| | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza and Eugene Daniels | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
The Jan. 6 select committee's blockbuster opening hearing continued to drive the majority of political coverage into the weekend. | AP | Total viewership of the Jan. 6 committee's opening hearing was modest compared to other primetime political events, but the committee's work continued to drive the majority of political coverage into the weekend. Here's what you need to know: — The ratings: "More than 20 million TV viewers tuned in to Thursday's prime-time presentation about the January 6 attack," per CNN's Brian Stelter. While "respectable," Stelter notes Biden's March State of the Union address "averaged 38 million viewers across sixteen channels." (Quick: Can you remember anything from that speech?) — Murdoch has seen enough: Fox News' primetime opinion mongers may be all-in on DONALD TRUMP, but RUPERT MURDOCH's two other major organs of the right publish withering anti-Trump editorials today in response to Thursday's hearing:
- WSJ: "Mr. Trump betrayed his supporters by conning them on Jan. 6, and he is still doing it."
- NY Post: "...Trump has become a prisoner of his own ego. He can't admit his tweeting and narcissism turned off millions. He won't stop insisting that 2020 was 'stolen' even though he's offered no proof that it's true.…Meanwhile, reports that Trump was pleased that the Jan. 6 crowd chanted for Vice President Mike Pence to be hanged — a truly reprehensible sentiment — makes him unworthy for the office. Trump can't look past 2020. Let him remain there."
— Elsewhere on the right: Then again, most Republican voters don't look to the Journal and the Post to tell them how to think about Trump. WaPo's Drew Harwell and Will Oremus scan the Trump-verse online and report, "Ironically, online accounts that helped organize the insurrection tried to debunk the evidence the Jan. 6 committee presented Thursday." "On Trump's fledgling Twitter clone, Truth Social, he posted a dozen messages after the hearing, criticizing it for showing 'only negative footage' of the brutal siege," they write. "But Trump could only shout to a diminished crowd: His Truth Social account has about 3 million followers, or less than 4 percent of the 88 million Twitter followers he had before his ban." — Hannity pitched a pardon for Hunter: This scoop from The Daily Beast is a reminder of how much the right, however briefly, turned on Trump after the insurrection. Trump friend and informal adviser SEAN HANNITY was so freaked out that on Jan. 7 he "proposed that Trump issue a last-minute pardon for HUNTER BIDEN," and framed "it as a gesture that might help 'smooth things over' after the insurrection's traumatic rift." — Trump vs. Pence: "In the days before the electoral college certification, then-Vice President MIKE PENCE's legal team laid out that they found most of the Trump campaign's assertions of election fraud minor or unverifiable," Betsy Woodruff Swan reports . "The memo shows Pence's legal team didn't just track the barrage of wild legal arguments from former President Donald Trump's lawyers and allies, but also meticulously monitored the allegations of election fraud and mismanagement. It specifically includes charges leveled by the Trump campaign itself in court." — Trump vs. his Cabinet: Committee Vice Chair LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.) noted: "You will hear about members of the Trump cabinet discussing the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment, and replacing the president of the United States." NYT's Maggie Haberman rounds up what's known about those discussions. Among the 25th Amendment plotters: MIKE POMPEO, STEVEN MNUCHIN, BETSY DEVOS, and MATT POTTINGER. Maggie reports that EUGENE SCALIA suggested to Pompeo that Trump should resign. Haberman writes: "Mr. Pompeo replied sarcastically by asking how Mr. Scalia imagined that conversation with Mr. Trump would go." — Trump vs. … his daughter: IVANKA TRUMP told committee investigators she trusted Trump A.G. BILL BARR's assessment that there was no widespread election fraud: "I respect Attorney General Barr, so I accepted what he was saying." Her father didn't like that. "Ivanka Trump was not involved in looking at, or studying, Election results," Trump said online. "She had long since checked out." WaPo's Isaac Arnsdorf and Josh Dawsey write that the father-daughter "tension could mount as the committee holds more hearings this month. Ivanka Trump's descriptions of her efforts to press her father into action on Jan. 6 have made her a key witness for investigators, people familiar with her testimony said." A