| | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza and Eugene Daniels | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
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The embargo on Peter Baker and Susan Glasser's new book "THE DIVIDER: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021" was lifted last night, leading to a flurry of coverage. | Mary Altaffer, File/AP Photo | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | BREAKING — "Biden: Tentative railway labor deal reached, averting strike," AP: "President JOE BIDEN said Thursday a tentative railway labor agreement has been reached, averting a potentially devastating strike before the pivotal midterm elections. He said the tentative deal 'will keep our critical rail system working and avoid disruption of our economy.'" MAJOR NEW ABORTION POLLING — Americans are broadly skeptical of policymakers' ability to define the terms of abortion access in the U.S. following the Supreme Court's overturn of Roe v. Wade, according to a new poll out today. "Seven in 10 Americans don't think politicians 'are informed enough' about abortion to 'create fair policies' — a position held by majorities of both Democrats and Republicans, according to the survey of more than 20,000 adults by The 19th, a news organization focused on gender and politics, and SurveyMonkey," Elena Schneider writes. "A majority of Americans also said they think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 35 percent said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases." THE BOOK EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT — NYT's PETER BAKER and The New Yorker's SUSAN GLASSER, two old friends of Playbook (Susan was POLITICO's editor from 2014-2016), will release "THE DIVIDER: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021," on Tuesday. But after The Guardian's resourceful Martin Pengelly snagged a copy early, the book's embargo was lifted last night, leading to a flurry of coverage. In the NYT, Baker himself writes up an incredible account from the book about the time Trump's friend, the cosmetics billionaire RONALD LAUDER, convinced him that the U.S. could buy Greenland: "Mr. Lauder discussed it with him from the early days of the presidency and offered himself as a back channel to the Danish government to negotiate. JOHN R. BOLTON, the national security adviser, assigned his aide FIONA HILL to assemble a small team to brainstorm ideas. They engaged in secret talks with Denmark's ambassador and produced an options memo. "Mr. Bolton, concerned about expanding Chinese influence in the Arctic, thought that an increased American presence in Greenland made sense but that an outright purchase was not feasible. Mr. Trump kept pushing. He suggested taking federal money from Puerto Rico, which he disparaged, and using it to buy Greenland. On another occasion, he suggested outright trading Puerto Rico for Greenland." The Guardian focuses on two anecdotes: — "In December 2020, Donald Trump told friends he was afraid Iran would try to assassinate him in revenge for the death of QASSEM SULEIMANI, an Iranian general killed in a U.S. drone strike nearly a year before." — "Donald Trump will not pick MIKE PENCE as his running mate if he runs for the presidency again, according to an interview with the authors of a new book on his time in the White House. 'It would be totally inappropriate,' Trump told Peter Baker and Susan Glasser. 'Mike committed political suicide' by refusing to reject electoral college votes in Trump's 2020 defeat by Joe Biden, Trump said." WaPo leads with this doozy via the king of Jordan: "President Trump once offered what he considered 'a great deal' to Jordan's KING ABDULLAH II : control of the West Bank, whose Palestinian population long sought to topple the monarchy. 'I thought I was having a heart attack,' Abdullah II recalled to an American friend in 2018, according to a new book on the Trump presidency being published next week. 'I couldn't breathe. I was bent doubled-over.'" In the CNN write-up, there's this assessment of the Russia question from a former top Trump official: "Following a 2018 meeting with Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN in Helsinki, Finland — after which, Trump sided with Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies who had determined Russia tried to interfere in the 2016 election — the top U.S. intelligence official was left wondering what Trump's real motives were. "'I never could come to a conclusion. It raised the question in everybody's mind: What does Putin have on him that causes him to do something that undermines his credibility?' DAN COATS, the then-director of national intelligence, reflected to associates afterward, according to the book." CNN also relays this previously unreported account of an aborted plan for mass resignations: "In encrypted text messages, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told a top aide that five senior officials in the Trump administration — including the secretaries of Defense, Education and Interior — were on the verge of quitting amid a particularly chaotic period ahead of the 2018 midterms. 'Ok for the first time I am actually scared for the country. The insanity has been loosed,' she wrote in the messages." And a few more from Baker's NYT piece: — "He harshly criticized women for their looks, telling visitors that Speaker NANCY PELOSI was an example of why women should be careful about plastic surgery and that he would not pick NIKKI HALEY, his United Nations ambassador, as a running mate because she had a 'complexion problem.'" — Trump "order[ed] aides to block a merger in retaliation against CNN and to ensure that a government contract did not go to JEFF BEZOS' Amazon — actions aides considered illegal or unethical." — JOHN F. KELLY "secretly bought a copy of a best-selling book by a group of psychiatrists questioning Mr. Trump's mental health." — Kelly to Trump, when the president wouldn't lower the flag after Arizona Sen. JOHN McCAIN died: "If you don't support John McCain's funeral, when you die, the public will come to your grave and piss on it."
