| | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | NEW NYT/SIENA POLL — Among registered voters: Trump beats Biden, 46% to 44%. Among likely voters: Biden beats Trump, 47% to 45%. Toplines … Crosstabs Underneath the hood … “Poll Finds Wide Disapproval of Biden on Gaza, and Little Room to Shift Gears,” by NYT’s Jonathan Weisman, Ruth Igielnik and Alyce McFadden: “Nearly as many Americans want Israel to continue its military campaign as want it to stop now to avoid further civilian casualties. … “Voters between 18 and 29 years old, traditionally a heavily Democratic demographic, jump out. Nearly three quarters of them disapprove of the way Mr. Biden is handling the conflict in Gaza. And among registered voters, they say they would vote for Mr. Trump by 49 percent to 43 percent.”
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Donald Trump delivers remarks during a campaign rally at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center on Dec. 17, 2023. | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | HITLER (YES, HITLER) AND 2024 — In politics, there are often two conversations going on about any big issue. There’s the one happening in private as Republicans and Democrats try to craft actual bipartisan legislation. And then there’s the one that often dominates the public debate as each party maneuvers for advantage by elevating the extremism of the other side. Behind closed doors, senators and White House officials are working on a complicated deal on border security and foreign aid, including aid for Israel. In public, the surge of border crossings and the Israel-Hamas war have brought out some of the worst in both parties. Recently it was liberal college presidents who were under attack by gleeful Republicans. But now it’s the extremist language of the GOP’s likely presidential candidate that is front and center, and the partisan roles have been reversed. DOINALD TRUMP’s use of dehumanizing language comparing immigrants to “vermin” who are “poisoning the blood of our country” is sending his allies on the Hill scurrying away from reporters and it has the Biden campaign unapologetically attacking Trump as a “fascist” who “parroted ADOLF HITLER.” Holly Otterbein, Elena Schneider and Jonathan Lemire report: “It was the fourth time in the past six weeks that Biden’s campaign has likened Trump’s remarks to Hitler’s in written statements and probably not the last. The president’s team has been ramping up attacks on Trump as it barrels toward a likely rematch with him, and historians say that Trump’s recent comments about immigrants — as well as those likening his political foes to ‘vermin’ — have echoed Hitler’s words. … “‘Every time he says it, we are going to call it out,’ said MICHAEL TYLER, the Biden campaign’s communications director. ‘He’s going to echo the rhetoric of Hitler and [BENITO] MUSSOLINI, and we’re going to make sure that people understand just how serious that is every single time.’” Over in the Senate, meanwhile, yesterday was a return to the old days of “I haven’t seen the tweet.” (If you’re new around here, reporters spent literally years badgering politicians on the Hill for their reaction to the latest outrage from then-president Trump, which they would insist they hadn’t seen.) Anthony Adragna rounded up some of the responses (and non-responses): “‘I obviously don't agree with that. I mean, we're all children of immigrants,’ said Sen. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO (R-W.Va.), a member of Republican leadership, in a brief interview. “Sen. ROGER WICKER (R-Miss.) echoed that he ‘certainly wouldn't have said that,’ and Sen. THOM TILLIS (R-N.C.) called it ‘unhelpful rhetoric.’ Others like Sen. JOHN KENNEDY (R-La.) and Sen. TODD YOUNG (R-Ind.) declined to directly comment on the remarks.” Anthony adds that “no senators called for Trump to walk the comments back or apologize.”
| | | | A message from Instagram: More than 75% of parents want to approve the apps teens under 16 download.
According to a new poll from Morning Consult, more than 75% of parents agree: Teens under 16 shouldn’t be able to download apps from app stores without parental permission.1
Instagram wants to work with Congress to pass federal legislation that gets it done.
Learn more.
