| | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza and Eugene Daniels | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
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At its core, Biden's speech was about an issue as grave as any that a president might address: what he described as "an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic." | Brandon Bell/Getty Images | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | THE NEW NORMAL — John Harris' latest: "One More Trump Legacy: The Casual Savagery of American Politics" BIDEN'S FOUR SPEECHES — There was a lot going on in President JOE BIDEN's 24-minute primetime speech at Philadelphia's Independence Hall Thursday night. If you felt some whiplash listening to him, you're not alone. We are in the midst of a confusing and turbulent political period 10 weeks before the midterms, and it seemed to us that Biden was attempting to weave together and make sense of a lot of contradictory political currents. FIRST, at its core, the speech was about an issue as grave as any that a president might address: what Biden described as "an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic." The speech was studded with similarly alarming language: — "[A]s I stand here tonight, equality and democracy are under assault. We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise." — "[T]here's no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by DONALD TRUMP and the MAGA Republicans. And that is a threat to this country." — Biden quoted conservative jurist J. MICHAEL LUTTIG , who, the president said, "has called Trump and the extreme MAGA Republicans 'a clear and present danger' to our democracy." — He spoke about how "blind loyalty to a single leader and a willingness to engage in political violence is fatal to democracy." — He was as blunt as he could possibly be: "MAGA Republicans are destroying American democracy." When was the last time a president felt obligated to issue such dire warnings? These were not just broad, evidence-free allegations. He came with receipts: Trump and his allies' refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election, the effort to install election deniers to key positions across America, the celebration of the violence on Jan. 6, the threats to election workers, FBI agents and other bureaucratic targets, the widespread adoption and fanning of ludicrous conspiracy theories. These are all undeniable features of a segment of the modern GOP — what Biden has labeled "MAGA Republicans." That was the threat-to-democracy part of the speech. But there were a few more threads woven together that made the overall address a lot more complicated. SECOND, there was a more traditional attack on Republican policies. "MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards, backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love," Biden said. "They promote authoritarian leaders, and they fanned the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country." The first sentence is about the judicial philosophy of the conservative legal movement that long predates Trump. The second sentence is at the heart of concerns about democratic backsliding. The White House has been previewing this theme for a while now: tying long-standing conservative policies to the new anti-democratic impulses coursing through the Trump movement.
| | | | A message from Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids: FDA's delays mean nicotine-loaded flavored e-cigarettes are headed back to school.
Ignoring deadlines set by courts and Congress, the FDA has allowed highly addictive flavored e-cigarettes to remain on store shelves — leaving kids at risk.
Learn what the FDA must do right now to stop Big Tobacco from luring kids into lifelong addiction. | | | THIRD, there was the speech within the speech about how things aren't actually so bad. Biden managed to slide in a defense of his record: "the largest economic recovery package since FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT … the biggest infrastructure investment since President DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER … the most significant gun safety law since President CLINTON … the most significant health care reform since President OBAMA signed the Affordable Care Act … the most important climate initiative ever." He went on to note the progress made on Covid, "which no longer controls our lives," the economy, schools that are now open, victims of burn pits who are now being compensated, reduced poverty, and increased domestic manufacturing. Many of those achievements (infrastructure, the gun law, the burn pit