lawyer representing other witnesses: "You're probably going to get a heavy dose of JARED [KUSHNER ] and Ivanka going forward." — AOC wants to know who requested a pardon: "ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ tweets at MATT GAETZ, LAUREN BOEBERT, and MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE wanting to know if they asked for pardons after January 6," per Insider. — Trump is raising money from the hearings: "Even Donald Trump Is Using the Jan. 6 Hearings to Appeal for Donations," Bloomberg reports. HAPPENING TODAY — "March for Our Lives 2022: Shooting survivors to protest gun violence," by WaPo's Ellie Silverman: "The rally Saturday will begin at noon near the Washington Monument, and organizers expect upward of 50,000 people, according to a permit issued by the National Park Service." — FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The People's Filibuster for Gun Safety is launching today, an effort to provide a platform for "virtual testimony 24 hours a day 7 days a week until Congress acts" on gun legislation. Good Saturday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | A message from Blackstone: Blackstone is bringing together Altus Power and Link Logistics to expand solar access across New Jersey. Why? Because backing energy transition innovation and the state's clean energy goals can drive value. Learn more. | | | THE BUZZ ABOUT BIDEN — Democrats are getting increasingly worried about whether JOE BIDEN is the right person to lead the party into the midterms and, perhaps more importantly, beyond. NYT's Reid Epstein and Jennifer Medina report this morning that "Democrats in union meetings, the back rooms of Capitol Hill and party gatherings from coast to coast are quietly worrying about Mr. Biden's leadership, his age and his capability to take the fight to former President Donald J. Trump a second time. Interviews with nearly 50 Democratic officials, from county leaders to members of Congress, as well as with disappointed voters who backed Mr. Biden in 2020, reveal a party alarmed about Republicans' rising strength and extraordinarily pessimistic about an immediate path forward." Miami DNC member STEVE SIMEONIDIS: "To say our country was on the right track would flagrantly depart from reality." On Biden he minced no words, saying the president "should announce his intent not to seek re-election in '24 right after the midterms." Longtime Dem strategist DAVID AXELROD: "The presidency is a monstrously taxing job and the stark reality is the president would be closer to 90 than 80 at the end of a second term, and that would be a major issue." JASMINE CROCKETT, who is expected to win a heavily Democratic seat in Texas this year: "I'm not allowed to have feelings right now. … When you're an incoming freshman, you just don't get to. … Democrats are like, 'What the hell is going on?' … Our country is completely falling apart. And so I think we're lacking in the excitement." CRISTÓBAL ALEX, who recently left the White House, pushed back on the critique: "I am worried that leaders in the party aren't more aggressively touting the success of the administration. … The narrative needs to shift, and that can only happen with a powerful echo chamber combined with action in Congress on remaining priorities. The American people feel unsettled." So if not Biden, then who? "Few Democrats interviewed expect that high-profile leaders with White House ambitions would defer to Vice President KAMALA HARRIS, who has had a series of political hiccups of her own in office. It sounds a lot like 2020 2.0: "These Democrats mentioned a host of other figures who lost to Mr. Biden in the 2020 primary: Senators AMY KLOBUCHAR of Minnesota, BERNIE SANDERS of Vermont, ELIZABETH WARREN of Massachusetts and CORY BOOKER of New Jersey; Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG; and BETO O'ROURKE, the former congressman who is now running for Texas governor, among others."
| | A message from Blackstone:   Blackstone recognizes that investing in sustainable infrastructure is essential for long-term growth. They're bringing together two portfolio companies to expand access to reliable solar power. | | | BIDEN'S SATURDAY (all times Eastern): — 1:05 p.m.: The president will depart Los Angeles en route to Albuquerque, N.M., where he is scheduled to arrive at 3:25 p.m. — 4:45 p.m.: Biden will receive a briefing on the New Mexico wildfires. (AP's Morgan Lee and Chris Megerian have more on the situation.) — 8:30 p.m.: Biden will depart New Mexico en route to New Castle, Del., where he is scheduled to arrive at 11:55 p.m. HARRIS' SATURDAY: The vice president is in D.C. and has nothing on her public schedule.