1"US Parents Study on Teen App Downloads" by Morning Consult (Meta-commissioned survey of 2,019 parents), Nov. 2023. | | | What about over in the House, where Republicans have recently embraced a new politics of swift condemnation of antisemitic language? For instance, Rep. ELISE STEFANIK (R-N.Y.) has been so attuned to the use of this antisemitic message that she recently wrote an op-ed in the Harvard Crimson excoriating a group of four students at George Washington University for using the phrase “free Palestine from the river to the sea” in a demonstration. Stefanik was unequivocal about the meaning of the river-to-the-sea language, writing that it’s “a phrase calling for the eradication of the state of Israel and the genocide of the Jewish people.” She has also attacked as “abhorrent” college professors defending the phrase. More recently Stefanik has gained national attention for hammering the presidents of MIT, Penn, and Harvard when, during a House hearing, they equivocated about whether calling for genocide against Jews would violate their campus codes of conduct. The University of Pennsylvania’s LIZ MAGILL resigned shortly after the Stefanik grilling. Given Stefanik’s crusade against students who use “genocidal” rhetoric and the college administrators who tolerate it, we wondered what she thought of Trump’s use of language, which the AP correctly notes, “drew on words similar to Adolf Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf.’” Unfortunately, Stefanik did not return multiple requests for comment from POLITICO yesterday about her reaction to the former president’s Hitlerian turn of phrase. We thought she was perhaps just too busy to get back to us. But then we checked her social media: She was at Mar-a-Lago meeting with Trump and posted a picture of herself with the former president. Related reads: “One year of Trump’s praise for authoritarians,” by Kelly Garrity and Meridith McGraw … “Ron DeSantis doesn’t know what Donald Trump meant by ‘poisoning the blood,’” by A.G. Gancarski at Florida Politics … “3 in 10 Trump voters want a president willing to break ‘rules and laws,’” by WaPo’s Aaron Blake … “As border extremism goes mainstream, vigilante groups take a starring role,” by LAT’s Keegan Hamilton REMEMBER THAT AD? — We recently reported that Republicans in Arizona were running a pretty vicious ad trying to discredit Rep. RUBEN GALLEGO, who is running for the Senate, by making unsupported claims about the nature of his divorce from his first wife, KATE GALLEGO, who is now the mayor of Phoenix. KARI LAKE, the likely Republican nominee, has made attacks about the Gallego divorce a centerpiece of her campaign. Well, Mayor Gallego has weighed in on the matter: She endorsed her ex-husband yesterday. Good Tuesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza. MAJOR RULING — MARK MEADOWS’ effort to move his Georgia-based criminal charges into federal court was denied by an 11th Circuit panel yesterday, putting an end to a procedural gambit that could have knocked Georgia prosecutors’ racketeering case against Trump and a host of others in his orbit off track, our colleagues Kyle Cheney and Josh Gerstein write. What’s as notable about the ruling, which could still be appealed to the Supreme Court, is who wrote it: Prominent conservative chief judge WILLIAM PRYOR, who appeared on Trump’s original Supreme Court shortlist. From the opinion … “Meadows cannot have it both ways. He cannot shelter behind testimony about the breadth of his official responsibilities, while disclaiming his admissions that he understood electioneering activity to be out of bounds. That he repeatedly denied having any role in, or speaking on behalf of, the Trump campaign, reflects his recognition that such activities were forbidden to him as chief of staff.” Read it in full
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The Senate is in. There will be a cloture vote at 11:30 a.m. on CHRISTOPHER FONZONE’s nomination as assistant AG in charge of DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel. The House is out. What we’re watching …
- Senators on both sides of the aisle are objecting to yesterday’s announced $14 billion purchase of U.S. Steel by Japanese rival Nippon Steel. Sen. J.D. VANCE (R-Ohio) this morning is calling on the Biden administration to block the deal on national security grounds in a letter co-signed by Sen. JOSH HAWLEY (R-Mo.); Sen. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-Pa.) did the same yesterday in an online video where he called the proposed sale “absolutely outrageous.” Said Vance in his letter to Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN: “The transaction marks a turning point for an icon of American industry and has dire implications for the industrial base of the United States.”
- Attendance in the Senate yesterday was predictably dismal, with only 61 senators voting on the confirmation of former Maryland Gov. MARTIN O’MALLEY as Social Security administrator. Expect a big push today for an early holiday fly-out, especially after Minority Whip JOHN THUNE (R-S.D.) declared there’s “no way” a vote is happening this week on a Ukraine-border deal.
- But first they’ll have to work out votes on a short-term FAA reauthorization as well as confirmations of a handful of four-star military officers and a number of additional nominations Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER queued up yesterday. They include JOSE JAVIER RODRIGUEZ, a Labor Department nominee whose confirmation narrowly failed on Nov. 28 but might now sail through due to GOP absences.