bill, legislation to boost manufacturing) were the result of big bipartisan votes in what has been a historically productive Congress. In other words: democracy flourishing, at least in terms of legislative output, alongside the same storm of threats he described elsewhere. FOURTH, the speech had a very specific near-term political purpose: to put Trump, who is more unpopular than the still-underwater Biden, at the center of the midterms to nationalize the election as a choice between Bidenism and MAGA. Left unaddressed by Biden was another political aspect of the current democracy debate: how Democrats have boosted election deniers in primaries across the country. It's not exactly surprising that Biden is melding his warnings about democratic backsliding with his own political interests. But the speech — and the fierce reaction from top Republicans like KEVIN McCARTHY, who, in a prebuttal that the NYT likened to "an extended taunt of 'I know you are, but what am I?'" said Biden "has launched an assault on our democracy" — made one thing more clear. The idea of safeguarding democracy has now become a partisan issue. Watch: "Biden's prime-time speech on Trump and 'MAGA Republicans,' in 180 seconds"
| | | | A message from Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids:   | | | Happy Friday. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels , Ryan Lizza. TRUMP, HELPING BIDEN'S CASE — Trump told radio host WENDY BELL Thursday that he'd strongly consider pardons for Jan. 6 defendants, and that he's offering financial support to some of them currently. "They were in my office actually two days ago," he said. "It's very much on my mind. It's a disgrace what they've done to them." More from Reuters ALL EYES ON PENNSYLVANIA — Between Biden's multiple stops in the Keystone State and a Trump rally Saturday in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania is the center of the political universe this weekend, Holly Otterbein reports from Philadelphia. Republicans hope Trump's visit helps Republicans get on board with nominee MEHMET OZ in the Senate race, as both parties expect tightening contests for Senate and governor. SCOTUS WATCH — It wasn't just Arizona: VIRGINIA THOMAS, the wife of Justice CLARENCE THOMAS, also tried to get the 2020 election results overturned in Wisconsin, WaPo's Emma Brown reports. Ginny Thomas emailed two Wisconsin state legislators in the early days after the election in an attempt to subvert the outcome.
| | BIDEN'S FRIDAY:
— 9 a.m.: The president will receive the President's Daily Brief.
— 11 a.m.: Biden will talk about "American Rescue Plan investments to help boost regional economic strategies," with Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO attending.
— Noon: Biden will have lunch with VP KAMALA HARRIS.
— 3 p.m.: The Bidens will leave the White House for Camp David.
Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will brief at 11:45 a.m.
HARRIS' FRIDAY — The VP will also meet with Nigerian VP YEMI OSINBAJO at 2:10 p.m.
THE SENATE and THE HOUSE are out. | | | | | | IT'S ALL HAPPENING IN LONDON THIS WEEK. Who will be the next U.K. Prime Minister? You'll find all the updates in POLITICO's daily newsletter about what's driving the day in Westminster. Subscribe to London Playbook today for free. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
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President Joe Biden speaks outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia on Thursday, Sept. 1. | Matt Slocum/AP Photo | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | MAR-A-LAGO FALLOUT TRUMP VS. DOJ — U.S. District Court Judge AILEEN CANNON implied that she may block Justice Department investigators from accessing most documents seized from Mar-a-Lago for a period of time, "some of the first positive news for Trump and his attorneys" in the imbroglio so far, Josh Gerstein, Kyle Cheney and Nick Wu report . Though she hasn't ruled yet, DOJ lawyers sharply rebuked the Trump appointee's dangling of limits on their probe, saying it would hamper the criminal investigation. But Cannon "appeared undeterred," and her comments "suggested she could impose a special master with broad purview to screen documents for any potentially subject to executive privilege claims by Trump." Cannon also said she'll unseal more information, including new details about the materials the FBI seized. But she didn't tell investigators to stop reviewing the files now, and she indicated that she'd include a national security carveout if she does appoint a special master, the NYT notes. INTELLIGENCE TEST — NYT's Julian Barnes, Michael Bender