| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY made an emotional pitch to more than 300 members of Congress during a Zoom meeting on Saturday morning. He pressed the U.S. to do more to help his country stop Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN , including by providing more weapons and fighter planes, banning Russian oil imports and creating a no-fly zone. He warned that nuclear disaster could be around the corner if they don't do more, and he said that this might be the last time they see him alive. Grim. More on the call from Andrew Desiderio Zelenskyy's appeal met its mark. Just a few hours after the meeting … But what about a Russian oil ban? That could be coming. Here's why: - If there's one thing we've learned from covering this White House, it's that they are extremely adverse to being out of step with their base and fellow Democrats. And though the White House has resisted appeals for a ban on Russian oil, that could change.
- Since the video conference, multiple Democratic lawmakers have vowed to push the administration on the issue as soon as they return to Washington. Speaker NANCY PELOSI even doubled down on her support for a ban, tweeting out a video of her telling the California Democratic Party's convention that "we must stop buying and relying on Russian oil and move to diversify our energy sources."
- On CNN this morning, Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN confirmed that "we are now in very active discussions with our European partners about banning the import of Russian oil to our countries." We'd be willing to bet that Zelenskyy, who had another phone call with JOE BIDEN Saturday night, also brought this up with the president.
And about that no-fly-zone request? It's — er — not going to fly. Notably, Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) was the only senator on the talk shows today who didn't rule one out completely. Others, from CHRIS MURPHY (D-Conn.) to JONI ERNST (R-Iowa) and MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.), said enforcing one would require the U.S. to enforce it, shoot down Russian planes and essentially go to war with Russia. "If people understood what it means, it means World War III," Rubio said. "It means starting World War III." More on the no-fly zone from Maeve Sheehey … More on the latest in Ukraine in a minute … MEANWHILE … TRUMP'S LATEST 'VERY STABLE GENIUS' IDEA — During a more than 80-minute speech to RNC donors Saturday night, former President DONALD TRUMP offered up his own suggestion for the Ukraine situation: He said that the U.S. should label a bunch of its F-22 fighter plans with Chinese flags — then "bomb the shit out of Russia." "And then we say, 'China did it, we didn't do,'" he said. "'China did it,' and then they start fighting with each other and we sit back and watch." Such is the news from WaPo's Josh Dawsey, who was up late Saturday night tweeting little tidbits of the outrageous things the former president said — then up early posting a scoopy takeout this morning. Some highlights: Trump called NATO a "paper tiger," praised North Korean leader KIM JONG UN, attacked MITCH MCCONNELL and GEORGE CONWAY, and reminded the nation that he's serious about running in 2024. — What Trump said about 2024: "We will see a Republican president reclaim that beautiful White House in 2024. I wonder who that might be," he said, per Alex Isenstadt. "We are looking at it very, very strongly, because we have to do it, we have to do it." — Related read: AP's Jill Colvin writes that the war in Ukraine is undermining Trump's "America First" approach to foreign policy, as multilateral alliances step up in a show of unity. "Perhaps most fundamentally, the war is a fresh reminder, observers say, that the U.S. can't simply ignore the world's problems, even if that's sometimes a politically appealing way to connect with voters facing their own daily struggles."
