| | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
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Unfortunately for Ron DeSantis, Tallahassee policy victories don’t define the narrative for the Republican presidential primary, which is more nationalized than ever. | Scott Olson/Getty Images | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | NICE HEADLINE OF THE DAY — “Jimmy Carter, 3 months into hospice, is aware of tributes, enjoying ice cream,” by AP’s Bill Barrow SCOTUS WATCH — Chief Justice JOHN ROBERTS addressed the swirling financial controversies surrounding the Supreme Court while accepting an award at the American Law Institute last night: “I want to assure people that I’m committed to making certain that we as a court adhere to the highest standards of conduct. We are continuing to look at things we can do to give practical effect to that commitment. And I am confident that there are ways to do that consistent with our status as an independent branch of government and the Constitution’s separation of powers.” More from WaPo’s Bob Barnes DeSANTIS D-DAY — RON DeSANTIS had a plan. The 44-year-old Florida governor would use the momentum from his 19-point victory last November and turn the Florida legislative session into a showcase of conservative policymaking that would serve as the blueprint for a DeSantis presidential administration. And he stuck to the plan. Aided by a Republican supermajority in Tallahassee, the governor signed into law a long list of conservative policies: universal school choice, an immigration bill that makes E-Verify mandatory for most Florida employers, a tort reform bill, a ban on the automatic deduction of union dues from the salaries of most state employees, an end to permits to carry a concealed firearm. Yet here’s what happened during its execution:
|  | | According to the national polling averages tracked by FiveThirtyEight, Trump’s lead over DeSantis in national polling more than doubled, from 16 points in early March to 33 points today. Trump has also dominated the race for endorsements from party leaders, building a more than ten-to-one lead over DeSantis in the House alone. So what happened? Unfortunately for DeSantis, Tallahassee policy victories don’t define the narrative for the Republican presidential primary, which is more nationalized than ever. The stories that broke through during this period were all a net negative for the governor:
- Ukraine. DeSantis told TUCKER CARLSON that Russia’s invasion amounted to “a territorial dispute,” a comment that attracted criticism from at least five Republican senators and several prominent donors, who decided to hit pause on their support. (DeSantis later walked back the Ukraine comment in an interview with PIERS MORGAN.)
- Disney. Many conservatives originally cheered the governor for targeting the Walt Disney Co. over its opposition to Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill. But as the fight escalated, the conventional wisdom on the right turned. The Wall Street Journal editorial page, for instance, wrote last month, “Disney’s denunciation of Florida’s education law was gratuitous, but so are Mr. DeSantis's threats of retribution.”
- Abortion. DeSantis signed a six-week abortion ban at the same moment a national consensus was building among Republican strategists that such a law was politically hazardous. (63% of voters oppose a six-week ban, according to recent polling from the Public Religion Research Institute.) DeSantis’ pitch to Republicans, as he explained in a recent call with donors, is that he is more electable than Trump. But his abortion record at the very least complicates that argument.
