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By Makayla Gray and Eli Okun |
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THE CATCH-UP |
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President Donald Trump is threatening existential attacks on Iran as soon as tonight if Tehran doesn't strike a deal. | Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP |
TRUMP UPS PRESSURE: President Donald Trump delivered an eye-popping threat to destroy an entire civilization in Iran tonight if a deal isn’t reached, intensifying pressure ahead of his deadline for Tehran to fully open the Strait of Hormuz. The post that shocked the world: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump said on Truth Social. “However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!” The stunning statement from Trump could put U.S. forces in legal jeopardy if they comply, experts and former military officials told WaPo’s Adam Taylor and Ellen Nakashima. One called Trump’s threat the “very definition of terrorism.” Siren: “Gulf Arab countries are in the dark. The U.S.’s European allies are clueless. Even people close to the White House are unsure what’s next,” POLITICO’s Megan Messerly and colleagues write. Trump’s dire threat “has some fearing the worst case scenario: that the president would use nuclear weapons against Iran.” The reaction: Both Republicans and Democrats condemned Trump’s post this morning, with some notable MAGA isolationists calling for the 25th Amendment to be invoked, including Candace Owens and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Dozens of congressional Dems demanded that Trump be removed from office, accusing him of genocidal rhetoric. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the president “an extremely sick person,” and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Trump “has lost his mind.” The latest on the ground: The U.S. conducted overnight strikes on Kharg Island, a White House official confirmed to AP — though a U.S. official described the attacks as “hitting targets previously struck and not directed at oil infrastructure.” Iranian officials have begun urging people to form human chains to protect power plants and other potential targets, AP’s Bassem Mroue and colleagues report. Iran has reportedly stopped efforts to negotiate with the U.S., halting ceasefire talks, NYT’s Farnaz Fassihi reports, but the U.S. is claiming progress in the ongoing negotiation, per Axios’ Barak Ravid and Marc Caputo. “A U.S. official said the thinking in the White House has shifted from ‘can we get there?’ to ‘can we get there by 8 o'clock tonight?’” per Axios. “Only the President knows where things stand and what he will do,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement, per the Washington Examiner’s Christian Datoc. One Iranian source told Reuters’ Phil Stewart that “if the situation gets out of control, Iran’s allies will also close the Bab El-Mandeb Strait.” Lawmakers are eyeing a deadline of their own as the war approaches the 60-day mark at the end of April, after which Trump could extend the fighting for only another 30 days before requiring congressional approval, WSJ’s Lindsay Wise reports. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats are planning to force another war powers vote and he’s “optimistic it could pass,” per NYT’s Annie Karni. How we got here: NYT’s Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman go inside the Situation Room for a major piece drawing on reporting for their forthcoming book (more on that below), detailing a Feb. 11 meeting with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, where Netanyahu pitched Trump on joining in the campaign against Iran. The reporting, they write, shows “how closely Mr. Trump’s hawkish thinking aligned with Mr. Netanyahu’s over many months” — and how most skeptics in the administration “deferred to the president’s instincts, including his abundant confidence that the war would be quick and decisive.” Also notable: WaPo’s John Hudson and colleagues report that there are “concerns inside the Trump administration that [Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s] messaging about the war is overly optimistic and risks misinforming both the public and the president.” The Pentagon called the story “lies and propaganda.” Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. This is Makayla Gray and Eli Okun. Drop us a line at mgray@politico.com and eokun@politico.com.