| | | | A message from PhRMA: Did you know: 39% of insured Americans say they don't understand what's covered by their insurance. Health insurance coverage should be predictable and transparent, and insured Americans agree. Learn more from our latest Patient Experience Survey report. | | | Good Thursday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line and tell us your favorite Trump book: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza. NEW THIS MORNING — "Biden approval rises sharply ahead of midterms: AP-NORC poll," AP: "President Joe Biden's popularity improved substantially from his lowest point this summer, but concerns about his handling of the economy persist, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Support for Biden recovered from a low of 36% in July to 45% driven in large part by a rebound in support from Democrats just two months before the November midterm elections." TALKER — John Harris writes in his new Altitude column: "How Ken Starr's Moralism Helped Give Us Donald Trump"
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Illustrations by Dan Page for POLITICO | BIG INVESTIGATION — "How Bill Gates and his partners took over the global Covid response," by Erin Banco, Ashleigh Furlong and Lennart Pfahler: A new seven-month joint investigation between POLITICO and German outlet WELT dives into four NGOs that spent billions aiding the global fight against the pandemic: (1) The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, (2) Gavi, the global vaccine organization that Gates helped to found to inoculate people in low-income nations, (3) Wellcome Trust, a British research foundation and (4) Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or CEPI, the international vaccine research and development group that Gates and Wellcome helped create in 2017. Together, those four groups have spent almost $10 billion on Covid since 2020 — the same amount as the leading U.S. agency tasked with fighting Covid abroad. But was that effort a success? — The organizations collectively gave $1.4 billion to the WHO, where they helped create a critical initiative to distribute Covid-19 tools. That program failed to achieve its original benchmarks. — The leaders of the four organizations pledged to bridge the equity gap. However, during the worst waves of the pandemic, low-income countries were left without life-saving vaccines. — Leaders of three of the four organizations maintained that lifting intellectual property protections was not needed to increase vaccine supplies — which activists believed would have helped save lives.
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| Visualizer: "6 charts that show how money and influence shaped the world's Covid plan," by Annette Choi and Erin Banco Methodology: "Behind the numbers: How we analyzed Gates' and partners' global influence," by Annette and Erin
| | | | A message from PhRMA: New research examines how insured Americans navigate unclear and unaffordable insurance coverage. | | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — At today's United We Stand Summit, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Anti-Defamation League are releasing a new "Mayors Compact to Combat Hate and Extremism." The initiative lays out 10 specific planks/approaches to dealing with the issue in American cities, and is signed by a bipartisan group of 164 mayors. The effort is led by Republican Oklahoma City Mayor DAVID HOLT, who will be at the White House to detail the plan along with the ADL's JONATHAN GREENBLATT. Read the document A NEW ELIZABETHAN ERA — ELIZABETH RALPH will be the next editor of POLITICO Magazine and a managing editor at POLITICO, executive editor DAFNA LINZER announced this morning. Elizabeth, a nine-year veteran of the mag, is the architect of the new POLITICO Weekend newsletter ( subscribe here), and has edited and overseen Women Rule for the past two years. She will, Dafna writes, "draw on her experience while refreshing our coverage with energy and exuberance that's all her own," reaffirming the magazine's status as "a place where writers and thinkers stretch what our publication can do as a home for narrative, enterprise and ideas journalism." Read the full memo
| | BIDEN'S THURSDAY:
8:30 a.m.: The president will receive the President's Daily Brief.