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
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President Joe Biden and other heads of delegations at the Summit of the Americas participate in a group photo on Friday, June 10, in Los Angeles. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 8 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US … 1. SUMMIT SYNOPSIS: Our colleagues Chris Cadelago and Jonathan Lemire have the wrap on Biden's Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles. Despite a number of no-shows and a certain lack of media attention paid to the confab on account of the blockbuster Jan. 6 hearing, Biden aides' worst fears were averted, they write that "it was clear the president salvaged something — however modest — out of his tough circumstances." More from Bloomberg: "Biden's Lackluster Los Angeles Summit Reveals Waning Influence in Latin America" 2. EMPIRE STATE READ: NYT zeroes in on progressive Rep. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ's endorsement of a challenger to Rep. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY — a direct missive conveying her frustration with the DCCC chair. "Perhaps no two House Democrats better represent the dueling factions of a party at war with itself — over matters of ideology and institutions, how to amass power and, most of all, how to beat Republicans," Katie Glueck writes. 3. DEM DREAMS DIM IN FLORIDA: Rep. VAL DEMINGS (D-Fla.) has the makings of a Democratic dream candidate who could challenge GOP Sen. MARCO RUBIO. "But she's been forced to campaign while Biden's numbers have sunk in Florida," Gary Fineout reports from Tallahassee . And "as a sign of how gloomy Florida looks for Democrats, neither the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee nor a Super PAC that backs Senate Democrats has reserved any ad time in the state. Demings may not get any measurable help in a state that may be slipping away from her party." 4. THE TRUMP EFFECT: Trump is getting back into the Alabama GOP Senate primary. After initially endorsing incumbent Rep. MO BROOKS , Trump rescinded his endorsement. Now, Trump has a new stake in the race — officially backing KATIE BRITT. The context: "The former president made the announcement late Friday, just hours after two new polls were released showing Britt with a double-digit lead over" Brooks, Natalie Allison writes. The impact: "The decision deals a second major blow to Brooks, who Trump initially endorsed last year before pulling his support in March as Brooks' campaign floundered." 5. BIDEN MOVES ON NICOTINE: The Biden administration is planning to "pursue a policy requiring tobacco companies to reduce the nicotine in all cigarettes sold in the U.S. to minimally or nonaddictive levels," reports WSJ's Jennifer Maloney. "The policy, which the administration is expected to announce as early as next week, likely wouldn't take effect for several years. … The move would be the biggest step by the U.S. government to curb smoking since a landmark legal settlement in 1998, when tobacco companies agreed to pay more than $200 billion to help states pay for healthcare." 6. ABORTION FALLOUT: "Michigan's abortion providers brace for a ban — or a surge," by Alice Miranda Ollstein in Westland, Mich.: "The swing state could soon lose all abortion access if Roe is overturned. It could also become a destination for patients across the midwest."
| | A message from Blackstone:   Blackstone Backs Solar Project That Will Expand Access to Clean Energy. | | | 7. THE FORMULA FUROR: The FDA has "investigated reports that as many as nine children have died since early 2021 after consuming baby formula produced at an Abbott Nutrition plant Michigan — seven more than previously acknowledged by the FDA," WaPo's Laura Reiley writes. 8. THE LAGGING SUPPORT: "The euphoria that accompanied Ukraine's unforeseen early victories against bumbling Russian troops is fading as Moscow adapts its tactics, recovers its stride and asserts its overwhelming firepower against heavily outgunned Ukrainian forces," WaPo's Siobhán O'Grady, Liz Sly and Ievgeniia Sivorka report from Lovyansk, Ukraine. — To wit: "Biden Races to Expand Coalition Against Russia but Meets Resistance," by NYT's Lara Jakes and Edward Wong CLICKER — "The nation's cartoonists on the week in politics," edited by Matt Wuerker — 15 funnies GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Ryan Lizza: — "How San Francisco Became a Failed City," by Nellie Bowles in The Atlantic: "And how it could recover." — "The Long Shadow of Eugenics in America," by Linda Villarosa for NYT Magazine: "As young girls, the Relf sisters were sterilized without consent. What does the government owe them — and the thousands of other living victims?" — "Taiwan: preparing for a potential Chinese invasion," by FT's Kathrin Hille in Taipei and Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington: "Xi Jinping's ambitions and the modernisation of China's military are prompting growing fears about an attempt to annex the island." — "The D.C. Taxi Driver Who Became a Watergate Spy," by Manuel Roig-Franzia in WaPo Magazine: "How a charming cabbie named Elmer Wyatt became a Nixon mole against the Democrats." — "How Kamala Harris became a liability," by The New Statesman's Sarah Baxter: "The vice-president is unpopular with the public and her party. Is she a victim of Joe Biden's failures or responsible for her own misfortune?" — "Larry Ellison's Lanai Isn't for You — or the People Who Live There," by Sophie Alexander in Bloomberg Businessweek: "The Oracle billionaire is making his Hawaiian island more hospitable to the super-rich and pushing out families that have been there for generations." — "Seven stowaways and a hijacked oil tanker: the strange case of the Nave Andromeda," by The Guardian's Samira Shackle: "In October 2020 an emergency call was received from a ship in British waters. After a full-scale commando raid, seven Nigerians were taken off in handcuffs – but no one was ever charged. What really happened on board?" — "I Tried Everything. Then I Tried Ayahuasca," by Alex Kruger for Esquire: "For three years, every moment that I'd been awake — on a first date or a job interview, on a run, or in a chair, drunk at a concert or sober in bed, standing up or upside down — I'd been mildly dizzy. Modern medicine wasn't working. It was time to drink the tea."
