| | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels | | | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
|  With Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' campaign in a dangerous polling and fundraising cycle of decline, he needs to try something new. | Scott Olson/Getty Images | | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | HAPPENING TODAY — “6 things to watch as Trump classified documents case returns to court,” by Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein DeSANTIS 2.0 — The biggest moment in politics today will be RON DeSANTIS’ interview with CNN’s JAKE TAPPER at 4 p.m. DeSantis has run a campaign focused on staying in the conservative media trenches. But with his campaign in a dangerous polling and fundraising cycle of decline, he needs to try something new. Enter Tapper, whose reputation as a tough interviewer helps DeSantis respond to critics who say he’s the candidate of safe spaces. If DeSantis does turn things around, he may have the FEC to thank. Up until the public disclosure of his campaign’s finances, the governor could maintain the fiction that he was running a frontrunner campaign with the resources to travel in presidential style and invest in large-scale ground games in both the early primary and Super Tuesday states. Instead, the DeSantis campaign was the equivalent of three kids in a trenchcoat. When it was unbuttoned, we learned that the candidate campaigning on his executive experience and success running large organizations spent 40% of what he raised, with little to show for it. He had a million-dollar payroll and spent almost that much on travel. His small-dollar donor game was anemic (15% of donations), and $3 million of what he’d raised was earmarked for the general election. Though DeSantis insiders have been quietly grumbling about the mismatch between results and finances for weeks, the disclosure of the fundraising internals caused a reckoning. Donors and other supporters had to be mollified. Staff had to be fired. A new strategy had to be unfurled. Which brings us back to today’s interview with Tapper. WHAT CHANGED: It would be foolish to think that DeSantis is opening up to the mainstream media out of some newfound respect. There’s no reason to think that he’s changed the view he expressed during his first trip to Iowa in March: “I think what people have figured out is that the legacy media is very, very untrustworthy in the eyes of the public. I think like 20% think they are trustworthy. … [T]hey're not just trying to get the public more informed, they're trying to get you and use you to be able to advance that agenda. So don't play into it. Speak the truth, and do your thing, but do not give them the satisfaction that they are some kind of neutral gatekeepers, because they are not.” What has changed? DeSantis’s finances and poll numbers. He needs to create interesting content and controversy (“earned media,” in strategist speak) to attract the attention of what his campaign argues are the two-thirds of the Republican electorate open to an alternative to DONALD TRUMP. That’s the only way to juice his poll numbers, increase his small-dollar donors and create a virtuous cycle. In fact, his campaign laid all of this out in that leaked memo — perhaps they needed to leak it to make sure that Never Back Down, the firewalled super PAC, knew the plan — earlier this month days after they knew how bad their quarterly receipts were. “We will continue to present big, bold ideas that will get people talking in an effort to generate more earned media,” that memo read. “More earned media will result in increased standing on the ballot. We will aggressively pursue this formula in the next eight weeks as we understand that standing in the polis is directly tied to earned media. … The earned media is the cake. The paid media (early states and national conservative cable) is the icing and keeps the messaging points from the earned media hits in the voter's face. We are continuing to aggressively fundraise to ensure we can be competitive on both fronts.” Right on cue, we have today’s DeSantis confrontation with the dreaded CNN and, as Alex Isenstadt reports, Never Back Down’s controversial new ad using a computer-generated Trump voice. (Does the ad cross a line? Should it be pulled down? Who knows! But the ensuing controversy is sure to get the spot maximum airtime beyond the hefty million-dollar buy.) TRUMP WORLD REACTS: Naturally, the Trump folks are unimpressed with DeSantis’s CNN visit. “They don’t actually want any Republican primary voters to see his CNN interview,” Trump senior adviser JASON MILLER told Playbook. “DeSantis could have easily joined one of CNN’s high-profile primetime hosts and reached millions of new voters if he had something compelling to say, but with an unlikable candidate, no campaign message, and rapidly sinking poll numbers, the campaign is doing an afternoon hit that nobody will watch. That’s a tactic, not a new strategy, and it’s not going to change DeSantis’ campaign nosedive.” THREE QUESTIONS: Beyond today’s foray into MSM cable, there are a few other questions we have for Team DeSantis as he continues the reboot into the fall: 1. Are his expectations now so downsized that he’s essentially running a one-state (Iowa) race? In recent years, there’s only a single GOP candidate who did this and succeeded: JOHN McCAIN, who cut a bloated campaign to its bare essentials over the summer of 2007 and retooled to focus only on New Hampshire. 2. Can DeSantis give up the high-end trappings he’s become used to? As a big-state governor accustomed to a large security detail and who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the spring on private planes, can he, say, fly commercial and ditch the entourage the way McCain did? 3. Will he finally take the advice of numerous GOP strategists and stop trying to run his entire campaign by himself (with help from his wife)? In sum: DeSantis ran a frontrunner campaign, spending too much, building an electoral apparatus that he couldn’t afford, and ignoring the media for months. It failed. Now, let’s see if he knows how to run as the insurgent he’ll have to become in order to defeat Trump. Good Tuesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Capital Access Alliance: As Congress prepares to vote on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization bill, a United Airlines-backed coalition is working to mislead lawmakers and the public.