| | A message from ACC and America's Plastic Makers: America's Plastic Makers® are committed to keeping plastics out of our oceans and landfills. That's why we're investing billions of dollars in advanced recycling technologies, which allow used plastics to become new products again. With advanced recycling, we can recycle more of the 90% of plastics that aren't recycled today. Learn more. | | | UKRAINE LATEST, DAY 11 … IN UKRAINE … — "Russian Artillery Kills Ukrainian Civilians Fleeing Kyiv Suburb," by WSJ's Yaroslav Trofimov in Irpin, Ukraine: "A line of yellow school buses pulled up on a forested roadside in this once-prosperous suburb of Kyiv on Sunday, ready to evacuate Ukrainian civilians. Then the Russian shells started falling. … "A father, mother and a child were killed. The family's bodies fell near one another by a monument to local soldiers who died fighting Germany in World War II. Their gray suitcase stood nearby, untouched by the blast. … "Russia's military insists it isn't targeting civilians. But deaths are mounting from Russian strikes on residential areas in cities around the country and agreements to evacuate other towns and cities have fallen through." More haunting photos from Irpin by NYT's Lynsey Addario — An unhappy milestone: The exodus of Ukrainians now marks Europe's largest displacement of people since World War II, as the U.N. said Saturday the number of refugees has swelled to more than 1.45 million, per the Washington Examiner. … Photos: Refugees from Ukraine — Paragraph of the day, via the L.A. Times' Nabih Bulos in Sytnyaky, Ukraine, at the end of his recap of a week of war: "the dead Russian soldiers lay in the cold, a hint of snow in the air. A battle had come and gone. More were in the offing. The sounds no one wants to hear were moving closer. A bit farther up the road lay a heart without a body. It was unclear from which soldier it had come." — On the ground, Russian forces got closer to Odesa, while their 40-mile-long convoy aimed at Kyiv seemed to remain stalled Saturday. IN RUSSIA … — Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN remained belligerent as ever, threatening that Ukraine could lose its statehood/sovereignty and warning that Russia would consider countries that created a no-fly zone over Ukraine to be enemy combatants, per WaPo. — Russia revealed that it has detained American WNBA star BRITTNEY GRINER "on drug charges, entangling a U.S. citizen's fate in the dangerous confrontation between Russia and the West over Ukraine," per NYT. Worth noting: "The screening at the airport occurred in February … raising the possibility that Griner, 31, has been in custody for at least several days." IN THE U.S. … — "A mysterious Russian plane that captivated Twitter watchers as it flew across the Atlantic" landed at Dulles on Saturday to "pick up 13 expelled Russian diplomats," Daniel Lippman reports. The U.S. had accused the diplomats of spying on the United States. — Some American veterans are heading to Ukraine to take part in the fight against Russia, NYT's Dave Philipps reports : "Some want to try to recapture the intense clarity and purpose they felt in war, which is often missing in modern suburban life. Others want a chance to make amends for failed missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, and see the fight to defend a democracy against a totalitarian invader as the reason they joined the military." WHERE THINGS GO FROM HERE … — Ukraine said ceasefire talks would resume Monday, though Russia said only that they might resume then, per Reuters. — TOP-ED: U.K. Prime Minister BORIS JOHNSON takes to the NYT to lay out a six-point plan in response to Russian aggression in Ukraine. Notable line: "We must go further on economic sanctions, expelling every Russian bank from SWIFT." HOW IT'S RESHAPING THE WORLD … — The making of a new global order: NYT's Mark Landler, Katrin Bennhold and Matina Stevis-Gridneff have a sweeping look at how the West overhauled its approach to Russia and inaugurated a new world order in just 10 days, amassing a previously unthinkable, if still unsuccessful, challenge to Putin. "Much as the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 set off a tumultuous cascade of changes across Europe, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has brought the West to a comparable, if far more ominous, historical reckoning." — Could the war end up derailing the Iran nuclear deal? Negotiators have gotten close, but Russia on Saturday seemed to throw things off track, demanding assurance that recent sanctions over Ukraine won't affect its trade with Iran, WSJ's Laurence Norman reports . But at the same