Meanwhile, as these MSM storylines dominated DeSantis coverage, Trump world spent some $13 million on ads attacking DeSantis over entitlements, taxes and other issues. There was no similar effort to hype the DeSantis record on vouchers and tort reform. The end result is that DeSantis’ decline encouraged GOP fence-sitters to jump into the race, creating a large field that has delighted the former president, who knows that the lack of a one-on-one contest eases his path to victory, just like 2016. Is it too late for DeSantis to turn it around? Of course not. Today’s official announcement frees him to pivot away from shadow-boxing with Trump into making a full-throated case that he is what many Republicans once thought he was: the GOP’s best chance to actually return MAGA values to the White House. For a taste of how DeSantis’ orbit is trying to reframe his wobbly campaign, check out this video shared first with Playbook, from the pro-DeSantis Super PAC Never Back Down. “Today is the day that Trump has been trying to stop for months,” KRISTIN DAVISON, chief operating officer, told us. DeSantis is also showing a dash of creativity today by making his launch official in a Twitter Spaces event with ELON MUSK at 6 p.m. (He’ll also do an interview on Fox News afterwards with TREY GOWDY, a former House colleague of DeSantis.) On one hand, the launch might more accurately be called a Twitter Safe Space event: Musk has previously expressed support for DeSantis, and their conversation will be moderated by DeSantis donor and Musk confidante DAVID SACKS. It’s also worth noting that only about one-fifth of Americans are on Twitter, and more of them are Democrats than Republicans. But that may be changing. The DeSantis-Musk collaboration suggests Twitter is cementing its identity as the preferred social media platform of the right. Carlson wants his post-Fox career to be on Twitter. The Daily Wire just announced an expanded presence there. And Musk himself has emerged as a hero of the right who tweets the occasional bananas conspiracy theory and regularly boosts some of the fringiest right-wing accounts. All of which could be a feature, not a bug for DeSantis in a Republican primary. Perhaps with Musk’s support DeSantis will become the new main character of the platform in the way that Trump once was. Or perhaps not. Trump aides were out in full force mocking tonight’s event. Here’s a text we received:
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| Good Wednesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Altria: The future of Tobacco Harm Reduction. More than 70% of U.S. adults 21+ surveyed support Tobacco Harm Reduction as the right path forward for tobacco regulation. And two out of three believe the FDA should focus its efforts on Tobacco Harm Reduction. See the poll results here. | | | Related DeSantis reads: “Ron DeSantis and the Curse of the Florida Man,” by Charlie Mahtesian for POLITICO Magazine: “No Florida politician has ever been elected president. A half-dozen have run in the last 50 years — essentially the period in which the state evolved from political backwater to electoral powerhouse — but all have ended up in the same place, dead in the water long before the nominating convention.” “DeSantis-Sacks ’24,” by Puck’s Teddy Schleifer: “Sacks, the PayPal Mafia scion, has ascended from mere rabble-rouser into a genuine G.O.P. cultural and political force, starting super PACs and dark-money groups, appearing on Tucker, and in his latest media venture, launching DeSantis himself.” “DeSantis sees a path to the White House — 240 characters at a time,” by Sally Goldenberg and Meridith McGraw “‘All-Out Assault’: Things Are About To Bust Wide Open Between Trump, DeSantis,” by the Daily Caller’s Diana Glebova “Musk gadfly has a new jet to track - the one used by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis,” by AP’s David Hamilton
| | | | A message from Altria:   Altria is leading the way in transitioning millions of adult smokers from cigarettes to a smoke-free future. | | | | | BIDEN’S WEDNESDAY:
11 a.m.: The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief, with VP KAMALA HARRIS also in attendance.
3:30 p.m.: Biden and first lady JILL BIDEN will commemorate the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will brief at 2:15 p.m.
THE HOUSE will meet at 10 a.m., and at noon will take up a resolution to overturn an Education Department student loans rule and a bill classifying fentanyl as a Schedule 1 controlled substance. The chamber may also take up a resolution overriding Biden’s veto of a Commerce Department rule related to tariffs on solar panel imports.