3:30 p.m.: Biden will deliver the keynote speech at the United We Stand Summit.
7:50 p.m.: Biden will depart the White House en route to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
8:25 p.m.: Biden will attend the 45th Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Gala to kick off the White House's celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.
9:05 p.m.: Biden will return to the White House.
VP KAMALA HARRIS' THURSDAY:
10:10 a.m.: The VP will deliver the opening remarks for the United We Stand Summit.
1:45 p.m.: Harris will host a multilateral meeting with the following Caribbean leaders: Suriname President CHAN SANTOKHI, Barbados PM MIA MOTTLEY, Guyana President IRFAAN ALI, Trinidad and Tobago PM KEITH ROWLEY and Dominican Republic President LUIS ABINADER.
Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will brief at 1:15 p.m. (And CBS' Ed O'Keefe notes that the briefing will kick off with White House Director of Hispanic Media LUISANA PÉREZ FERNÁNDEZ speaking entirely in Spanish.)
The White House monkeypox response team and public health officials will brief at 10:30 a.m.
THE SENATE will meet at 10 a.m. to resume consideration of SARAH MERRIAM's nomination to be U.S. circuit judge for the Second Circuit, post-cloture. At 11:30 a.m., the Senate will vote on confirmation of the Merriam nomination. At 1:45 p.m., the Senate will vote on DAVID PEKOSKE's confirmation to be Transportation Security Administration administrator. SEC Chair GARY GENSLER will testify before the Senate Banking Committee at 10 a.m.
THE HOUSE will meet at noon to consider various legislation, with first/last votes expected between 1:45 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. | | | | | | COME OVER TO LONDON. Are you tuned in to what's going on in politics on the other side of the Atlantic? Subscribe to POLITICO's free daily newsletter London Playbook and get the latest analysis and news on the outcome of the conservative party leadership election and on general politics and policymaking in the U.K. SUBSCRIBE TODAY. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
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President Joe Biden drives a Cadillac Lyriq during a tour at the Detroit Auto Show on Wednesday, Sept. 14. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | ALL POLITICS DEMS' DRAMA-FREE DREAMING — House Dems are all singing from the same hymnal as they cling to their long-shot bid to hold their majority. The message essentially boils down to this: Don't do anything stupid, Sarah Ferris writes. "Across the Capitol, Senate Democrats are similarly cautious, concentrating on judicial nominees and same-sex marriage legislation that has little political downside for the party in power. Taken together, the two slim Democratic majorities are living by a new credo of less is more after a breakneck two years of legislating." ON WISCONSIN — In the gubernatorial race, Democratic Gov. TONY EVERS leads Republican TIM MICHELS, 47% to 44%, according to the latest Marquette University Law School Poll. — And in the Senate race, GOP Sen. RON JOHNSON has a 49% to 48% lead over Democratic Lt. Gov. MANDELA BARNES. More from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel GEORGIA ON MY MIND — The gubernatorial race is too close to call between GOP Gov. BRIAN KEMP (50%) and Democrat STACEY ABRAMS (48%), according to Quinnipiac University's first polling in the state. — In the Senate race, the margin is a little more comfortable for Democrats: Sen. RAPHAEL WARNOCK has a 52% to 46% lead over GOP challenger HERSCHEL WALKER. More from Quinnipiac THE DEBATE DEBATE — JOHN FETTERMAN and MEHMET OZ agreed to take part in a televised debate on Oct. 25. Oz's agreement came on a trio of stipulations based on the Fetterman campaign's requests to accommodate the Democratic candidate's continued stroke recovery: "that a moderator explain that Fetterman is using closed captioning; that no questions asked during a practice session resemble those asked during the actual debate; and that the duration of the debate