time, negotiators announced a new agreement with Iran on Saturday that could clear one of the final hurdles to a deal, per Bloomberg. — What they're reading in Miami: In a sign of how the war is scrambling traditional geopolitical lines, top U.S. officials went to Venezuela on Saturday for the highest-level visit in years, NYT's Anatoly Kurmanaev, Natalie Kitroeff and Ken Vogel report. The goal is to drive a wedge between Caracas and Moscow. — Blinken talked Saturday with his Chinese counterpart , who told him China opposes actions that "add fuel to the flames," per the AP. Further reading: — "After Putin's Invasion, My Country Has Shown Its True Colors," by Alyona Getmanchuk in POLITICO Magazine — "Europe Fears It Could Be Too Late to Shake Off Russian Gas Addiction," WSJ — "Russia weighs risks of launching cyberattacks against the West," The Hill Good Sunday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from ACC and America's Plastic Makers:   | | | SUNDAY BEST … U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD on whether Russia has committed war crimes, on ABC's "This Week": "Any attack on civilians is a war crime. And we're working with our partners to collect and provide information on this so that we can investigate this and have it ready in the event that war crimes are brought before this government." Ukrainian Ambassador OKSANA MARKAROVA on what her country needs now, on "Fox News Sunday": "What we need right now is pretty simple. You know, we need as much defensive and offensive, all kinds of weapons that the U.S. can give to us in order to defend ourselves, especially with regard to air defense and the airplanes. We need much tougher sanctions on Russia." Sen. MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.) on Putin, on CNN's "State of the Union": "He is now engaged in a conflict where he's either going to have a costly military victory, followed by a costly occupation that he can't afford, or he's going to get caught in a long-term military quagmire at the same time as he's facing a second front, which is an economy in freefall in his own country. So, the combination of these two things, I think, puts us in a very dangerous place." — On banning Russian oil: "The fact that people believe that not buying Russian oil, not having Russian oil would raise our gas prices is actually very concerning, because that proves that Putin has the leverage and the power over America to raise our gas prices anytime he wants. So we shouldn't allow that to continue." Sen. JONI ERNST (R-Iowa) on the McConnell-Scott feud, on "Fox News Sunday": "Well, certainly that's up for Leader McConnell and Sen. [RICK] SCOTT to figure out. … I think every Republican, as we step forward, will determine what is in the best interest for their own party dynamics within their states and defending what we believe to be true: liberty, freedom, you name it, that's what we're for." BIDEN'S SUNDAY — The Bidens will leave New Castle, Del., at 8:25 p.m. to return to the White House, arriving at 9:20 p.m. VP KAMALA HARRIS' SUNDAY (all times Eastern): — 11 a.m.: The VP will leave D.C. for Montgomery, Ala. — 4:15 p.m.: Harris will deliver remarks at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma to commemorate Bloody Sunday, along with others including HUD Secretary MARCIA FUDGE, Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG, Education Secretary MIGUEL CARDONA and EPA Administrator MICHAEL REGAN. — 5:10 p.m.: Harris, second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF and the other administration members will ceremonially cross the bridge. — 7:05 p.m.: Harris will leave Alabama to return to Washington.
| | | | HAPPENING TUESDAY, INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY, AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION ON THE WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN: Join Women Rule editor Elizabeth Ralph for a panel discussion on the future for Afghan women. Guests include Hawa Haidari, a member of the Female Tactical Platoon; Cindy McCain, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture; Roya Rahmani, Afghanistan's first female ambassador to the U.S.; and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). Learn how female Afghan veterans are planning their futures, what the women still in Afghanistan face, and what the U.S. can do to help. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