and Maggie Haberman dive into a bit of recent history with an exploration of how Trump acted and reacted in intelligence briefings while in office. What Trump cared about: Foreign leaders and their extramarital affairs, high-profile operations, his power, the military's appearances and the assassination of JOHN F. KENNEDY. What Trump didn't: Policy details, secret weapons programs and UFOs. "Mr. Trump's appetite for sensitive information is now at the heart of the criminal investigation," they write. "[H]e was often drawn to topics that had clear narratives, personal elements or visual components." ONE TO WATCH — "DOJ revelations could place Trump lawyers in legal peril of their own, experts say," ABC ALL POLITICS SCOTT SPEAKS — ICYMI, NRSC Chair RICK SCOTT's (R-Fla.) defense of his party's Senate nominees continued with a fiery Washington Examiner op-ed that many observers read as a swipe at MITCH McCONNELL and his allies. Scott: "[M]any of the very people responsible for losing the Senate last cycle are now trying to stop us from winning the majority this time by trash-talking our Republican candidates. It's an amazing act of cowardice, and ultimately, it's treasonous to the conservative cause. Giving anonymous quotes to help the Washington Post or the New York Times write stories trashing Republicans is the same as working with the Democratic National Committee." FIRST IN PLAYBOOK, via our colleague Ally Mutnick: Democrat MARIE GLUESENKAMP PEREZ's campaign is out with a poll of Washington's 3rd Congressional District that shows her leading Republican JOE KENT, 47% to 45%. Trump propelled Kent, an Army veteran with ties to white nationalist groups , to the general election over GOP Rep. JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER after her impeachment vote. This is a seat Republicans shouldn't have to worry about. Trump carried it by 5 points in 2020, and few expected it to be in play if the incumbent won her primary. Now Democrats plan to cast Kent as too extreme for voters in a more moderate district. Kent's name ID is at 75% in the survey, conducted in late August by Expedition Strategies, but his favorability is underwater at 36/39. CASH DASH — Republicans are feeling the loss of SHELDON ADELSON, report Bloomberg's Bill Allison and Christopher Palmeri : His widow MIRIAM has made just one political contribution this cycle, $5 million for the Congressional Leadership Fund. That's a massive dropoff from one of the party's biggest funders last decade. BATTLE FOR THE SENATE — You've already read the stories about J.D. VANCE's quiet summer in Ohio, where the GOP Senate nominee has struggled to build a lead on Democratic Rep. TIM RYAN. But as the calendar turns to September, Vance still hasn't turned the ship around, report CNN's Manu Raju and Alex Rogers from Cincinnati. In addition to the well-reported financial struggles, Vance "goes days without any public events, and his campaign gives little information about his whereabouts." (The explanation: "he likes to keep a light schedule.") WHAT THEY'RE WATCHING IN NEW HAMPSHIRE — Trump said Thursday he was considering weighing in on the crucial New Hampshire GOP Senate primary, calling far-right frontrunner DON BOLDUC a "strong guy, tough guy" — but stopping short of issuing an endorsement. More from the New Hampshire Union Leader … ICYMI, national Republicans seem to be pumping $4 million into the race in a last-minute attempt to shift momentum from Bolduc to establishment-friendly CHUCK MORSE in the race, Natalie Allison reported. JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH MASTRIANO SUES JAN. 6 COMMITTEE — Pennsylvania state Sen. and GOP gubernatorial nominee DOUG MASTRIANO sued the House Jan. 6 committee, its members and Pelosi on Thursday, saying the panel doesn't have the power to force him to sit for a deposition, per Betsy Woodruff Swan. Mastriano requested that the committee pay his legal fees as well. The lawsuit COMMITTEE SEEKS INFO FROM GINGRICH — The panel sent former Speaker NEWT GINGRICH a letter Thursday asking for his cooperation with its investigation, per Betsy Woodruff Swan and Nick Wu . The committee is specifically focused on Gingrich's "advice to top Trump allies about advertisements spreading false election fraud claims and Trump's plan to put forward so-called alternate electors." The letter GRAHAM THWARTED AGAIN — Another judge ruled Thursday that Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) can't dodge the Fulton County, Ga., subpoena for him to testify in the investigation into the plot to overthrow the 2020 election. But the judge did limit the grand jury's potential lines of questioning. Graham's team vowed to continue their legal fight. More from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution … The ruling OATH KEEPERS ATTORNEY CHARGED — Oath Keepers attorney KELLYE SoRELLE was charged Thursday with four counts related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. More from the Texas Tribune