increase from 60 to 90 minutes," the Philly Inquirer's Julia Terruso writes. — Meanwhile, on social media: "Doctored videos exacerbate Fetterman speech issues in viral social media posts," NBC CASH DASH — "Top GOP Senate candidates gather for series of fundraisers," by Alex Isenstadt RED RALLY CAPS ON — "Despite misgivings, GOP rallies behind MAGA Senate candidate in N.H.," by Natalie Allison and Burgess Everett — Related read: "Hassan fires first shot at Bolduc over abortion," by the New Hampshire Union Leader's Kevin Landrigan HEADS UP — "Ex-aide who alleged sexual harassment sues Andrew Cuomo," AP MAR-A-LAGO FALLOUT TEMPERATURE READING — The recent spate of subpoenas in DOJ's investigation has left Trump aides "angry and a bit shaken," Meridith McGraw and Jonathan Lemire write, and "there is speculation that the scope of those targeted is much larger, with some close to Trump suggesting that the number of subpoenas issued is between 50 and 75. There is, in addition, growing fear that the very people who are being tasked to help deflect some of the legal heat that Trump is under for a variety of investigations — chief among them, his handling of classified material at his home in Mar-a-Lago — could potentially be in legal trouble themselves." BY THE WAY — "Reality Winner, imprisoned for leaking classified report, calls case against Trump 'incredibly ironic,'" by NBC's Gabe Gutierrez, Erik Ortiz and Kayla McCormick THE WHITE HOUSE HMM — "Biden's FAA nominee named in search warrant amid California political spat," by Oriana Pawlyk CONGRESS THE PRE-MIDTERM CRUNCH — "Republicans push for delay on same-sex marriage vote," by Burgess Everett: On Wednesday, a bipartisan group of negotiators "met for roughly an hour to finish hashing out their updated version of the legislation. After that sitdown, [Dem Sen. TAMMY] BALDWIN said it was 'highly likely' the legislation will be made public on Thursday: 'I still think we can do this next week.' Still, most Senate Republicans don't sound like they're feeling political pressure to support legislation whose goals are broadly popular with the public." TENSIONS OVER TAIWAN — "U.S.-Taiwan bill sails through Senate panel despite White House misgivings," by Andrew Desiderio
| | | | A message from PhRMA:   New research examines how insured Americans navigate unclear and unaffordable insurance coverage. | | | JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH MEADOWS COMPLIES WITH SUBPOENA — Former Trump White House chief of staff MARK MEADOWS complied with a DOJ subpoena in its investigation into the events of Jan. 6, CNN's Pamela Brown, Evan Perez, Jeremy Herb and Kristen Holmes scoop. "Meadows turned over the same materials he provided to the House select committee investigating the US Capitol attack, one source said, meeting the obligations of the Justice Department subpoena, which has not been previously reported." WHAT THE COMMITTEE IS UP TO — "Jan. 6 committee seeks new trove of John Eastman emails," by Kyle Cheney FOR YOUR RADAR — "Hidden hand involved in Stewart Rhodes' bid to derail Oath Keepers Jan. 6 trial," by Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney JUDICIARY SQUARE SCOTUS SCOLDING — "Kagan repeats warning that Supreme Court is damaging its legitimacy," by Josh Gerstein SCOTUS WATCH — "Supreme Court Says Yeshiva University Must Allow L.G.B.T. Group as Case Proceeds," NYT BEYOND THE BELTWAY IMMIGRATION FILES — "About 50 Venezuelan migrants were abruptly flown to Martha's Vineyard Wednesday and left in the care of island officials, who said they had no advance notice of their arrival," the Boston Globe's Tonya Alanez writes. "There was some confusion as to where the migrants were sent from. A spokeswoman for Republican Florida Governor RON DeSANTIS told Fox News his administration had dispatched the migrants as part of his plan to relocate undocumented immigrants to so-called sanctuary states such as Massachusetts." But Massachusetts state Sen. JULIAN CYR said "at least one flight … originated in San Antonio, Texas, before making a stop in Florida."