At the White House Biden will depart New Castle, Delaware, to return to the White House in the morning. At 11 a.m., Biden will deliver remarks at a memorial service for Justice SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR at the National Cathedral. In the afternoon, Biden will attend a campaign reception in Bethesda, Maryland. Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE and JOHN KIRBY will brief at 1:30 p.m. VP KAMALA HARRIS and EPA Administrator MICHAEL REGAN will hold a press call on the administration’s environmental policy in the afternoon, and her interview with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell will air at 10 p.m.
| | | | GLOBAL PLAYBOOK IS TAKING YOU TO DAVOS! Unlock the insider's guide to one of the world's most influential gatherings as POLITICO's Global Playbook takes you behind the scenes of the 2024 World Economic Forum. Author Suzanne Lynch will be on the ground in the Swiss Alps, bringing you the exclusive conversations, shifting power dynamics and groundbreaking ideas shaping the agenda in Davos. Stay in the know with POLITICO's Global Playbook, your VIP pass to the world’s most influential gatherings. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 2024 WATCH
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Photos by David Siders/POLITICO | POSTCARD FROM EL PASO — David Siders travels to El Paso, Texas, a Democratic enclave in a red state to take the temperature of the electorate as the 2024 election looms less than a year away. The top takeaway: “The growing appeal of a pro-Trump, hardline immigration mentality was even evident here, in a city where more than 80 percent of the population is Hispanic or Latino, and in a county where Biden pummeled Trump by more than 35 percentage points three years ago,” David writes. He also catches up with Rep. VERONICA ESCOBAR (D-Texas), who is also a national co-chair of Biden’s reelection campaign, who sought to shift the burden to Congress’ shoulders. “It is our job,” she told David. “We have failed over and over again.” “Still, she said, ‘I do worry that Democrats will get blamed simply because the president is in the White House.’ When I asked if she thought Biden himself would pay a political price for it, Escobar told me, ‘I hope not, but I’m afraid of that.’” Meanwhile, there are more warning signs for Biden among young voters, NBC’s Bianca Seward writes, noting that reasons for the erosion include “insufficient moves to address climate change and Biden’s inability to fully cancel student loan debt or codify Roe v. Wade” and the handling of the Israel-Hamas war. A snapshot of the sentiment: “I want to show the Democratic Party as a young person that you still need to earn our vote and if you don’t, the consequences will be your career,” said EVAN McKENZIE, a 23-year-old from Wisconsin. “A Republican getting elected isn’t the end. It is the beginning of a much larger fight.” More top reads:
- The Trump campaign anticipates clinching the GOP nomination as soon as March 19, WaPo’s Isaac Arnsdorf reports, and an insider says the early start to the general election could broaden the Electoral College map for Trump: “In addition to the core swing states that decided the 2016 and 2020 elections, the campaign official said more Democratic-leaning states such as Minnesota, New Hampshire and Virginia could also be in play.”
- Make America Great Again Inc., the super PAC supporting Trump’s reelection bid, is about to go up with ads against NIKKI HALEY in New Hampshire, NBC’s Ali Vitali, Bridget Bowman and Scott Bland report, marking the first time the org will deploy a negative ad against his former U.N. ambassador. Haley responded on X, claiming that Trump is “getting nervous.”