Worried about potentially losing your flight out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)? Read the bill, it's purely additive and have no negative impact on current in-perimeter service. The Direct Capital Access Act (DCA Act) will authorize additional flights and provide more options for travelers near and far. Learn more. | | | PLAYBOOK IN ASPEN — We’ve made our annual trek to the Aspen Security Forum, which will host a who’s who of Biden administration foreign policy officials, U.S. senators and key foreign leaders today through Friday. We’ll have a special Deep Dive podcast at the end of the week recorded from the conference and we’ll include news and analysis as warranted in Playbook each day. Here are some of the key officials we’ll be hearing from out on hardship duty in the Rockies: Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN, national security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN, CIA Director BILL BURNS, DHS Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, British Foreign Secretary JAMES CLEVERLY, Chinese Ambassador XIE FENG and Sens. DAN SULLIVAN (R-Alaska.) CHRIS COONS (D-Del.), JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas) and JIM RISCH (R-Idaho). PLAYING WITH HOUSE MONEY — Republicans are leading Democrats in the early fundraising battle for 2024, our colleagues Ally Mutnick, Sarah Ferris and Brittany Gibson report this morning. GOP leaders are getting back on a level playing field with Democrats in the small-dollar game, hoping to spook potential Democratic contenders into not running. By the numbers: “Some 65 Republican candidates raised $500,000 or more in the second quarter compared to 40 Democrats, according to a POLITICO analysis of campaign finance filings. That’s a stark contrast from this point four years ago: In 2019, about 30 Republicans crossed that threshold, compared to 50 Democrats.” JUST POSTED — Democratic Maryland Gov. WES MOORE gets the glossy mag treatment from Vogue, with a takeout story by Taylor Antrim, complete with photos by Annie Leibovitz: “Wes Moore On Gen Z, Social Media, Winning Over Republicans, and Why ‘Service Will Save Us’”
| | | | A message from Capital Access Alliance:   | | | | | PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN’S TUESDAY:
10 a.m.: The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief.
1:15 p.m.: Biden will hold a bilateral meeting with Israeli President ISAAC HERZOG.
5 p.m.: Biden will hold a meeting with Cardinal MATTEO ZUPPI to discuss the war in Ukraine.
Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will brief at 1:30 p.m.
VP KAMALA HARRIS’ TUESDAY — The VP will meet with state attorneys general to discuss the fentanyl public health crisis at 1:10 p.m.
THE SENATE will meet at 3 p.m. to take up RACHEL BLOOMEKATZ’s nomination to become a U.S. circuit judge and later will vote on a motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the NDAA.