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| | PLAYBOOKERS | | Nancy Pelosi is back for another appearance on RuPaul's Drag Race. Ernie Moniz came clean about how he gets that hairdo. PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — "A family member possibly concerned about a lockdown at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Arlington, Va., brought a firearm when coming to pick up their student Friday, according to the school's principal, Keisha Boggan . The family member damaged a door while attempting to enter the school, Boggan wrote in an email to Thomas Jefferson families," WaPo reports. SPOTTED: First lady Jill Biden walking out of the Proper Hotel in downtown Los Angeles on Friday afternoon, where she met with the Latin American spouses members group privately before they all headed over to the closing spousal lunch program she hosted at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. SPOTTED at the Trilateral Commission global meeting David Rockefeller Fellows session on Friday at Mandarin In D.C., where attendees discussed topics including the future of China, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, cyber, AI, the metaverse and the future of money: Kate C. Harris, Michael Greenwald, Yaya Jata Fanusie, Josh Lipsky, Kristin Smith, Brian Brooks, Helima Croft, Alex Wong, Matthew Pelligrino, David J. Park, Liz Economy, Matthew Putman, Eliora Katz, Jacob Helberg, Zoe Weinberg, Meghan L. O'Sullivan, Saleha Mohsin, Richard Fontaine, Tom Feddo and Dan Fried. WEDDING — Jamal Robinson and Edna Makonnen, via NYT: "In 2017, Ms. Makonnen was hired by the National Security Council in Washington, where she is now the deputy director for human capital. Mr. Robinson … is the chief executive at CEV Collection. … On April 30 … Ms. Makonnen and Mr. Robinson were married before 216 guests at SS. Peter and Paul Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church in Potomac, Md." WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Rachael Houston-Carter, government relations manager at Accenture, and Courtney Houston-Carter, VP of federal government relations at U.S. Bank, welcomed Brooks Croft Houston-Carter on Tuesday. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Deputy CIA Director David Cohen … Jennifer Rubin … Kim Oates of the House Radio/TV Gallery … White House' Lucas Acosta … J Street's Jeremy Ben-Ami … Greta Van Susteren … Cisco's Michael Timmeny … Lindsey Williams Drath … Cesar Gonzalez of Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart's (R-Fla.) office … TJ Adams-Falconer … Jamal Brown … Duke's Mike Schoenfeld … Tad Devine of Devine Mulvey Longabaugh … APCO Worldwide's Penina Graubart … Treasury's Arian Rubio … Lorissa Bounds … Kristen Thomaselli ... Mary Kate Cunningham … Matthew Campbell … Marty Kearns of Netcentric Campaigns … Emily Dobler … former Reps. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) and Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) (92) … Ashley Mocarski … former South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard … Eric Lieberman … Matt Nosanchuk … Wendy Teramoto … CNN's Morgan Rimmer … Juliette Medina … Alexa Papadopoulos THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here ): FOX "Fox News Sunday," guest-anchored by Bret Baier: Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) … Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Panel: Josh Kraushaar, Mara Liasson, Juan Williams and Karl Rove. CNN "State of the Union": Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) … Rep. Chris Jacobs (R-N.Y.) … Larry Summers … Gabby Giffords. Panel: Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-U.S. Virgin Islands), Alyssa Farah Griffin, Jane Harman and Scott Jennings. CNN "Inside Politics": Panel: Paul Kane, Gabby Orr, Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Margaret Talev. ABC "This Week": Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) … Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont … Mark Oliva. Panel: Pierre Thomas, Mary Bruce, Rick Klein and Marianna Sotomayor. CBS "Face the Nation": Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) … Jillian Peterson … James Densley … Mohamed El-Erian. Panel: Robert Costa, Nancy Cordes and Scott MacFarlane. NBC "Meet the Press": Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) … Nick Quested. Panel: Leigh Ann Caldwell, David French, Eddie Glaude Jr. and Amy Walter. MSNBC "The Sunday Show": Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) … House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) … Robert Moore … Barbara Poma … Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) … L Morgan Lee … Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.). 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 Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine. Correction: Friday's Playbook misspelled the name of Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.).
| | A message from Blackstone: Blackstone knows that tackling complex problems, such as climate change, requires a long-term approach. Since 2019, Blackstone has committed approximately $16 billion in investments that the firm believes are consistent with the broader energy transition — investments that can make Blackstone's businesses stronger and unlock value for investors.
Blackstone is bringing together Altus Power and Link Logistics, to expand access to reliable solar power across New Jersey. The partnership will make ~35MW of renewable and affordable energy available to thousands of local residents, with a focus on low- and middle-income households.
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