A special ‘fireworks’ edition

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Jul 04, 2022 View in browser   By Ryan Lizza and Eugene Daniels Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross "President Joe Biden is a genuinely good man, but he has yet been unable to break through our national malady of denial, deceit, and distrust," Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) writes in a piece for The Atlantic. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo DRIVING THE DAY Happy Fourth of July! To celebrate the day, we present this special fireworks edition of Playbook. Enjoy! MITT ROMNEY VS. JOE BIDEN — A sober piece in The Atlantic from the Utah senator and 2012 GOP presidential nominee on "the blithe dismissal of potentially cataclysmic threats" from climate change, inflation, immigration, and the MAGA movement: "President Joe Biden is a genuinely good man, but he has yet been unable to break through our national malady of denial, deceit, and distrust. A return of DONALD TRUMP would feed the sickness, probably rendering it incurable. Congress is particularly disappointing: Our elected officials put a finger in the wind more frequently than they show backbone against it. Too often, Washington demonstrates the maxim that for evil to thrive only requires good men to do nothing. "I hope for a president who can rise above the din to unite us behind the truth. Several contenders with experience and smarts stand in the wings; we intently watch to see if they also possess the requisite character and ability to bring the nation together in confronting our common reality. While we wait, leadership must come from fathers and mothers, teachers and nurses, priests and rabbis, businessmen and businesswomen, journalists and pundits. That will require us all to rise above ourselves — above our grievances and resentments — and grasp the mantle of leadership our country so badly needs." JOE BIDEN VS. JEFF BEZOS VS. KARINE JEAN-PIERRE — The Amazon founder is back blasting Biden on Twitter — and the White House is making the most of it. Biden: "My message to the companies running gas stations and setting prices at the pump is simple: this is a time of war and global peril. Bring down the price you are charging at the pump to reflect the cost you're paying for the product. And do it now." Bezos: "Ouch. Inflation is far too important a problem for the White House to keep making statements like this. It's either straight ahead misdirection or a deep misunderstanding of basic market dynamics." Jean-Pierre: "Oil prices have dropped by about $15 over the past month, but prices at the pump have barely come down. That's not 'basic market dynamics.' It's a market that is failing the American consumer. "But I guess it's not surprising that you think oil and gas companies using market power to reap record profits at the expense of the American people is the way our economy is supposed to work." Apropos of nothing, the new Washington Post guidelines on social media usage instruct: "It is not appropriate to use your social media account to air personal grievances with an individual or to mention a company in a way that could be construed as unwarranted criticism or seeking favor or special treatment." MITCH MCCONNELL VS. TRUMP — The latest round of this long-running drama is about 2022 midterm strategy: "McConnell wants to win the suburbs by defusing cultural hot buttons. Trump and his own party have other ideas." (NBC News) TRUMP VS. MARK BRNOVICH — The former president is none too happy about the Arizona A.G. and GOP Senate primary candidate's Trumpy fundraising appeals — "Are you turning your back on Pres. Trump?" he asked in one — and Trump world sent him one of their famous cease and desist letters: "Your use of President Trump's name, image, and/or likeness is likely to deceive individuals into believing President Trump supports, endorses, or otherwise promotes your candidacy for U.S. Senate in Arizona — he does not." (Washington Post) GAVIN NEWSOM VS. RON DESANTIS — In what is seen as a preview of post-Trump, post-Biden politics, the California governor is running the following ad on Fox News in Florida: "It's Independence Day — so let's talk about what's going on in America. Freedom is under attack in your state. Your Republican leaders? They're banning books, making it harder to vote, restricting speech in classrooms, even criminalizing women and doctors. "I urge all of you living in Florida to join the fight — or join us in California, where we still believe in freedom: Freedom of speech, freedom to choose, freedom from hate, and the freedom to love. Don't let them take your freedom." (CNN) A message from Meta: The metaverse may be virtual, but the impact will be real What if students studying the Jurassic period could roam with the dinosaurs instead of just reading about them in a textbook? In the metaverse, a more interactive and engaging education will be possible. Learn how Meta is helping build the metaverse.   THE AMERICAN PUBLIC VS. THE SUPREME COURT — Another revered American institution takes a hit: "One year ago, 60 percent of adults approved of the job the Supreme Court was doing, according to a survey by Marquette University Law School. There was little difference between the views of Republicans and Democrats. "By May — soon after a draft of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization opinion leaked — approval of the court had dropped by 16 points, to 44 percent, according to a follow-up survey by Marquette. That poll showed a dramatic partisan split, with 71 percent of Republicans approving but 28 percent of Democrats doing the same." (Washington Post) ORCHESTRAS VS. TCHAIKOVSKY — Cancel culture comes for a July Fourth staple that happens to be pro-Russian: "With its earsplitting rounds of cannon fire and triumphal spirit, [PYOTR ILYICH] TCHAIKOVSKY's "1812 Overture" has been a staple of Fourth of July festivities across the United States for decades, serving as a rousing prelude to glittering displays of fireworks. "But this year many ensembles, concerned about the overture's history as a celebration of the Russian military — Tchaikovsky wrote it to commemorate the rout of Napoleon's army in Moscow in the winter of 1812 — are reconsidering the work because of the war in Ukraine. "Some groups have decided to skip it, arguing that its bellicose themes would be offensive during wartime. Others, eager to show solidarity with Ukraine, have added renditions of the Ukrainian national anthem to their programs to counter the overture's exaltation of czarist Russia. Still others are reworking it, in one case by adding calls for peace." (NYT)   A message from Meta:   Good Monday morning and hope you all have a great holiday! Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line with your worst camera-phone pics of tonight's fireworks: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza. BIDEN'S MONDAY: — 1:50 p.m.: The Bidens will arrive at the White House from Camp David. — 5 p.m.: The Bidens will host a Fourth of July barbecue with military families on the South Lawn and deliver remarks. — 9:09 p.m.: The Bidens will watch the fireworks. VP KAMALA HARRIS' MONDAY — The VP is in Los Angeles 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 Rescue workers clear the rubble of a destroyed school after an attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Monday, July 4. | AP PLAYBOOK READS 7 THINGS FOR YOUR RADAR 1. THE QUIET PART OUT LOUD: Fears of a recession as the Fed drives up interest rates are growing in D.C. and on Wall Street, even as the White House tells Americans it's not written in stone, Victoria Guida reports this morning. Economists think a downturn could actually arrive soon — potentially this quarter. "Still, many of the factors contributing to shrinking GDP in recent months are technical in nature — companies stocked up on a lot of goods for their back rooms and so aren't adding as much to that inventory — leading many economists to question whether it's really a recession without the economic pain of notable job losses." 2. TRADE WARS: After multiple delays, the expected Biden decision to pare back some Trump-era tariffs on China could come as soon as this week, WSJ's Yuka Hayashi reports. The administration has been split on the decision, with competing imperatives for inflation, politics and diplomacy. A White House announcement could include some new tariffs or investigations alongside other reductions. 3. THE JAN. 6 STEP BACK: "[F]or a man who famously avoids leaving emails or other trails of evidence of his unspoken motives, any doubts about what was really going through Mr. Trump's mind on that day of violence seemed to have been eviscerated," NYT's Peter Baker writes in a new analysis of the fallout from CASSIDY HUTCHINSON's bombshell testimony last week. Now, after a year and a half during which we had little clarity about Trump's thoughts on Jan. 6, "the various disclosures have produced the clearest picture yet of an unprecedented attempt to subvert the traditional American democratic process." 4. SOMETHING TO KEEP AN EYE ON: "Justice Dept. Braces for Summer of Violent Crime," by NYT's Glenn Thrush: "If Washington is focused on the criminal investigation into the efforts to keep President Donald J. Trump in office after his 2020 election loss, [DOJ's] top leaders are equally concerned with the stubborn, postpandemic rise in violent crime, and a growing sense that lawlessness is overtaking daily life in many big cities. Republicans have highlighted the issue, along with inflation, before the 2022 midterm elections, but Democrats, like Mayor ERIC ADAMS of New York, are also embracing a law-and-order approach as their constituents demand action."   A message from Meta:   5. THE PANDEMIC: Vaccine makers are preparing another round of coronavirus shots targeting the latest subvariants of the Omicron wave. The Biden administration is banking on these boosters to be appealing for the segment of Americans who have passed on booster shots. But there are a lot of questions regarding the rollout of these new jabs — including whether they will come too late, NYT's Benjamin Mueller writes. "The updated shots will test the public's openness to an accelerated vaccine program that is reminiscent of the way annual flu shots are formulated, but that is entirely new when it comes to the coronavirus." — Related read: "'The tide is coming back': Bracing for a new global health fight," by Erin Banco 6. ABORTION FALLOUT: "The Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade has ushered in a new era of funding on both sides of the abortion debate," AP's Glenn Gamboa writes . "With the legality of abortion now up to individual states to determine, an issue long debated by legislators and philanthropists … suddenly has real-world ramifications for people across the country. And donors on both sides will now be expected to put money behind their words." — Related read: "People searching for abortion online must wade through misinformation," by WaPo's Rachel Lerman 7. WAR IN UKRAINE: — "As City Falls, Ukraine's Last Hope in Luhansk Falls With It," by NYT's Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Kamila Hrabchuk and Vivian Yee — "In Ukraine, U.S. Veterans Step In Where the Military Will Not," by NYT's Dave Philipps   INTRODUCING 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 Pope Francis swatted down rumors of retirement in an interview with Reuters' Philip Pullella. Hershel "Woody" Williams will lie in honor at the Capitol as the final World War II Medal of Honor recipient. WEEKEND WEDDING — Katherine Foley, an FDA reporter at POLITICO, and Benjamin Daniels, a research fellow studying health care quality in the gui2de group at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, got married on Saturday at Veritas Vineyards in Afton, Va. The couple met at a mutual friends' housewarming in 2017. Pic ... Another pic by Ken Pak BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY: The United States of America is 246 … Malia Obama … Geraldo Rivera … Matt Katz … WSJ's Natalie Andrews … Viveca Novak … former Reps. Dan Maffei (D-N.Y.) and Sam Farr (D-Calif.) … Ed Matricardi … WNYC's Frank Donatelli … Lanhee Chen … Ripple's Susan Hendrick … Ann Conant … Amazon's Dustin Todd … Kathleen Kennedy Townsend … Brandon English … Luke Tomanelli … Terry Wade … Kevin McLaughlin … Ryan Williams … Will Ritter of Poolhouse … Catlin O'Neill … Sunshine Sachs' Taylor Friedman … Lauren Ashburn … Rebecca Brown of Sen. Amy Klobuchar's (D-Minn.) office … Matthew Gravatt 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. A message from Meta: Doctors can practice high-risk situations risk-free in the metaverse In the metaverse, future surgeons will be able to practice advanced procedures hundreds of times before seeing real patients – helping them gain experience and master their skills. The metaverse may be virtual, but the impact will be real. Learn how Meta is helping build the metaverse.     Follow us on Twitter Rachael Bade @rachaelmbade Eugene Daniels @EugeneDaniels2 Ryan Lizza @RyanLizza   Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook  |  Playbook PM  |  California Playbook  |  Florida Playbook  |  Illinois Playbook  |  Massachusetts Playbook  |  New Jersey Playbook  |  New York Playbook  |  Ottawa Playbook  |  Brussels Playbook  |  London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters Follow us

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