THE HOUSE will meet at 10 a.m. | | | | | | STOP SCROLLING (for just a minute!). Introducing a revamped California Playbook newsletter with an all-new team and a sharpened mission! Join Lara Korte and Dustin Gardiner as they take you on an extraordinary journey through California's political landscape. From inside the Capitol in Sacramento to the mayor’s office in Los Angeles, and from the tech hub of Silicon Valley to even further beyond, we're your front-row ticket to the action. Subscribe for access to exclusive news, buzzworthy scoops and never-before-revealed behind-the-scenes details straight from the heart of California's political arena. Don't miss out — SUBSCRIBE TODAY and stay in the know! | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
|  President Joe Biden greets members of the MLS All-Star team at the White House, where first lady Jill Biden hosted a youth soccer clinic on Monday, July 17. The MLS All-Star team will play a match against Arsenal at Audi Field on Wednesday. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 2024 WATCH NO LABELS, MO’ PROBLEMS — No Labels had something of a coming out party last night in New Hampshire, reiterating its effort to produce a “unity ticket” for 2024 — though the group caveated the idea stipulating that it would only go forward if Biden and Trump are the respective party nominees and there is public support for the gambit. The context: “The announcement, hedged as it was, represented the furthest the group has gone to commit itself to going forward with its unity-ticket project,” Lisa Kashinsky and Shia Kapos report from Goffstown, N.H. “And it underscored the group’s movement from a largely behind-the-scenes presence to a more visible force — one that has left Democrats increasingly alarmed about the prospect of a third-party candidate spoiling Biden’s reelection.” Manchin in the middle: Adding to some of that Democratic heartburn is the involvement of Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.), who was a headliner of the event last night and is seen as one of the leading candidates to take up the group’s mantle. While Manchin didn’t stoke the flame, he didn’t exactly throw cold water on it, either. “I’ve never been in any race to spoil. I get into races to win. And if I get in the race, I’m going to win,” he said. “With that being said, I haven’t made a decision.” On the other side: Former House Democratic leader DICK GEPHARDT speaks with PBS NewsHour’s Geoff Bennett for his first interview since getting involved with the group trying to stop No Labels’ effort: “Our greatest worry is that campaigns take on a life of their own. If, next spring, they have raised a bunch of money, and they have candidates who are announced and out there, it will be very hard to pull that effort down. That's our great worry, is that we will just blindly walk into a reelection of Donald Trump.” WELCOME TO THE FUTURE — Never Back Down, the pro-DeSantis super PAC, is deploying an AI version of Trump’s voice in a new TV ad attacking the former president over his recent negative comments toward Iowa Gov. KIM REYNOLDS as part of a larger pattern of disrespect he has shown to the first caucus state, Alex Isenstadt reports. A person familiar with the ad said it will run statewide in Iowa and that the buy was at least $1 million. And while the AI-generated voiceover does not entirely land Trump’s voice in a natural way, it is a significant step in a new frontier for political ads. Watch the ad WHAT’S IN A NAME — “RFK Jr. is running on the Kennedy name. What does that mean for the family’s legacy?” by The Boston Globe’s Tal Kopan: ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.’s “campaign is vexing some of the family, say those who know them, in no small part because of how central public health and vaccine access were to the Kennedy agenda, and particularly to his uncle Massachusetts Senator TED KENNEDY, who chaired the Senate’s main health committee and called health care ‘the cause of my life.’ And there is fear that Kennedy’s run could tarnish the lasting image of the closest thing America has had to a royal family.” Related reads: “Silicon Valley Money Men Are Buzzing About Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,” by WSJ’s Angel Au-Yeung and Berber Jin … “Kennedys denounce RFK Jr. over ‘deplorable’ antisemitic comments,” by the Globe’s Tal Kopan MORE POLITICS MAJORITY DUELS — When it comes to TED CRUZ, JOSH HAWLEY and RICK SCOTT, there is perhaps no trio that the Democratic Party would like to unseat more. And the three conservative senators are likely to see concerted efforts to do just that in 2024. But DSCC Chair GARY PETERS (D-Mich.) isn’t staking his majority on the idea. “Hold the incumbents, that’s my main focus,” Peters told our colleague Burgess Everett. And yet, the reality is if Democrats can get the GOP to expend resources and energy to defend the likes of Cruz, Hawley and Scott, they could effectively relieve pressure on some of their vulnerable incumbents and get a chance to flip a seat anyway. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Democrat RUDY SALAS, a former California Assembly member, is launching another campaign to unseat Rep. DAVID VALADAO (R-Calif.) for California’s 22nd District. In 2022, Salas came within three percentage points of Valadao, and his campaign argues that the seat is still among the most likely to flip in the House, noting its strong support of Biden in 2020 and sizable Democratic voter registration advantage. Salas’ first campaign ad attempts to paint Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY as a “MAGA” boogeyman and claims that the fellow Californian is “pulling the strings.” Watch the 2-minute video CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’ — Rep. BARBARA LEE’s super PAC, She Speaks for Me, is kickstarting its efforts as organizers make an urgent plea to donors with polls showing a close race in the campaign to replace retiring Sen. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-Calif.). The group will report raising more than $1.5 million in the second quarter, according to a memo the committee is circulating to major donors, our colleague Christopher Cadelago reports. While that total is more than the $1.4 million that Lee’s campaign has in the bank, it still falls well short of the cash held by rival Reps. ADAM SCHIFF and KATIE PORTER. MILWAUKEE BUCKS — “Ron Johnson pockets $400,000 from donors for old campaign loans despite saying he wouldn’t do so,” by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Lawrence Andrea and Daniel Bice
| | | | A message from Capital Access Alliance:   | | | THE WHITE HOUSE COMING TO AMERICA — Biden has invited Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU to the U.S. for a yet-to-be-detailed meeting, a sign of easing tensions between the two leaders as Biden is set to host the Israeli president later today. NYT’s Patrick Kingsley and Michael Shear have more The congressional conundrum: “In Congress, Democrats’ Rift Over Israel Flares on Eve of Herzog Visit,” by NYT’s Karoun Demirjian Related read: “Netanyahu Faces New Standoff With Israeli Reservists Over Judicial Overhaul,” by WSJ’s Dov Lieber in Tel Aviv CONGRESS PUTTING THE PRESSURE ON — Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN is asking the Senate to get moving on the backlog of more than 60 diplomatic nominations that are stalled in the chamber. Though Blinken addressed his letter to all 100 senators, he specifically called out Sen. RAND PAUL (R-Ky.) for his “blanket hold” on State Department nominees and called the lack of movement a “national security risk,” AP’s Matthew Lee writes. TRUMP CARDS THE GEORGIA INVESTIGATION — Georgia’s Supreme Court unanimously quashed a last-ditch attempt by Trump to head off a potential indictment in the investigation into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state, Josh Gerstein writes. THE JURY’S OUT — MICHAEL COHEN’s civil lawsuit against the Trump Organization is set to get underway soon, with opening arguments set for next week. More from AP YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH — “Head of engineering for Trump’s Truth Social app resigns,” by Reuters’ Helen Coster AMERICA AND THE WORLD JUST POSTED — “As China Bakes in Record Heat, Kerry Presses Beijing on Climate Change,” by NYT’s Vivian Wang and Lisa Friedman DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS — “U.S. Looks to Head Off Trouble Over Visit by Taiwan Vice President,” by WSJ’s Joyu Wang and Charles Hutzler: “Such trips are often sensitive given China’s hostility to U.S. support for Taiwan. This visit is particularly tricky for the Biden administration since [Taiwanese VP LAI CHING-TE] is campaigning for president and is deeply distrusted by Beijing.” FOR YOUR RADAR — “Russian fighter jet flies dangerously close to U.S. warplane over Syria,” by AP’s Tara Copp and Lolita Baldor BEYOND THE BELTWAY IMMIGRATION FILES — “Texas troopers told to push children into Rio Grande, deny water to migrants, records say,” by the Houston Chronicle’s Benjamin Wermund: “The July 3 account, reviewed by Hearst Newspapers, discloses several previously unreported incidents the trooper witnessed in Eagle Pass, where the state of Texas has strung miles of razor wire and deployed a wall of buoys in the Rio Grande.” ABORTION FALLOUT — “Judge temporarily blocks Iowa’s ‘fetal heartbeat’ abortion ban as court challenge continues,” by the Des Moines Register’s Stephen Gruber-Miller MEDIAWATCH ABOUT LAST NIGHT — “Fox's newest star Jesse Watters boasts a wink, a smirk, and a trail of outrage,” by NPR’s David Folkenflik NEW ON THE SCENE — ALEXANDER HEFFNER has a new series premiering today on Bloomberg TV, “Breaking Bread with Alexander,” which features deep conversations with leading politicians as they share meals and activities with him across the country. From hiking with New Mexico Gov. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM to having flapjacks with Sen. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO (R-W.Va.) in Fayetteville to attending Maine Gov. JANET MILLS’ annual maple tapping, Heffner tells us that he aims to offer a travelogue of sorts through America and its politicians. And he wants to access a more civil, empathetic approach to politics that could help “amuse our democracy back to life.” Vegan chicken and waffles with Sen. CORY BOOKER (D-N.J.) … Basketball with Sen. JOHN THUNE (R-S.D.)