| | | | A message from Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids:   | | | JUDICIARY SQUARE TURNING THE PAGE — A federal judge turned away CARTER PAGE's lawsuit against the FBI and DOJ over his surveillance in the Trump-Russia investigation, saying his $75 million suit hadn't brought an "actionable claim," Josh Gerstein reports. The ruling THE WHITE HOUSE MARK YOUR CALENDARS — South African President CYRIL RAMAPHOSA will come to the White House on Sept. 16. CONGRESS THE FALL FUNDING FIGHT — House Dems are getting down to business on a stopgap spending bill, with plans for legislation that would come up in mid-September and maintain funding levels through mid-December, Roll Call's Paul Krawzak reports. COLD WATER FROM PELOSI — The major bipartisan data privacy bill will have an uphill battle ahead after Speaker NANCY PELOSI laid out issues with the legislation in its current form Thursday. "Without Pelosi's support, the bill likely won't make it to a floor vote in the House, despite making it through the Energy and Commerce Committee by a decisive 53-2 vote," notes Alfred Ng. TRUMP CARDS THE OTHER TRUMP RECORDS — The House Oversight Committee, Trump and accounting firm Mazars USA have reached a deal for the panel to get his financial records, Chair CAROLYN MALONEY (D-N.Y.) said Thursday. They'd previously been the subject of a yearslong legal battle. More from NBC THE ECONOMY FED UP — "Powell's warning of 'pain' could bring pain on the Fed itself," by Victoria Guida BEYOND THE BELTWAY AILING AMERICA — Pandemic-era learning loss pushed children's math and reading test scores down by historic levels between 2020 and 2022, per new data out Thursday that rocked the education world. The "Nation's Report Card" showed that 9-year-olds' average scores dropped 7 points in math (the first time they've ever declined) and 5 points in reading. More from CNN MEDIAWATCH A RIGHT-WING 'VOGUE' — Michael Schaffer this morning has a great read on The Conservateur, JAYME CHANDLER FRANKLIN's conservative fashion/lifestyle publication that seeks to be the right's D.C.-based answer to Vogue. Think cover girl LARA TRUMP, a CHRISTINA PUSHAW profile and "Conservative Clean-Girl Beauty" tips. "Franklin's theory of the case is that American culture is hopelessly split, with mainstream organizations — from sports leagues to fashion magazines — incapable of being welcoming places for her kind of conservatives," Michael writes. "She sees the rise of a 'dual economy.'" CULTURE WARS FOR KIDS — In POLITICO Magazine, Joanna Weiss explores the conservative children's literature publisher Brave Books, which deploys celebrity co-authors and ripped-from-the-headlines subject matter to deliver conservative messaging to kids. "[W]hether the books will appeal to actual children seems, if not an afterthought, then at least a secondary question," Joanna finds. "Can you win the culture wars without actually caring about culture?" TV TONIGHT — PBS' "Washington Week": Yasmeen Abutaleb, Laura Barrón-López, Jonathan Martin and Evan Pérez. SUNDAY SO FAR … FOX "Fox News Sunday," guest-anchored by Mike Emanuel: DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) … NRCC Chair Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) … New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. Panel: Marc Short, Francesca Chambers, Howard Kurtz and Marie Harf. MSNBC "The Sunday Show": Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre … Jeffrey Nussbaum … Damian Paletta … Miles Taylor … Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) … Ruth Ben-Ghiat … Stacey Stevenson … Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta … Rachel Vindman. ABC "This Week": Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) … Jackson, Miss., Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba. Panel: Rick Klein, Susan Page, Astead Herndon and Meridith McGraw. NBC "Meet the Press," with a special edition focused on policing in America: Paul Butler … Jason Johnson … Rebecca Brown … Roger Mitchell. CBS "Face the Nation": Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) … Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson … Jared Holt … Karen Kornbluh … Deval Patrick. CNN "Inside Politics": Panel: Zolan Kanno-Youngs, Margaret Talev, Gabby Orr and Christopher Cadelago.