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A message from AHIP: Health plans are advocates for affordability. Plans negotiate lower prices from providers and drugmakers, protect consumers from unexpected medical bills and support common-sense solutions to tackle the drivers of high and rising costs. Learn more. |
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7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW |
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1. ELECTION DAY: As Wisconsin prepares to fill a state Supreme Court seat tonight in a post-Elon Musk-centered election, the stakes for candidates Maria Lazar and Chris Taylor will have national significance in the swing state that has the potential to shape federal elections. Lazar is running as an independent with large campaign funding support from conservatives, while Taylor framed her liberal viewpoints as a baseline for what Wisconsin voters want. “[Lazar] has said on numerous occasions that she is a conservative, and she is running to replace a conservative, extremely right-wing justice who routinely ruled in favor of powerful corporations and right-wing special interests, and that’s what people [in] the state of Wisconsin are so tired of.” Taylor told Playbook in an interview today. Say cheese: As for the political swing of Wisconsin, Lazar says it is less “purple” and more “orange,” comparing voters’ political ideologies to the Cheese State itself. “If you have a court that’s right or left, I think you jeopardize everybody’s rights,” Lazar told Makayla today, affirming her nonpartisan stance for the court hoping to appeal to a larger mass of voters. Down-ballot digest: “Wisconsin town revolts against a Trump-backed data center project,” by POLITICO’s Tyler Katzenberger: “The vote in Port Washington, a lakeside town of roughly 12,000 people just north of Milwaukee, appears to be the first time any U.S. municipality will go to the ballot to kneecap data center development … and offers a potential blueprint for other small towns challenging Big Tech.” 2. VANCE ABROAD: In Budapest today, VP JD Vance hailed Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán, the illiberal nationalist facing a tough election Sunday, as a like-minded bulwark and ally against the left. “I’m here because of the moral cooperation between our two countries,” Vance said, while claiming that it’s the EU — not the U.S. — trying to meddle in Hungary’s election, POLITICO’s Jamie Dettmer and Max Griera report. Vance cited MAGA’s and Orbán’s shared passion for defending Western civilization and Christian values, and he urged Hungarians not to “bend the knee to tyranny.” And at a rally with Orbán, Vance called Trump from the stage for some extra support. But one analyst warns our colleagues that Vance’s support comes as some Hungarians have soured on the Trump administration: “Vance’s visit could have the opposite effect on Orbán’s popularity than the one intended.” 3. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Ad it up: Americans for Prosperity Action has kicked off a $500,000 ad buy to boost Republican Mike Rogers in the Michigan Senate race, Playbook’s Ali Bianco scoops. It’s a positive affordability-focused spot casting Rogers as a consensus-builder who’ll help give families financial relief. This latest ad buy rounds out a more than $1.5 million investment from AFP across four crucial Senate swing states. Watch it here
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4. ON THE TRAIL: In an interview with Playbook’s Adam Wren hours before his set of campaign rallies with far-left Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed declined to disagree with Piker’s X post today that “donald trump is adolf hitler.” “I mean, when you’re threatening genocide against the whole people, that speaks for itself,” El-Sayed said. “When I saw that tweet, that is a genocidal tweet. You’re talking about a country of 93 million and he’s talking about a whole civilization ceasing to exist. That is Hitler-like rhetoric.” Any other disagreements with Piker? “Look, at the end of the day, like, he is a creator,” El-Sayed told Adam. “I am running for U.S. Senate in Michigan. We are not the same person. Attempts to tie us together on everything he’s ever said are absurd.” El-Sayed is doing a big media blitz today, talking with the NYT, CNN and Fox, among other outlets. 5. SOME LABELS: “There’s a Third Political Party in Arizona. Just Don’t Call It ‘Independent,’” by NYT’s Reis Thebault in Phoenix: “Arizona’s Democratic and Republican parties sued to stop the [Arizona Independent Party], originally a chapter of the centrist No Labels organization, from using the word, arguing it was meant to mislead sought-after voters into a camp they had no intention of joining. In a blistering ruling last month, a judge in Phoenix sided with the major parties … Now, after the court ruling, the party finds itself with an unsettled name, plenty of enemies on the right and the left, and a fraught decision on whether to appeal.” 6. IMMIGRATION FILES: Senate Republicans are divided over how ambitious to make their reconciliation efforts to fund immigration enforcement, Semafor’s Burgess Everett and Nick Wu report. Some want to focus only on money for ICE and CBP, while others are inclined to pass three years of funding for the entirety of DHS. The Senate Budget Committee hasn’t made a firm decision yet. House Democrats, meanwhile, were mostly on the same page on a call yesterday evening, planning to stand firm in support of the Senate-passed bill. The crackdown: In roughly the first 13 months of Trump’s second term, TSA gave ICE tips about immigrants that led to more than 800 arrests, Reuters’ Ted Hesson and Kristina Cooke scooped. Some 31,000 people had their records shared with ICE. And as ICE scrambled to buy warehouses to use as immigration jails, it paid almost 50 percent more for a Utah facility last month than the warehouse’s value had been assessed last year, The Atlantic’s Nick Miroff reports. That went through in the final days of Secretary Kristi Noem’s tenure; under Markwayne Mullin, its conversion has now been paused for review. 7. THE IMPACT OF HEALTH CUTS: “Idaho Cut Services for People With Schizophrenia. Then the Deaths Began,” by NYT’s Ellen Barry in Boise, Arco and Fort Hall: “The deaths so alarmed Idaho legislators that last week they took the unusual step of voting to restore funding for the program … Idaho’s experience may serve as a harbinger for other states poised to make deep cuts in Medicaid. … In August, Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, issued an executive order requiring each state agency to reduce spending by 3 percent, in part to ‘make way’ for the president’s tax cuts.”