| | | | 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 | | Matt Gaetz might be trying out looks for the “Barbie” movie this weekend. Doug Emhoff gave USWNT captains Alex Morgan and Lindsey Horan a call before the women’s World Cup. OUT AND ABOUT — Whistleblower Aid co-hosted the launch of iHeart’s new podcast, “The Whistleblowers” and Miles Taylor’s new book “Blowback: A Warning to Save Democracy from the Next Trump” ($30) at E Street Cinema last night. SPOTTED: Michael Steele, Miles Taylor, Libby Liu, Stephanie Grisham, Peter Strzok, Sara Forden, Naomi Seligman and Mark Zaid. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Sean Higgins is now a senior adviser to Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.). He most recently was an associate VP at Precision Strategies and is a Biden HHS and campaign alum. — Kate Lair is now comms director for Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas). She most recently was administrative assistant for Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” and is a Trump White House alum. — Christina Polizzi, Saumya Narechania and Gabriella Cascone are joining Climate Power. Polizzi is deputy managing director of comms and previously was comms director for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. Narechania is managing director of states and previously was program director for the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition. Cascone is managing director of political and previously was a White House liaison at the EPA and a special assistant to the chief of staff at the Commerce Department. TRANSITIONS — Larkin Parker is now comms director for Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.). She previously was comms director for Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.). … Angela Acampora is now an associate at Booz Allen Hamilton. She previously was a managing director at Whitmer & Worrall. … Carol Lee is now a partner with Womble Bond Dickinson. She previously was an associate at Clifford Chance LLP. … … Kevin Smith is joining Humana’s corporate comms team. He previously was chief of staff for former Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and is a John Boehner alum. … Tim Stumhofer is now director of climate risk in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. He previously was director of climate alignment at Wells Fargo. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Del. James Moylan (R-Guam) … WaPo’s Olivier Knox … Coinbase’s Julia Krieger … CBS’ Carol Ross Joynt … NBC’s Gadi Schwartz … Chris Marroletti … David Vandivier … Suzanne Ruecker … Teddy Tanzer … John Sobel of Jenner & Block … Billy McBeath of American Crossroads and Senate Leadership Fund … Pepper Natonski … Evan Ross of Purple Strategies … former Reps. T.J. Cox (D-Calif.) (6-0), Mark Souder (R-Ind.), Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.) and Harry Mitchell (D-Ariz.) … former Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) … Matt Hite of GPA Midstream Association … Steve Forbes … Lizzie Ivry Cooper of EMILY’s List … Fox Business Network’s Jackie DeAngelis … Sharon Bergman … Kate Balcerzak … David Kamin 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 Capital Access Alliance: The DCA Act’s additional flights would benefit travelers both inside and outside of DCA's artificial 1,250-mile perimeter. The bill is purely additive and would not affect any current in-perimeter service.
Claims from bill opponents that suggest otherwise are without merit and aim to mislead the public, in-perimeter communities and even Members of Congress.
Don't believe the false narrative. DCA has the capacity to offer travelers more choices at lower prices, near and far. Get the facts. | | | | | | | 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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