- “RFK Jr. is attracting support with celebrity and conspiracy. But can he get on the ballot that way?” by The Boston Globe’s Tal Kopan
AMERICA AND THE WORLD
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Former Israeli PM Yair Lapid in Berlin on Sept. 12, 2022. | Sean Gallup/Getty Images | CALLING CARD — Former Israeli PM YAIR LAPID has been working the phones lately contacting Democratic lawmakers to make the case for supporting the BENJAMIN NETANYAHU-led government’s strategy in Gaza — a remarkable move and show of solidarity with his chief rival, our colleague Alex Burns writes in his latest column this morning. “Some who know Lapid, who served as Israel’s interim leader for the final six months of 2022, have been struck by his formality on the phone — and the absence of the lively and confiding mien that American Democrats can find disarming.” A source familiar with the conversations described them as something of a whip operation to reinforce support for Israel among “people who are skeptical of the government and closer to his value set.” “Yet the 60-year-old Lapid, a centrist former television journalist, is a canny enough communicator to know it is possible to send multiple messages at once. If he is using these phone calls to express solidarity in word, Lapid is also drawing a contrast with Netanyahu in deed.” More top reads:
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | BEYOND THE BELTWAY
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Gov. Greg Abbott signs three bills into law at a border wall construction site in Brownsville, Texas, Dec. 18, 2023. | Valerie Gonzalez/AP Photo | DEEP IN THE HEART — As Congress continues its search for a breakthrough on border security negotiations, Texas Gov. GREG ABBOTT yesterday signed legislation intended to “pour more money into his three-year effort to deter illegal immigration at the Texas-Mexico border and give Texas law enforcement authority to arrest undocumented immigrants anywhere in the state,” The Texas Tribune’s Uriel García reports. The move is a direct challenge to the Biden administration’s border policies and is expected to come under intense scrutiny from the courts during the election year. “Legal experts have said the legislation could create the opportunity for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit a 2012 case, Arizona v. United States, that was narrowly decided in favor of the power of the federal government to set immigration policy,” NYT’s J. David Goodman writes. Meanwhile, the situation at the border is stretching border officers thin as they struggled to meet the surge of migrants coming to the U.S., WSJ’s Alicia Caldwell reports from Lukeville, Arizona. By the numbers: “Since the start of the budget year on Oct. 1, agents in Tucson, Ariz., have made more than 142,000 arrests, according to preliminary data, up from about 54,000 arrests during the same time a year ago.” TRUMP CARDS WHAT A GAG — DONALD TRUMP’s legal team yesterday filed a motion in a federal appeals court asking whether the gag order in the 2020 election subversion case should be limited further in its scope or tossed out entirely after a panel of judges last week narrowed the order, NYT’s Alan Feuer writes. Should Trump’s latest request for a hearing be denied, the issue could wind up before the Supreme Court. BACK FOR MORE — Just three days removed from winning a $148 million defamation ruling over RUDY GIULIANI, the two women who brought the case are going after the Trump acolyte again. RUBY FREEMAN and SHAYE MOSS filed a new lawsuit Monday seeking to block Giuliani from repeating false fraud allegations — as he repeatedly did during and after last week’s trial, Josh and Kyle write. CONGRESS THE TRUMP EFFECT — As Senate negotiators work to hammer out an immigration deal, the former (and perhaps future) president may be on the minds of some in the room debating the details. Some Democrats involved in the discussions are “exploring ways to prevent a future president from abusing some of the executive powers on the table to control the number of migrants seeking asylum,” NBC’s Sahil Kapur reports, noting that it is the “subject of some key sticking points as Republicans demand more expansive powers for the president to crack down on a border situation they describe as uncontrolled and chaotic.” TALE OF THE TAPE — Sen. BEN CARDIN (D-Md.) told reporters yesterday that he’s “terribly angered” and “disappointed” by reports that a now-former staffer had taken part in sexual activities in a Senate hearing room, which were captured on video, our colleague Ursula Perano writes. “I understand the Capitol Police are doing an investigation,” Cardin said. ALL POLITICS LOOKING BACK — CHERI BEASLEY speaks with The 19th’s Candice Norwood in Cambridge, Massachusetts, reflecting on her historic campaign as the first Black woman nominated by either party for a Senate campaign in North Carolina, where she narrowly lost to Republican TED BUDD: “I was a credible candidate, and every time we run and fight hard, we are moving the ball forward,” she told The 19th. But Beasley also directed a barb at party brass: “National Democrats’ unwillingness to invest was a huge disappointment and, in significant part, led to my loss. … Promises to invest in my race were made by national Democrats which never materialized.” LOOKING FORWARD — DEBBIE MUCARSEL-POWELL sits down with The 19th’s Mel Leonor Barclay in Orlando ahead of her likely matchup with GOP Sen. RICK SCOTT next year. The former House member noted she is the first Latina “at the top of the ticket” for Democrats in the Sunshine State and that Scott could be uniquely vulnerable in 2024: “He’s never run in a presidential year. He’s never won by more than a percentage point. We’re going to have an abortion ballot initiative that’s going to really galvanize voters.” THE WHITE HOUSE HARRIS HITS THE ROAD — VP KAMALA HARRIS will embark on a “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour next year, the White House announced this morning, aiming to keep abortion rights at the forefront of topics in the midst of an election year. The series of events will begin in Wisconsin on Jan. 22, which will mark the 51st anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision. MARK YOUR CALENDAR — HUNTER BIDEN will face a Jan. 11 court date in California over nine tax charges — “three felony and six misdemeanor counts, including filing a false return, tax evasion, failure to file and failure to pay,” per the AP.