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don't miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Maggie Hassan can count Bob Kraft among her reelection bid's financial backers. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — HarperCollins is publishing an official edition of the January 6 Report written by the House Jan. 6 select committee ( $17.99 ), with a foreword penned by MSNBC's Ari Melber , making it the "only edition featuring an additional, independent, and newly reported foreword by a journalist and attorney with a front row seat to the committee's work," according to HarperCollins. "The foreword documents and exposes how that effort ranged from lawsuits to elector fraud to blatantly illegal efforts to overturn votes and the election, an essential and damning timeline for the culpability of how those efforts culminated on January 6, 2021." — Rebecca Rinkevich is now director of the Institute for Rebooting Social Media at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center. She most recently was deputy director of digital strategy at the White House. IN MEMORIAM — "Stephen Glasser, co-founder of the Legal Times newspaper, dies at 79," by WaPo's Harrison Smith: "When Mr. Glasser started the Legal Times in Washington with his wife, Lynn, knowledge of the legal profession was generally limited to 'anybody who watched "Perry Mason,"' said William J. Perlstein, an FTI Consulting executive and former co-managing partner of the law firm WilmerHale. Stephen and Lynn Glasser 'transformed the understanding of law in America,' he added, by founding a newspaper that 'actually brought law firms and lawyers to life.'" WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Mariana Adame is now adviser to the counselor to the president. She most recently was a professional staff member on the House Homeland Security Committee and is a Filemon Vela alum. … Medha Gargeya is now associate counsel to the VP. She most recently was an associate at WilmerHale. STAFFING UP — Cindy Nava is now senior policy adviser at HUD. She most recently was executive director of Transform Education NM. MEDIA MOVE — Lori Jane Gliha is now national investigative correspondent at the Scripps Network, and will contribute to Newsy's investigative reporting. She previously was an investigative reporter for FOX31. TRANSITIONS — Jimmy Ballard will be senior policy adviser to Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.). He most recently has been legislative director for Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.). … Mary Brooks will be a public policy fellow in the international security studies program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She most recently was a fellow for cybersecurity and emerging threats at R Street Institute. … Boyd Johnson has been named chief legal officer at Spire Global. He most recently has been at SPS Commerce. WEDDINGS — Colleen Sague, manager of grassroots advocacy for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, and Gabe Terry, legislative analyst for CMS Energy, got married Aug. 13 at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in D.C. The couple met at the Madison International Living Learning Community freshman year at James Madison University. Pic … Another pic — Tiffany Angulo , who works at Targeted Victory's crypto practice and is a Jim Jordan and David Schweikert alum, and Judd Smith, who works at Amazon Web Services public policy and is a Tom Marino, Martha Roby and Senate Judiciary alum, got married last weekend in Cancun, Mexico. The two met in 2018 while working for members on House Judiciary. SPOTTED: Ashley Gutwein, Garrett Fultz, Linsey Taylor, Emily Taylor Dobson, Harper Stephens, Ryan Burns and Jordan Ebert. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. John Rutherford (R-Fla.) … Lisa Barclay … NPR's Don Gonyea … Newsmax's James Rosen … Jess Fassler … former Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) … former Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) … J.P. Freire … Zakiya Thomas … Yahoo News' Dan Klaidman … Taylor Hennings … Tom Manatos of Block … Coleman Hutchins … Gilead Sciences' Bill Bode … Kris Balderston … Emily Porter of Sidecar Health … PBS' Raney Aronson-Rath … Seth Gainer of Sen. Joe Manchin's (D-W.Va.) office ... Evan Viau of House Energy and Commerce … POLITICO Europe's Laura Greenhalgh … Victoria Bonney of Rep. Chellie Pingree's (D-Maine) office … Axiom Strategies' Ethan Zorfas … TMZ's Harvey Levin … Dylan Vorbach … AHIP's Andrew Shine … Wyss Foundation's Molly McUsic … Kevin P. Smith … Jennifer Haynes of Rep. Darrell Issa's (R-Calif.) office (3-0) ... Elizabeth Birch of CBRE Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.
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