| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels, Rachael Bade and Ryan Lizza | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign is on rocky footing once again as Donald Trump continues to outpace the pack of challengers. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | It’s been a long time coming. JEFF ROE, veteran Republican strategist and the chief strategist has resigned from Never Back Down, the main super PAC supporting the presidential campaign of Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS. The final straw for Roe was a WaPo story published yesterday evening that took a deep dive into the chaos-plagued super PAC — and, in particular, a statement in the article from SCOTT WAGNER, the group’s chairman, that laid blame for the group’s efforts at the feet of some of Roe’s business associates who’ve left the PAC in recent months. Wagner told The Post: “Following mismanagement and conduct issues, including numerous unauthorized leaks containing false information, senior officials were terminated. We don’t have time to indulge false narratives from those with ulterior motives.” In a statement hours later, Roe announced his resignation: “I cannot in good conscience stay affiliated with Never Back Down given the statements in the Washington Post today. They are not true and an unwanted distraction at a critical time for Governor DeSantis.” As NYT’s Maggie Haberman, Shane Goldmacher, Nicholas Nehamas and Jonathan Swan write, “Roe had long ago aggravated Mr. DeSantis with unwanted headlines, among them a New York Times story about a memo narrating debate strategy for the candidate before the first primary debate that was posted on his company’s website, and then taken down after The Times learned of it. The campaign found the memo’s existence embarrassing.” Now, with four weeks before the Iowa caucuses, “[t]he future of internal operations at Never Back Down … is unclear. Mr. Roe’s allies hold many of the most important positions in the group, and his company, Axiom, has helped staff early state efforts for the super PAC.” One person celebrating the dysfunction? Former President DONALD TRUMP, of course. “Jeff Roe is out — GAME OVER for DeSanctimonious,” he posted on social media site Truth Social. Added Trump strategist CHRIS LaCIVITA: “Now stay the hell away from the US Senate[:] we need to win a few seats next year.” NEW POLLS — CBS News/YouGov is out with new polls of the GOP primary electorate in New Hampshire and Iowa: Iowa: Trump at 58%, DeSantis at 22%, NIKKI HALEY at 13%, VIVEK RAMASWAMY at 4%, CHRIS CHRISTIE at 3% and ASA HUTCHINSON at less than 1%. Full Iowa results New Hampshire: Trump at 44%, Haley at 29%, DeSantis at 11%, Christie at 10%, Ramaswamy at 5% and Hutchinson at 1%. Full N.H. results A BEST-CASE SCENARIO FOR TRUMP — The idea that the GOP presidential field would consolidate and a lone non-Trump candidate would face off against him in the primary “has never looked more out of reach,” Lisa Kashinsky, Natalie Allison and Meridith McGraw report this morning. The main non-Trump candidates seem to keep waiting for it to happen — but expect one of the other candidates to be the one to drop out, as our colleagues detail: — Haley “says at events that she plans to wait out the winnowing that’s bound to continue as the nominating calendar moves through Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and onto her home state of South Carolina…” — “DeSantis argued to a group of roughly 70 voters in Concord on Friday that he’s the only one who can beat Trump …” — “Christie, meanwhile, sees a path through New Hampshire, where he’s staking his campaign, to Michigan, where he has yet to make an appearance.” — “Ramaswamy … has every incentive to stay in as long as he keeps drawing attention.” As DAVE CARNEY, a N.H. Republican strategist put it: “All the ‘No Trump’ voters are divided among four people. And math is a very simple process.” “If you’re Trump, that’s the best-case scenario,” said PHIL TAUB, a prominent New Hampshire donor and Republican activist who is close with Gov. CHRIS SUNUNU. “Everybody just wants it to be Trump versus one candidate. But as long as they are splitting up all the votes, Trump doesn’t even have to get 50 percent.” MEANWHILE, YOUR REPUBLICAN FRONTRUNNER … Reuters: “Donald Trump … said on Saturday that undocumented immigrants were ‘poisoning the blood of our country,’ repeating language that has previously drawn criticism as xenophobic and echoing of Nazi rhetoric.” WaPo: “Trump approvingly quoted autocrats VLADIMIR PUTIN of Russia and VIKTOR ORBAN of Hungary … And he used the term ‘hostages’ to describe people charged with violent crimes in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol.” POLITICO: “Later on he touted his relationship with North Korean dictator KIM JONG UN, ‘who is very nice.’” NBC: Trump “promised, in a relatively new proposal, to ‘indemnify all police officers’ against ‘being destroyed by the radical left for taking strong actions against crime.’” New slogan alert, via NYT: “At the rally on Saturday, a relatively new slogan for his campaign — ‘Better Off With Trump’ — was displayed on a screen over Mr. Trump’s head as he stood onstage.” Good Sunday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Google: American Airlines uses Google AI to help reduce the climate impact of contrails. A collaboration between American, Google Research and Breakthrough Energy is demonstrating that AI can be used to help avoid forming contrails, which account for roughly 35% of aviation’s global warming impact. Learn more. | | | GRANITE STATE NITTY-GRITTY — Trump has a new campaign co-chair in the Granite State, Lisa Kashinsky writes in. But ELIZABETH GIRARD, the now-former president of the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women, appeared to violate the group's rules — which bar club presidents from picking sides in Republican primaries — when she endorsed Trump at his rally in Durham on Saturday. Girard has stepped down as the group's president, but the statement announcing her resignation was sent out several hours after Trump's rally — after members of the group had started publicly and privately raising concerns that she had broken the bylaws. Earlier this year, Girard cried foul when DeSantis campaigned opposite a Federation luncheon that Trump was headlining — a missive that prompted two members of the group to resign. SUNDAY BEST … — Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) on whether the Senate can strike an immigration deal before the end of the year, on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “I think this will go into next year. I've been talking to the people at the table. The White House got engaged five days ago. They sent over a supplemental with border security provisions that did nothing to change policy. … The bottom line here is we feel that we're being jammed. We're not anywhere close to a deal.” On House Republicans’ impeachment proceedings against Biden: “If there were a smoking gun, I think we’d be talking about it. … I’m not worried about impeaching the president right now. You know what I’m worried about? Helping the president bring the Middle East to a better spot.” — Sen. JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas) on the border security negotiations, on “Fox News Sunday”: “I know Senator Schumer thinks there’s going to be some deal cut behind closed doors and then jam it through the Senate and then jam the House. That's not going to happen. But we are making some progress. But this isn’t just about money. This is about policies that will actually stem the flow of mass migration across the border, along with the drugs and everything that goes with it.” — Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) on the border negotiations, on CNN’s “State of the Union”: “I’m very encouraged. I’m very optimistic. They’re moving in a very positive way. … I think you’re going to find that we’re going to find a piece of legislation that we can work. We have to understand it won’t be perfect.” — Rep. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-Mich.) on whether she will support the aid deal no matter what, on “Meet the Press”: “I don't ever say I'll support something categorically until I see what it is.” — Chris Christie on Trump’s anti-immigrant comments, on “State of the Union”: “He's disgusting. And what he's doing is dog-whistling to Americans who feel absolutely under stress and strain from the economy and from the conflicts around the world. And he's dog-whistling to blame it on people from areas that don't look like us. … I’m in this race to let people know it’s not OK. It’s not OK for an American president to be saying these things.” TOP-EDS: A roundup of the week’s must-read opinion pieces.
| | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | At the White House President JOE BIDEN and first lady JILL BIDEN headed to New Castle, Delaware, this morning. VP KAMALA HARRIS has nothing on her public schedule.
