously was in charge of USAID.
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THE WAPO WOES — As this newsletter hits your inbox, hundreds of people are protesting outside WaPo’s HQ after yesterday’s mass layoffs hobbled the newsroom and enraged the region and media world. “These job eliminations only stand to weaken this historic organization, drive away readers and undercut The Post’s mission: to hold power to account without fear or favor and provide critical insight into communities across the region, country and world,” the Washington Post Guild wrote in call to action to “Save the Post,” which has seen more than 8,000 letters sent to owner Jeff Bezos, publisher Will Lewis and executive editor Matt Murray. More on the impact … — “You Can’t Kill Swagger,” by The Atlantic’s Sally Jenkins: “The Post Sports section is, was, no ordinary section, in heritage or in coverage. … We came from all over, competed desperately to outwrite one another, teased one another mercilessly, loved one another. … We had the best writers in the country and did more with less, and we knew it with a swagger.” — “He Was Laid Off at The Washington Post After Working There 60 Years,” by NYT’s Erik Wemple: “Martin Weil, one of hundreds being let go at The Post, has worked on local news there since 1965, witnessing the paper’s rise and now retrenchment.” How to save the ship: And a great many media figures have offered their own takes on how to turn the Post around, including … Axios’ Jim VandeHei, Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman and Semafor’s Ben Smith. Moving into the territory: Meanwhile, the Baltimore Banner is launching an aggressive and timely expansion of its coverage in Prince George’s County, “putting reporters on the ground in this vital part of the state, focusing on local news in and around key towns including Bowie, Laurel, Greenbelt and College Park,” Banner CEO Bob Cohn said in the announcement. He added that the area is “woefully underserved by local news sources – and now more than ever.” WELCOME TO … HEADQUARTERS? As POLITICO’s Elena Schneider scooped in Playbook this morning, former VP Kamala Harris has rebranded her 2024 campaign X account, previously @kamalahq, to @headquarters_67 (yes, that 67, which your early 20s Gen-Z author is too old to understand). Harris is calling it a “new Gen-Z led progressive content hub” — which so far appears to involve throwing Gavin Newsom-style social media shade on Trump and Republicans. If the goal was to get people talking about it ... it seems to have succeeded in that endeavor. PLAYBOOK STYLE SECTION — “How sparkly bomber jackets became the uniform of the modern MAGA lady,” by WaPo’s Maura Judkis: “Deborah Yanna, a retired salon owner, wasn’t sure what to wear to the Republican National Convention. So she created a style trend.” OUT AND ABOUT — On Wednesday night, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater celebrated its 26th Annual Washington D.C. Gala Benefit at the Warner Theatre, as part of an expansive 11-performance engagement through Feb. 8. This milestone season celebrating legacy in motion raises the curtain on a new era under the leadership of Artistic Director and D.C. native, Alicia Graf Mack. SPOTTED: Reps. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), Emilia Sykes (D-Ohio), Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) and Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Johnbull Okpara, Daria and Eric Wallach, Bennett Rink, Colette Honorable, Anthony Lewis, Nicole Venable, Yebbie Watkins, Gina Adams, Lata Reddy, Larry Duncan, Joyce Brayboy, Jennifer Stewart, Katharine Weymouth and Heather Podesta. — Precision Strategies and Firehouse Strategies held a reception last night for the launch of Jenner & Block and the Project on Government Oversight's “When Congress Comes Calling,” a handbook for the congressional oversight community. SPOTTED: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Rep. Josh Riley (D-N.Y.), Stephanie Cutter, Alex Conant, Emily Loeb, Ashley Callen, Matthew Klapper, Danny Schwarz, Sam Ungar, Xochitl Hinojosa, Ches Garrison, Sarah Feldman, Maryam Mujica, Bobby Parmiter, Angeli Chawla and Zoriana Moulton. — SPOTTED at the INCOMPAS Policy Summit at Venable: Chip Pickering, Christopher Shipley, Staci Pies, Julia Strow, Keith Matthews, Olivia Trusty, Reps. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) and Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), Sens. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.), Mignon Clyburn, Brooke Donilon, Dan Davis, Drew Clark, David Avery, Ben Sanborn, Rebecca Hussey, Tom Linebarger, Ariane Schaffer, Brendan West, Paula Boyd, Pamela Arluk, Claude Aiken, Carl Guardino, Jonathan Spalter, Alexander Botting and Evelyn Remaley. TRANSITIONS — Tuyet Duong is now chief strategy officer, Katelyn Israelski is now chief program officer and Maria Javier is director of digital strategy and infrastructure at the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum. 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.
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