THE SENATE is out. | | | | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The Covid-19 pandemic helped spur innovation in health care, from the wide adoption of telemedicine, health apps and online pharmacies to mRNA vaccines. But what will the next health care innovations look like? Join POLITICO on Wednesday June 7 for our Health Care Summit to explore how tech and innovation are transforming care and the challenges ahead for access and delivery in the United States. REGISTER NOW. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
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In this artist depiction, former president Donald Trump, left on screen, and his attorney Todd Blanche, right on screen, appear via video in Manhattan criminal court, in New York, Tuesday, May 23, 2023. | Elizabeth Williams/AP Photo | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | THE DEBT LIMIT Beginner’s (tough) luck: House Republicans are finding themselves with little precedent for striking a debt limit deal breakthrough, because they’ve historically shied away from exactly the kind of negotiations they now find themselves in, our colleagues Sarah Ferris, Olivia Beavers and Jordain Carney write this morning: “While [Speaker KEVIN] McCARTHY is keeping his often-fractious members in his corner more consistently than his predecessors, his newness to the glare of White House negotiations leaves Washington without a decoder ring for his public vows that — even as the two sides stay far apart on big issues — a deal is still possible by next week.” Count on it: Once a deal is in place, officials at the White House are bracing for what comes next. Aides “privately estimate they may need to deliver as many as 100 Democratic votes to ensure an eventual debt limit deal can pass the narrowly divided House,” Adam Cancryn and Jennifer Haberkorn report. “The informal projection is driven by lingering doubts among Biden officials over [McCarthy’s] ability to convince the vast majority of Republicans to back a bipartisan agreement — and the expectation that dozens of the GOP’s most conservative members are poised to rebel against any sign of a compromise.” McCarthy’s view: McCarthy yesterday accused the White House of having a “lack of urgency” in the debt limit talks, AP’s Lisa Mascaro, Stephen Groves, Farnoush Amiri and Seung Min Kim write. “We’re not there yet,” McCarthy said at the Capitol, reiterating he won’t bring any bill forward “that doesn’t spend less than we spent this year.” What the White House wants: Administration officials involved in the negotiations are “seeking to preserve funding for key components of the federal coronavirus response,” NYT’s Noah Weiland and Benjamin Mueller report, including about $5 billion for new coronavirus vaccines and treatments and more than $1 billion to fund vaccines for the uninsured. Looking ahead: Fed Chair JEROME POWELL paid a visit to the New Democrat Coalition’s weekly lunch on Capitol Hill, CNN’s Matt Egan reports, where he declined to say much about the current standoff but told them he “has ideas about how the controversial debt ceiling can be revamped and would be happy to share them once the current impasse is over.” Related read: “Default on U.S. Debt Risks ‘Permanently’ Denting Nation’s Credit Rating,” by NYT’s Joe Rennison HOW IT’S PLAYING — A pair of polls released yesterday shed some light on how the general public is viewing the debt limit negotiations and how respondents want Congress to act. CNN:
- 60%: Congress should only raise the debt ceiling if it cuts spending at the same time
- 24%: Congress should raise the debt ceiling no matter what
- 15%: Congress should not raise the debt ceiling, and allow the US to default on its debts
NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist:
- 52%: Congress should raise the debt ceiling to avoid default and discuss spending cuts separately
- 42%: Congress should only increase the debt ceiling if it makes significant spending cuts at the same time, even if it means the U.S. defaults on its loans
2024 WATCH GREAT SCOTT — WSJ’s Eliza Collins reports that Rep. TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.) has “raised $2 million since his campaign launch” on Monday, which brings him to “$24 million cash on hand at the start of his campaign.” CASH SPLASH — The Biden reelection campaign is quick out of the gates in digital spending, hoping to level the playing field against the formidable MAGA machine, having “already tripled what Donald Trump’s team has spent in online ads in 2023,” Axios’ Alex Thompson and Sara Fischer write. MORE POLITICS WHAT THE DCCC AND NRCC ARE READING — “Malinowski won’t seek rematch with Kean,” by the New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: Former New Jersey Rep. TOM MALINOWSKI “has begun informing key Democrats that he has decided against a third consecutive run against Rep. THOMAS KEAN, JR. (R-Westfield), several Democratic leaders have told the New Jersey Globe.” WATCH THIS SPACE — “Developer paid Miami’s mayor $170K to push his project, company records state,” by the Miami Herald’s Joey Flechas, Jay Weaver and Sarah Blaskey: “A developer quietly paid Miami Mayor FRANCIS SUAREZ at least $170,000 over the past two years to help cut through red tape and secure critical permits for his stalled real estate project in Coconut Grove, according to internal corporate records exclusively obtained by the Miami Herald.” A Suarez spokeswoman “called the internal records’ characterization of Suarez’s role ‘inaccurate.’”