| | PLAYBOOK READS | | 9 THINGS FOR YOUR RADAR
|  Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) is leading the border negotiations for Republicans as senators race to secure a deal. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo | 1. ON THE BORDER LINE: Senators negotiating for a border security solution are racing to meet a self-imposed deadline of this evening to land a deal that appeases both sides after Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER canceled the start of the holiday recess with the hopes of passing a bill this week, WSJ’s Paul Kiernan and Siobhan Hughes write. “Negotiators were tight-lipped about details of the talks or issues that remain to be agreed upon. ‘Yeah, I’m not telling you that,’ [Sen. KYRSTEN] SINEMA told reporters. But she said there was ‘conceptual agreement on what needs to be done.’” The scene on the Hill: GOP lead negotiator Sen. JAMES LANKFORD, “along with Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I., Ariz.) and CHRIS MURPHY (D., Conn.), White House aides, Homeland Security Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS and aides to Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL (R., Ky.) spilled out of Schumer’s office on Saturday after a day in which negotiators said that they had made progress in working out details. Lawmakers said that staff planned to work through the evening and that negotiators would return on Sunday to talk again at the Capitol in person.” NYT’s Zolan Kanno-Youngs has the zoom-out on the moment for immigration policy: “It is the latest sign of how drastically the politics of immigration have shifted in the United States, where polls suggest there is growing support, even inside the president’s own party, for border measures once denounced by Democrats and championed by former President Donald Trump. But it is also a gamble for Mr. Biden, who risks walking away from some of the most deeply held principles of the Democratic Party and angering key parts of his core constituency, such as progressives and young voters.” 2. PRIMARY COLORS: Time is ticking down for Republican leaders to stamp out any unwanted GOP nominees for Senate ahead of next year’s elections, with a number of GOP vs. GOP primaries coming down the pipeline in states like Arizona, Ohio and Montana, with the first matchup just three months away. And while some conservatives are smarting at some of the GOP leaders’ tactics, NRSC Chair STEVE DAINES (R-Mont.) isn’t bothered, our colleagues Ally Mutnick and Burgess Everett report. “I like where we’re at,” Daines said in an interview. “There are groups outside that are keeping a close eye on these primaries and not afraid to get behind candidates they believe can not just win a primary but a general election.” 3. FRESH WARNING FOR BIDEN: A new WSJ poll out this morning finds a harsh reality for Biden as he continues toward a reelection rematch with Trump, with findings that could spell real trouble at the ballot box. The top takeaway: “More than half the country now thinks Biden’s policies have done them harm and nearly as many voters think Trump’s policies helped them,” WSJ’s Andrew Restuccia and Amara Omeokwe report. “Voters across the political spectrum single out inflation and high prices as a chief complaint about Biden’s presidency, but some also are upset with his broader record on domestic and foreign policy. Many voters couldn’t cite specific Biden administration policies they disliked, but instead channeled a pervasive malaise in the country that they said was difficult to pin down. Several said they were considering supporting an alternative to either party’s front-runner or not voting at all. In interviews with voters, what’s striking is that the frustration is coming from all sides of the coalition that put Biden in the White House.” 4. OH, BROTHER: JAMES BIDEN’s proximity to his brother has been a recent subject of interest for House Republicans investigating the president and pushing for impeachment. Their relationship comes under the microscope of WaPo’s Michael Kranish over an instance in 1998 when a Mississippi attorney turned to James to lobby then-Sen. Joe Biden on a tobacco deal. RICHARD SCRUGGS paid James Biden’s firm $100,000 in 1998 “for advice on passing the bill, Scruggs said in an interview at his office here — the first time he has disclosed the amount. ‘I probably wouldn’t have hired him if he wasn’t the senator’s brother,’ Scruggs said. Biden eventually backed the bill, which ultimately failed to pass Congress.” But that wasn’t the end of the story with James Biden and Scruggs: “James and SARA BIDEN’s ties to Scruggs also later brought them to the periphery of a sweeping federal investigation, one that eventually led to the trial lawyer’s epic downfall in 2008 over a bribery scheme. As FBI agents circled in on Scruggs and his associates over a plan to deliver $40,000 in bribes to a local judge, they also secretly recorded conversations with James Biden — who, at the same time, was trying to create a consulting firm with the Scruggs partners.”
