| DEFAULT ALL BUT AVERTED — The Senate passed the debt ceiling deal last night by a final vote of 63-36, sending it to President JOE BIDEN's desk. More from Daniella Diaz … AP ticktock CNN BRACES FOR LICHT PIECE — The Atlantic’s Tim Alberta has a 15,000-word profile of CNN CEO CHRIS LICHT posting at 9 a.m. this morning. Alberta has been working on the article since last year and Licht granted him an extraordinary level of access, including during the planning and filming of the network’s controversial town hall with DONALD TRUMP last month in New Hampshire. CNN reporters and executives have been buzzing about the piece for weeks as it neared completion. It’s a long one but we’re told readers will want to “stick around till the end.” Hmmm. IT BEGINS — With the debt ceiling drama behind us, the center of American politics is about to turn sharply from Capitol Hill to the 2024 presidential election, especially the GOP primary. The GOP field will soon expand, with former VP MIKE PENCE, former New Jersey Gov. CHRIS CHRISTIE and current North Dakota Gov. DOUG BURGUM all preparing to formally enter the race next week. They’ll join the cast of already declared candidates, which includes Trump, Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS, South Carolina Sen. TIM SCOTT, former South Carolina Gov. NIKKI HALEY, former Arknasas Gov. ASA HUTCHINSON and VIVEK RAMASWAMY. New Hampshire Gov. CHRIS SUNUNU and Miami Mayor FRANCIS SUAREZ have both said they may also join the race. The expanding field only serves to underscore the main dynamic that will dominate this summer: There’s Trump, the dominant frontrunner. There’s DeSantis, the diminished — but still principal — challenger. And then there’s everybody else. Nationally, Trump holds a 31-point lead over DeSantis in the RCP polling average, but that’s down six points since May 20, as DeSantis’s official entry into the race gave the governor a bump. It’s a little closer in Iowa, where expectations are high for DeSantis to make an initial blow against the former president, who holds a 22-point lead in the RCP average. And it’s closer still in South Carolina, where Trump’s lead is 20 points, and in New Hampshire, where Trump’s lead is 18 points. We’re still in the early days, but with DeSantis finishing his first tour of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, and Trump continuing to keep up a steady schedule of media appearances, we have some initial takeaways about the defining matchup of the 2024 GOP primaries: TWO STATES, TWO MESSAGES: In Iowa, DeSantis, who signed a six-week abortion ban this year in Florida, has played up his pro-life credentials. Evangelicals are a large and crucial GOP voting bloc in Iowa, and some key anti-abortion leaders there have been critical of Trump recently. But in New Hampshire, which allows abortions up until 24 weeks, DeSantis adjusted his pitch: NYT: “In Iowa on Wednesday, he talked about Florida’s six-week ban, known as the Heartbeat Protection Act, during a lengthy recounting of his record as governor. ‘We have enacted the heartbeat bill,’ he told a crowd in Cedar Rapids before being drowned out by cheers and applause. But he did not mention the bill at several stops in New Hampshire on Thursday.” DeSANTIS HONES HIS KNIFE: DeSantis is trying to strike a balance between introducing himself to voters and criticizing Trump. His stump speech so far emphasizes his biography and his accomplishments as governor of Florida. He generally saves his anti-Trump barbs for interviews when he is inevitably pressed. So far he’s making a few related points: — I can serve two terms; Trump would be a lame duck. "You really need to ensure that we have a two-term president to be able to see this to a conclusion,” DeSantis said in New Hampshire on Thursday, arguing that the nation’s problems are so vast that one term isn’t enough to fix them. That shot caught Trump’s attention. In Iowa yesterday, he responded, "If it takes eight years to turn it around, you don't want him as president." Trump went on to say that need a president who can fix things in “six months.” DeSantis, campaigning in New Hampshire, had a cutting rejoinder: “Why didn’t he do it in his first four years?” — I’m focused; Trump is not. “You really need a very disciplined, energetic president willing to spit nails and fight the needed battles every single day for eight years,” he said about GOP desires to tame the so-called “administrative state.” — Trump’s record as president fell short. For example, DeSantis attacked Trump for failing to fire ANTHONY FAUCI, the public health expert who has become a demonized figure on the right. He also accused Trump of moving to the “left.” (Though CNN points out that DeSantis once said Fauci is “really doing a good job.”) — Trump is not a real Republican. WaPo: “He suggested Trump was not a team player, saying that if the former president ‘put the mission first’ he would have cheered DeSantis and other Republicans’ victories in Florida last fall.” — Trump’s post-presidency activities are unsavory. This one is subtle, but the DeSantis team has advertised it to the press. Boston Herald: “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is teeing up former President Donald Trump over golf. DeSantis hosted 9/11 Families over the Memorial Day weekend just as Trump National in Washington, D.C., was the site of the Saudi-backed LIV golf tournament.” — Trump is kind of a jerk. WaPo: “‘I think it’s so petty,’ he told New Hampshire radio host Jack Heath on Thursday, speaking of Trump’s habit of name-calling. ‘I think it’s so juvenile. I don’t think that’s what voters want, and honestly I think that — that his conduct, which he’s been doing for years now, I think that’s one of the reasons he’s not in the White House now.’” TRUMP UNLOADS THE KITCHEN SINK: The former president, his campaign and his allies have attacked the Florida governor over Social Security, Medicare, abortion, a national sales tax, book bans, overusing the word “woke,” his fight with Disney, and how he pronounces his name. But there is a notable difference between the more surgical attacks ofTrump’s paid consultants and the former president’s wide-ranging riffs. "The most damaging position for DeSantis among Swing State voters is his record on cuts to Social Security and Medicare where DeSantis goes from leading [President Joe] Biden by 4 points to trailing Biden by 10 points at 50%/40% — a net swing against DeSantis of 14 points," Trump pollster TONY FABRIZIO wrote in a memo to donors, according to Axios. Trump is reveling in more personal criticisms. “You don’t change your name in the middle of an election,” he said in Iowa. “He changed his name in the middle of the election. You don’t do that, you do it before or after, but ideally you don’t do it at all.” FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Ross Yoon Agency, the powerhouse D.C.-based literary agency led by GAIL ROSS and HOWARD YOON, has been acquired by WME, a subsidiary of Endeavor, the talent and entertainment behemoth helmed by ARI EMANUEL. Ross and Yoon will join WME as partners. Their clients, which include many writers well-known in D.C., such as MOLLY BALL, SHERROD BROWN, DAVID CORN, E.J. DIONNE, GARRETT GRAFF, JOSHUA GREEN, ERIC HOLDER, MIKE ISIKOFF, VAN JONES, CARLOS LOZADA, JOY REID, CONNIE SCHULTZ, JIM SCIUTTO, BEN TERRIS, KAREN TUMULTY, KENNETH VOGEL, DAVID WEIGEL (and Ryan!), will now be part of WME’s roster of talent. Happy Friday. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
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