| | | | 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 | | Joe Biden is now a TikTok star. Rudy Giuliani knows: Always. Be. Selling.. Charlie Kirk excoriated Lindsey Graham over what he deemed "election interference." PLAYBOOK SPORTS PAGE LAWMAKERS DEFEAT PRESS, 6-5 — The Member Team finally broke their yearslong losing streak at the 14th annual Congressional Women's Softball game on Wednesday night. Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) was the hero for the lawmakers after she drew a walk-off walk with the bases loaded that brought home the winning run to beat the Bad News Babes, who had won every matchup since 2015. "This year, the game brought in a record amount, over $540,000, for the Young Survival Coalition, which supports [breast cancer] patients under the age of 40. That announcement from the emcees prompted the largest applause of the night," Roll Call's Paul Fontelo writes. At the event's afterparty, Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) and CNN's Mikayla Bouchard were named MVPs of their respective teams while Reps. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.), Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) and Sharice Davids (D-Kansas) danced to Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" to celebrate their victory. SPOTTED: Second gentleman Doug Emhoff and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer in the team dugout. … Pic … Another Pic WAPO SCRIBE BESTS N.H. DEM AT SPELLING BEE — At the National Press Club's annual "Press Vs. Politicians" spelling bee, WaPo's Amy Wang outlasted reigning champ Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), securing at least one victory for the press over their subjects for the night. The winning word? Fartlek. "It's a Swedish word, and meant, as the first judge said: 'Endurance training in which a runner alternates periods of sprinting with periods of jogging,'" WaPo's Meagan Flynn writes. (Shoutout to our colleague Eric Geller, who represented POLITICO for the winning team!) OUT AND ABOUT — The official unveiling of the portrait of former Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) was held on Wednesday evening on the Hill. Remarks were given by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), James Comer (R-Ky.) and Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) and former Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah). The portrait, which will hang in the House Oversight Committee's hearing room, was commissioned by Cummings' widow, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, and was painted by Baltimore artist Jerrell Gibbs. The portrait was accepted by Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), an honorary board member for the U.S. Capitol Historical Society. Pic of the portrait SPOTTED: Jennifer and Adia Cummings, CBC Chair Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Anthony Brown (D-Md.) and Shontel Brown (D-Ohio), April Ryan, Yebbie Watkins, Dave Rapallo, Trudy Perkins, Kamau Marshall, Sherrilyn Ifill, Marc Broady, Francesca McCrary, Vincent Evans and Amy Stratton. MEDIA MOVES — Emmanuel Beryhun is now executive director of talent and culture at POLITICO. He previously was director of HR and talent management at Ippon Technologies. WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Morgan Joyce has left the White House, where she was a policy adviser at the NSC. She is now a policy analyst in the office of counterterrorism and counterproliferation of the National Nuclear Security Administration. WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Megan Rooney is now a senior presidential speechwriter. She most recently was chief speechwriter for Secretary of State Antony Blinken and also worked as a speechwriter for former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. … Elizabeth Irwin is now director for cyber policy and programs in the Office of the National Cyber Director. She previously was acting director and senior policy adviser in the Treasury Department's Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-Calif.) and Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) … WaPo's Ashley Parker … Chris Lehmann … NPR's David Folkenflik … Ben Kamisar … CBS' Adam Aigner-Treworgy … POLITICO's Kathy Wolfe … Tiffany Haverly of Rep. Adrian Smith's (R-Neb.) office … Elizabeth Meyer … Sandra Alcalá of Rep. Filemon Vela's (D-Texas) office … Chandler Smith Costello of Firehouse Strategies … CNN's Ryan Nobles … Tony Mauro ... League of Conservation Voters' Dawn Cohea … Maggie Moore of Stand Up America … Rebecca McGrath ... McKinsey & Company's Max Berley ... Allyson Alvaré Kranz … Marie Arana ... Chip Rodgers … Wayne King of Old North Strategies … Sara Fagen of Tunnl … Christian Pinkston … speechwriter John McConnell … former Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) … Jill Moschak … Armenian Assembly's Anthony Barsamian 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.
| | | | A message from PhRMA: According to new data, insured Americans are struggling to navigate their health care coverage, particularly the insurer- and PBM-imposed barriers and cost sharing practices that stand between them and their medicines:
· 39% of insured Americans say they don't understand what's covered by their insurance.
· Even with insurance, 15% report they would be unable to afford health care if they were to become seriously ill because of high out-of-pocket costs.
Americans want policy reforms that improve their insurance by providing more predictability and transparency in what is covered and lowering what they pay out of pocket. Read more in PhRMA's latest Patient Experience Survey. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | 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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