| | | | A message from Google: American Airlines shows verifiable contrail avoidance is possible with Google AI. Contrails have a surprisingly large impact on our climate, but American Airlines is finding that AI can make verifiable contrail avoidance possible. They teamed up with Google Research and Breakthrough Energy - who brought together huge amounts of data—like satellite imagery, weather, and flight path data—and used AI to develop contrail forecast maps to test if pilots can avoid creating contrails. “We put the tool in the pilot’s hand and then we can determine either to climb a little higher or to descend a little lower,” says Capt. John Dudley, Managing Director of Flight Operations. Read more about how AI is improving sustainability. | | | 5. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN is set to travel to the Middle East this week, where he will “push Israel to end its large-scale ground and air campaign in the Gaza Strip within weeks and transition to a more focused phase in its war against Hamas,” NYT’s Eric Schmitt writes. “Austin will meet with Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU and Israel’s defense minister, YOAV GALLANT, to discuss in detail when and how Israeli forces will carry out a new phase that American officials envision would involve smaller groups of elite forces that would move in and out of population centers in Gaza, conducting more precise, intelligence-driven missions to find and kill Hamas leaders, rescue hostages and destroy tunnels, U.S. officials said.” Related reads: “U.S. weighs strike options to deter Houthis from more Red Sea attacks,” by Lara Seligman and Alexander Ward … “In the West Bank, I saw how peace will require confrontation with Israel,” by David Ignatius for WaPo … “Black American solidarity with Palestinians is rising and testing longstanding ties to Jewish allies,” by AP’s Noreen Nasir and Aaron Morrison 6. POISON IVY: The ousting of UPenn President LIZ MAGILL was a direct response to the recent controversial congressional testimony from a handful of elite university presidents that were seen by many as antisemitic, but WSJ’s Douglas Belkin writes that the uproar and removal was “part of a wider battle between academia and its critics that has been simmering for a half-century as scholarship and teaching have broadened beyond classical Western thought and shifted leftward.” Meanwhile, over on the campus of Harvard, President CLAUDINE GAY’s involvement in the episode has “exposed the deep anxiety, anger and alienation of many of Harvard’s Jewish students, alumni and faith leaders,” NYT’s Anemona Hartocollis, Jeremy Peters and Dana Goldstein write. “In interviews, many Jewish members of the Harvard community described their growing estrangement from campus.” Related reads: “Campus Crackdowns Have Chilling Effect on Pro-Palestinian Speech,” by NYT’s Vimal Patel and Anna Betts … “Harvard sees applications for early admission drop by 17 percent over last year,” by The Boston Globe’s Laura Crimaldi 7. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS: “‘Disorganized and confusing’: Lawmakers, industry rip Pentagon plans for drones,” by Matt Berg: “In August, the Pentagon announced an ambitious, two-year plan to develop thousands of drones to swarm and overwhelm China’s much larger arsenal of weapons — and do it cheaply. Four months later, no one seems to be able to explain the plan or how the Pentagon will pay for it. Frustrations over that lack of clarity came to a head on Tuesday, when nine leaders from tech companies and several high-ranking DOD officials, including Deputy Defense Secretary KATHLEEN HICKS, gathered for a meeting about the program at the Defense Innovation Unit base in Mountain View, California. POLITICO spoke to three people who attended the meeting.” 8. THE POST-ROE WORLD: NYT’s Kate Zernike widens the lens on the abortion debate 18 months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, finding that the shift has put Democrats on the front foot in pushing for new policies across the country. “And yet a ‘national settlement’ seems more elusive than ever. One reason is simply American federalism, which allows states to set their own standards where there is no federal one. But a bigger reason is that Republicans around the country — the same people, in many cases, who once complained about Roe blocking the democratic process and imposing a one-size-fits-all rule on abortion nationwide — have turned much of their energy to keeping the issue away from voters.” 9. MEDIAWATCH: “New York Times Staffers Form Journalistic ‘Independence Caucus’ Amid Concerns Over Union’s Actions,” by WSJ’s Alexandra Bruell: “The creation of the new caucus, which is currently led by the Times employees but is open to staffers from rival publications, comes as tensions between the newsroom and the union — which also has advocacy groups among its members — have grown over the past year or so.”