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A Ukrainian woman dressed in military attire prays inside the Saints Peter and Paul Garrison Church in Lviv, western Ukraine, on Sunday, March 6. | Bernat Armangue/AP Photo | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | TRUMP CARDS HOW THE MANHATTAN D.A. INVESTIGATION UNRAVELED — One of the most serious opportunities for DONALD TRUMP to face criminal charges fell apart when new Manhattan DA ALVIN BRAGG raised doubts about whether senior prosecutors could prove their case, NYT's Ben Protess, William Rashbaum and Jonah Bromwich report in an exhaustive account of how it all fell apart. In particular, Bragg and his aides weren't convinced that the two prosecutors, who ultimately resigned, could show Trump's intent in falsifying business records. Worth noting: "[I]nterviews with people knowledgeable about the Manhattan investigation also highlight the success of Mr. Trump's efforts to delay it." ALL POLITICS DEMS DIVE IN ON GOV RACES — As the midterm elections approach, Democrats are expanding their scope far beyond congressional contests and on to governor races in battleground states, seeing them as existential for the party's presidential prospects, if not democratic governance itself. "A coordinated, and well-funded push from Democrats centered around these contests would amount to a role-reversal of sorts for a party whose major and grassroots donors are often criticized for sinking large sums into long-shot candidates for the House and Senate," Elena Schneider and Christopher Cadelago report. POLL OF THE DAY — We've got a new ANN SELZER poll in Iowa, and it finds Gov. KIM REYNOLDS with an 8-point lead over Democratic contender DEIDRE DEJEAR, the Des Moines Register's Brianne Pfannenstiel reports. That's obviously a solid result for the Republican incumbent — but if you squint, you can make out a hair of good news for Democrats: Eight points was Trump's Iowa margin in 2020, too, so this isn't exactly evidence of a sudden red wave. Selzer said the result was "surprising" given DeJear's low name recognition. 'THE NEW CUBANS' — Republicans increasingly have their eye on Colombian Americans in Florida, who broke sharply from traditionally Democratic roots to support Trump in 2020, NBC's Carmen Sesin reports from Coral Gables. POLITICAL VIOLENCE WATCH — As the trial of Michigan Gov. GRETCHEN WHITMER's alleged kidnapping plotters kicks off this week, the "increasing level of anger and violence in U.S. politics" falls disproportionately on women, especially women of color, AP's Sara Burnett reports. A recent survey of threats and attacks against the nation's mayors found that "[g]ender was the biggest predictor of whether mayors would be victims."
| | | | A message from ACC and America's Plastic Makers:   | | | POLICY CORNER WALSH WALKS THE WALK — Labor Secretary MARTY WALSH has taken a hands-on approach rarely seen from sitting Cabinet members — walking a picket line, helping to resolve at least one labor dispute and saying he's eager to help with others even before they escalate into full-blown crises, Nick Niedzwiadek and Eleanor Mueller report. "Two upcoming clashes could test his peacemaking abilities. Major League Baseball and West Coast shipping ports are both staring down contract showdowns with high-stakes ramifications." INFRASTRUCTURE YEAR — Here's an under-discussed aspect of the country's trucker labor shortage contributing to supply chain woes: insufficient parking. NBC's Deon Hampton reports that trucking advocates are pushing DOT to use infrastructure funds to build more designated parking, which would alleviate a crucial job stressor and safety concern. MEDIAWATCH LOOK WHO'S BACK — Disgraced former Rep. ANTHONY WEINER has a new weekly radio show with former NYC mayoral candidate CURTIS SLIWA, his first return to public life in years, N.Y. Mag's Matt Stieb writes in a big profile. "'A good part of me has come to believe that the interplay of fame, notoriety, necessity for affirmation, and all that other kind of stuff was part of my illness, part of my undoing,' [Weiner] said. Jumping back in too fast could impact his recovery, but two hours a week playing the blue heel on a red station may be just right, he thinks. 'This is the shallowest end of a shallow training pool if I'm going to figure out how to deal with public attention,' he said." PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION TRUCKER WATCH — "A People's Convoy gathered at the Hagerstown Speedway has begun what's expected to be a slow trip from Maryland to D.C.'s Beltway to drive in protest of Covid-19 restrictions Sunday morning," WTOP reports. "While vehicles began moving around 9:30 a.m., the convoy should take a while to crawl out of the speedway. A spokesperson tells WTOP that they plan to circle the Beltway on Sunday in protest of COVID-19 restrictions. Afterward, they're expected to head back to Hagerstown."