| | | | A message from Altria:   Altria is leading the way in transitioning millions of adult smokers from cigarettes to a smoke-free future. | | | THE WHITE HOUSE ANOTHER ONE GONE — JABARI WAMBLE, a U.S. attorney nominated to fill a district court seat in Kansas, is pulling his name from contention, he said in a letter to the White House yesterday. “Aides were under the impression that the American Bar Association would rate Wamble ‘not qualified’ for the nomination,” our colleagues Burgess Everett and Betsy Woodruff Swan report, noting that Wamble’s bow-out is the second such judicial nominee to do so in the last month. POLITICAL VIOLENCE WATCH — New details are emerging about the 19-year-old man who police say smashed a U-Haul truck into security barriers near the White House. NBC’s Tim Stelloh, Daniel Barnes and Daniel Arkin report that SAI VARSHITH KANDULA “allegedly told authorities that he admires Nazis and wanted to ‘seize power’ and ‘kill the president,’ court documents released Tuesday show.” COMING ATTRACTIONS — Danish PM METTE FREDERIKSEN will visit the White House on June 5, where they are expected to discuss the countries’ continued support for Ukraine, the White House announced yesterday. More from AP CONGRESS COUNTING CROW — HARLAN CROW, the GOP megadonor whose friendship with Supreme Court Justice CLARENCE THOMAS has come under scrutiny, is refusing to cooperate with a Senate Judiciary Committee investigation, Katherine Tully-McManus reports, with his lawyer claiming in a letter that Congress has no authority to investigate him. Read the letter HAPPENING TODAY — “Why Republicans want to repeal Biden’s student debt relief now,” by Michael Stratford: “The House on Wednesday will take up legislation to repeal President Joe Biden’s sweeping student debt relief program, putting the hotly debated policy to a standalone vote in Congress for the first time.” FOR THOSE KEEPING TRACK — “House Ethics Committee closes Swalwell investigation with no further action,” by WaPo’s Mariana Alfaro TRUMP CARDS MARK YOUR CALENDARS — Trump’s criminal trial is scheduled to begin on March 25, 2024, the presiding judge said in a hearing yesterday. That date notably sets Trump up for a courtroom showdown in the middle of the presidential race, coming just three weeks after Super Tuesday, NYT’s Jonah Bromwich notes. FOR YOUR RADAR — Two of Trump’s lawyers sent a letter to AG MERRICK GARLAND yesterday to request “a meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss the ongoing injustice that is being perpetrated by your Special Counsel and his prosecutors,” according to a copy of the letter that Trump posted on Truth Social. See the letter SILENCE IS GOLDEN — “Trump’s latest legal headache: His own big mouth,” by Erica Orden in New York AMERICA AND THE WORLD YIKES — “Pro-Ukraine Forces Appear to Have Used U.S.-Made Armored Vehicles in Incursion Into Russia,” by NYT’s Riley Mellen: “At least three of what appeared to be American-made tactical vehicles known as MRAPs were part of the cross-border attack. According to visual evidence, Russia captured two of them.” TWEET FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER — “Senior U.S. general ordered Twitter announcement of drone strike on al Qaeda leader that may have instead killed civilian,” by CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Oren Liebermann and Haley Britzky BEYOND THE BELTWAY ABORTION FALLOUT — “South Carolina Senate gives final approval to 6-week abortion ban,” by the Post and Courier’s Seanna Adcox DEEP IN THE HEART — “House panel investigating AG Ken Paxton’s office; Paxton calls on Speaker Dade Phelan to resign,” by The Texas Tribune’s Patrick Svitek: “A Texas House committee revealed Tuesday it was investigating the office of Attorney General KEN PAXTON over his push for $3.3 million in taxpayer dollars to settle a whistleblower lawsuit from former deputies who had accused Paxton of misconduct. The news came hours after Paxton called on the House speaker, DADE PHELAN, to resign over alleged drunkenness while leading the House, a remarkable moment of acrimony between two of Texas’ top Republicans.” SOMBER ANNIVERSARY — “A Year After the Uvalde Massacre: Did Anything Change?” by NYT’s Edgar Sandoval … “A year after Uvalde, officers who botched response face few consequences,” by WaPo’s Joyce Sohyun Lee, Sarah Cahlan and Arelis R. Hernández MEDIAWATCH WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT — “Fox host Greg Gutfeld applauds high school teacher charged with engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with 16-year-old student,” by Media Matters STATE OF THE UNION — “The Times Reaches a Contract Deal With Its Newsroom Union,” by NYT’s Katie Robertson: “The agreement, if ratified, will give union members immediate salary increases of up to 12.5 percent to cover the last two years and 2023, and will raise the required minimum salary to $65,000, up from about $37,500.”
| | | | GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Jon Hamm narrated an ad for Lucas Kunce attacking Josh Hawley. Elmo and Grover visited Capitol Hill yesterday. Nikki Haley missed her own punchline. Amanda Gorman responded to the Florida ban on her inaugural poem. OUT AND ABOUT — The Canadian Embassy hosted an event yesterday evening with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and Canada’s Parliamentary Black Caucus as part of their inaugural delegation visit to D.C. Guests were treated to Canadian maple cured duck, Canadian crab cakes and bison sliders, as well as maple gimlets and Wayne Gretzky Whisky old fashioned. SPOTTED: CBC Chair Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), Reps. Marc Veasey (D-Texas), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), Valerie Foushee (D-N.C.), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Gwen Moore (D-Wis.), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) and Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), Canadian Parliamentary Black Caucus co-chairs Rosemary Moodie and Michael Coteau, Canadian Members of Parliament Greg Fergus, Arielle Kayabaga and Matthew Green and Sens. Marie-Françoise Mégie, Sharon Burey, Bernadette Clement and Amina Gerba. — SPOTTED at a Western Caucus Member Lunch in the CVC with David Bernhardt: Congressional Western Caucus Chair Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Pete Stauber (R-Minn.), Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.), Jim Baird (R-Ind.), Brad Finstad (R-Minn.), Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.), Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.), Brian Babin (R-Texas), Bruce Westerman (R-Ariz.), David Valadao (R-Calif.), Mike Flood (R-Neb.) and Jerry Carl (R-Ala.). FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — First lady Jill Biden will be a guest speaker at the Reagan Institute’s Summit on Education tomorrow. She joins Asa Hutchinson and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore as the other featured speakers for the event, whose conversations will be moderated by Chuck Todd. More info on the event TRANSITIONS — Christina Brown is now VP and senior counsel at U.S. Mortgage Insurers. She previously was senior public policy and compliance officer at Navy Federal Credit Union. … Julia Convertini is joining the National Electrical Contractors Association as director of government affairs. She previously was senior associate at ACG Advocacy. ENGAGED — David Wilezol, founder and president of Seventh Floor Strategies and a Mike Pompeo alum, proposed to Kristine Michalson, assistant director of the House Press Gallery and a Marco Rubio and Mitt Romney campaign alum, on Saturday in front of the U.S. Capitol. They met at Capitol Hill Baptist Church and rekindled a romance earlier this year after dating in 2011. Pic … Another pic WEDDING — Anna Stubbs, office manager at POLITICO, and Connor Foxwell, help desk engineer at POLITICO, got married last week at Lake Tahoe. They met at work. Pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Rocky Fox, a principal at Husch Blackwell Strategies, and Kathryn Fox, administrative services manager at McKinsey, welcomed Taylor Amelia Fox on Monday. She came in at 7 lbs 7 oz and joins her fellow forgotten 19th century presidentially named big sisters, Hayes and Monroe — rounding out the representation of a Republican, Democrat and Whig administration. Pic … Another pic BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): DAGA’s Daisy Martinez HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) and Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) … Kasie Hunt ... former Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) ... Rory Cooper of Purple Strategies … Eric Schwerin … NPR’s Tom Bowman ... Mark Bescher of Mondelēz International ... Signal Group’s Chelsea Koski ... Molly Goldberg … Craig Singleton … National Endowment for Democracy’s Damon Wilson … Bob Franken … former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland … Meredith Ritchie … Fred DuVal ... Bloomberg’s Alisa Parenti ... Rana Abtar … Ryan Dukeman … L.A. Times’ Nick Baumann … Giulia DiGuglielmo of Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-Calif.) office 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 Altria: Moving beyond smoking. More than 20 million adult smokers are looking to transition from cigarettes to smoke-free choices. And they are three times as likely to make that change when they have information on Tobacco Harm Reduction.
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