| | PLAYBOOKERS | | OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED last night at John and April Delaney’s annual holiday party at their house in Potomac: Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), former House Speaker Paul Ryan, Terry McAuliffe, Katherine and David Bradley, Mignon Clyburn, Ed Cohen, Steve and Jean Case, Roy and Abby Blunt, Charles Rivkin, Ruth Marcus and Jon Leibowitz, Tammy Haddad, Wolf and Lynn Blitzer, Christine Brennan, Patrick Steel and Lee Satterfield, Jessica Rosenworcel and Mark Bailen, Raul Fernandez, Alex Gangitano, Howard Fineman and Amy Nathan, Stephanie Cutter, Tim and Anita McBride, Susanna Quinn and Jennifer Griffin. — SPOTTED at David and Katherine Bradley’s Christmas party at their home on Friday night: Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), British Ambassador Karen Pierce and Charles Roxburgh, Scott Simon, Charlie Cook, Elisabeth Bumiller, Steve Weisman, Margaret Carlson, Charles Rivkin, Mark Ein, Leon Wieseltier, Linda Douglass, John Phillips, Ruth Marcus, Jon Leibowitz, Judy Woodruff, Andrea Mitchell, David Frum, Danielle Crittenden, Bob Cohn, Elizabeth Keffer and Don Baer. — SPOTTED at a 29th birthday celebration for Sabrina Rodriguez for a Wine and Perreo night billed as “Wine, Tequila, Reggaeton, Miami Vibes” at St. Vincent Wine followed by Vera Cocina: Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Astead Herndon, Brianna Tucker, Brakkton Booker, Rebecca Morin, Jesús Rodríguez, Adrian Carrasquillo, Fin Gomez, Jasmine Wright, Nolan McCaskill, Mayra Macias and Terrell Mizell. ENGAGED — Nicole Bamber, director of strategic comms at NBCUniversal, and Robert Marinaro, head of front office engineering at Allvue Systems, got engaged in New York at Central Park last Sunday. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Isabela Belchior McGinniss, chief counsel for Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), and Richie McGinniss, who is currently writing a book about the civil unrest of 2020-2021 and is a Daily Caller alum, recently welcomed Isabela “Anna” Cristina McGinniss. She came in at 8 lbs, 6 oz and 21.5 inches. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Pope Francis … Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) (5-0), Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.) and Tracey Mann (R-Kan.) … Tommy Hicks … Chelsea Manning … Randall Gerard of Cogent Strategies … Kelli Arena of the NSA … Bloomberg’s Allan James Vestal and Chris Collins … POLITICO’s Brendan Bordelon, Samantha Bailey and Claudine Hellmuth … National Geographic’s Kam Burns … WaPo’s Sabrina Rodríguez … Olivia Shields of the House Energy & Commerce GOP … Adam Finkel … National Review’s Noah Rothman … Valeria Ojeda-Avitia … Taylor Foy of Sen. Chuck Grassley’s (R-Iowa) office … Shane Smith … Holly Harris of the Justice Action Network … former Reps. Steve Knight (R-Calif.) and Rick Nolan (D-Minn.) (8-0) … Emma Vaughn … Mike Abramowitz ... Doug Landry ... Bailey Childers … Joe Ballard … Clare Gannon ... Jessica Lovejoy of 50+1 Strategies … Carol Thompson O’Connell … Jessica Stone … Amsale Legesse … Kristin Slevin of the Archewell Foundation … Eli Pariser of New_Public … Tom Quinn … Aryeh Bourkoff … Jack O’Brien … Mark van de Water (6-0) BIRTHWEEK (was Thursday): Amanda Kane Rapp 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, producer Andrew Howard and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. | | | | 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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