| | | | DON'T MISS POLITICO'S INAUGURAL HEALTH CARE SUMMIT ON 3/31: Join POLITICO for a discussion with health care providers, policymakers, federal regulators, patient representatives, and industry leaders to better understand the latest policy and industry solutions in place as we enter year three of the pandemic. Panelists will discuss the latest proposals to overcome long-standing health care challenges in the U.S., such as expanding access to care, affordability, and prescription drug prices. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | JOURNALIST HEAVYWEIGHTS TO TAYLOR LORENZ: SIT DOWN — The debate over the merits of "influencer journalists" and whether reporter "branding" should at all factor into news coverage spilled out into the open in recent days, after Insider's Steven Perlbergposted a story about a similar debate in the NYT regarding reporters who want to write outside the newspaper. Several D.C. journalists reacted negatively to a quote by high-profile ex-Times-turned-WaPo reporter Taylor Lorenz, who covers this issue closely. What Lorenz said: "When you think about the future of media, it's much more distributed and about personalities … Younger people recognize the power of having their own brand and audience, and the longer you stay at a job that restricts you from outside opportunities, the less relevant your brand becomes." On cue, several D.C. journalists pushed back. "[W]ill never not be cringey to earnestly refer to 'your brand,'" tweeted WaPo's Jacqueline Alemany, comments liked or endorsed by several others, like NYT's Nick Confessore and Mark Mazzetti, and WaPo's Glenn Kessler and Greg Jaffe. When Maggie Haberman asked "is there something going on in the world other than the desire of some folks to get more attention?" Lorenz jumped in to defend herself, saying Haberman knows a thing or two about branding herself, and should be more open to others trying to do the same. To which, Haberman retorted that they havevery different ideas of journalism. Meanwhile, Lorenz took to Twitter to chide Alemany — her new colleague at WaPo — for pushing back on her quote publicly. "I hope u can consider how ur tweets read to onlookers," she wrote. "I know that you'd never intend to rudely shade an incoming coworker, that would be really mean, but the right wing media will and have interpreted it that way. Let's try not to give them ammo." Here's the reality: This is a debate in media that's not going away anytime soon, so Lorenz will have to get used to the pushback in her own industry. The Washington Free Beacon has more. SPOTTED: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Pic Todd Young and Mike Pence hung out at an IU-Purdue game. TRANSITIONS — Justin Shore is joining Alphabet's Wing to work in partnerships on uncrewed traffic management solutions. He previously was chief of staff for FirstNet Authority at the Commerce Department. … Hannah Stern is joining the David Lynch Foundation as government affairs manager. She previously was a senior legislative assistant for Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.). WEDDING — James Nash, a senior VP at ROKK Solutions and National Governors Association alum, and Alokananda Ghosh, an assistant research professor of biostatistics and bioinformatics at George Washington University, got married in a Hindu ceremony on Feb. 5 in Orange County, Calif. The couple met online during the pandemic and began dating in December 2020. Pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD —Meredith Ponder Whitmire, EVP of Matz Blancato & Associates and policy director at the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs, and Jake Whitmire, a tax director at PwC, welcomed Emily Quinn Whitmire. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY:David Bradley … Reuters' Jim Bourg … David Urban … SKDK's Jacqui Newman … John Stossel … USDA's Brandon Chaderton … Anthony Foti … Jonathan Day … Sandra Salstrom … former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan (96) … Parker Brugge … Joe Perticone … Brooke Gladstone … NFL's Brendon Plack … Emily Leviner … Anna Kopperud … Chris Leavitt … Karen Lightfoot … Katy Bayless … Kim Moxley … Tim Bergreen … NYT's Eileen Murphy … Saul Anuzis … former Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) … Pablo Chavez … former CIA and FBI Director William Webster (98) … POLITICO's Minah Malik … Kara Carscaden Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross.
| | A message from ACC and America's Plastic Makers: America's Plastic Makers® are committed to keeping used plastics out of our oceans and landfills. That's why we're investing billions of dollars in advanced recycling technologies, which allows used plastics to become new products that can be used again and again.
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