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A message from AHIP:  
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TALK OF THE TOWN |
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BOOK CLUB — Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan’s new book has the striking title “Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump,” Axios’ Mike Allen scooped. Simon & Schuster will publish the golden-covered book June 23. And Allen reports that it’s “causing high anxiety in Trumpworld. … It’s the Trump book that even Trump is waiting for.” PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “Trump Will Fund New Archway With $15 Million From the National Endowment for the Humanities,” by NOTUS’ Mark Alfred: “The NEH spending plan includes $2 million reserved for the arch, along with $13 million worth of matching grants. It confirms for the first time the president’s intention to use taxpayer dollars to at least partially fund his project. Trump previously told a group of donors that the archway was fully funded.” FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The Creative Coalition’s annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend party, the Right to Bear Arts Benefit Dinner, will take place this year at the “bitcoin bar” PubKey on Friday, April 24. The event will include the return of the Christopher Reeve First Amendment Award and a jam session. Among the celebrity guests slated to attend: Pamela Adlon, Zachary Levi, Michael and Michelle Chiklis, Tim Daly, Wendie Malick, Iain Armitage, William Stanford Davis, Asher Grodman, Rob Morrow, Rebecca Wisocky and Jazz Raycole. ANNALS OF INFLUENCE — “Agents from the U.S. Marshals Service this morning raided the home of Jim Courtovich, the once-high flying political fixer and party host,” Brody Mullins reported from the scene in his Influence newsletter. “Armed marshals are enforcing an order from a federal district court to claim $4 million the court says Courtovich swindled from investors in a lobbying business they created together a decade ago.” AND THE NOMINEES ARE — This year’s News & Documentary Emmy Awards announced lists of nominees this morning. The top live and recorded news programs comprised “ABC World News Tonight with David Muir,” “Anderson Cooper 360,” “Good Morning America,” “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” “NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas,” “Today Show,” “ABC News Nightline,” “CBS News Sunday Morning,” “Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller” and “The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper.” Camilo Montoya-Galvez, Hanako Montgomery, Jay O’Brien and Katie Tutrone were tapped for Outstanding Emerging News Journalist. See the very lengthy list of all the nominees THE BRAVE NEW WORLD — After striking deals with CNN and CNBC, Kalshi inked a product-placement agreement with Fox Corp. to have its prediction markets included in programming across Fox News, Fox Business and other channels, per The Hollywood Reporter. But the betting forecasts won’t be incorporated into Fox’s elections coverage. WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — William Benson is now an associate at August Strategy Group. He previously worked for the Domestic Policy Council. MEDIA MOVES — WaPo has named Annah Aschbrenner senior editor for the Hub, moving over from the White House team, and added Talia Price as comms manager. Price previously worked for Pew Research. … Marianna Sotomayor is joining Puck as Capitol Hill correspondent, per Status. She currently works at WaPo. … Leo Schwartz is joining The Information to cover the intersection of politics and tech. He previously worked at Fortune. TRANSITIONS — Emma Baldino is now government relations lead for ICEYE US. She previously worked at Invariant. … Sean Clifford will be president of the American Federation for Children Scholarship Fund. He most recently worked at Tikvah. 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 Giuseppe Macri and deputy editor Garrett Ross.
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