| | | | POLITICO AT CES® 2024: We are going ALL On at CES 2024 with a special edition of the POLITICO Digital Future Daily newsletter. The CES-focused newsletter will take you inside the most powerful tech event in the world, featuring revolutionary products that cut across verticals, and insights from industry leaders that are shaping the future of innovation. The newsletter runs from Jan. 9-12 and will focus on the public policy-related aspects of the gathering. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of the show. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Marjorie Taylor Greene met Jake Chansley, aka the QAnon Shaman, over the weekend — and wrote an impassioned defense of the Jan. 6 riot participant. Andrea Mitchell celebrated 15 years as an MSNBC anchor and 45 years with NBC. MEDIA MOVES — Andrew Perez is joining Rolling Stone as a politics editor. He previously was a senior editor and reporter at The Lever covering money and influence and is a MapLight alum. … Megan Cassella is joining CNBC as a Washington correspondent, covering the intersection of business and D.C. She previously was a senior writer for Barron's Magazine, covering economics and policy and is a POLITICO alum. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Mike Zamore is joining the ACLU as national director of policy and government affairs. He previously was chief of staff for Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and is a DSCC alum. TRANSITIONS — Luke Blanchat is now chief of staff for Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.). He most recently was director of government relations at FirstHealth of the Carolinas. … Bryan Wheat is now chief of staff for Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-Utah). He most recently was a trial attorney for the Federal Defenders of Idaho. … Ryan Lee is now chief speechwriter and policy adviser at the International Trade Administration. He most recently was a U.N. press officer and is a USUN and USAID alum. WEEKEND WEDDING — Rachel Glasberg, a producer for NBC News’ digital show “Stay Tuned,” and Tyler Goldberg, director of political strategy at Assembly Global, got married at Whitby Castle in Rye, New York, on Saturday. The couple met in 2013 when Tyler was Rachel’s tour guide at Emory University and have been together for almost a decade. Pic … Another pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Becky Beland McNaught, SVP of comms and external affairs at the Sacramento Kings and a Gavin Newsom and Barbara Boxer alum, and John McNaught, consultant at Russell Reynolds Associates and an Obama administration alum, welcomed Colette Vivienne McNaught on Wednesday. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) and Pat Fallon (R-Texas) … DOD’s Chris Meagher … Evergreen Strategy Group’s Maggie Polachek … retired Marine Gen. Jim Jones … Ronan Farrow … NPR’s Kelsey Snell ... Tal Kopan of the Boston Globe … CNN’s Josh Freedom du Lac … former Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) … Puck’s Teddy Schleifer … Bronwyn Lance … Jenny Murphy … Michael Duncan of Cavalry … Ann Lewis … Ethan Todras-Whitehill … Ryan Jackson … Treasury’s Nicole Lindler … Sameer Punyani … Amy Best Weiss of American Express … Patrick Ventrell … Kelsey Moran … Erin Taylor of the Climate Reality Project … Shannon McGahn of the National Association of Realtors … POLITICO’s Alec Gaffney and Emily Yehle … Rebecca Edgar … Chloe Brown of Rep. Steny Hoyer’s (D-Md.) office … Max McClellan … Denise Grant of Overlook Strategies … NEC Corporation’s Tak Tada … Isabel Pellegrino … Tomicah Tillemann … Sean Gallitz ... Molly Fratianne 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.
| | | | A message from Instagram: New federal legislation will give parents a say in teen app downloads.
According to a new poll by Morning Consult conducted in November 2023, more than 75% of parents believe teens under 16 shouldn’t be able to download apps without parental permission.1
Instagram wants to work with Congress to pass federal legislation that gets it done.
Learn more.
1"US Parents Study on Teen App Downloads" by Morning Consult (Meta-commissioned survey of 2,019 parents), Nov. 2023. | | | | | | | 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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