| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels, Rachael Bade and Ryan Lizza | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | | 
The Joe Biden campaign is making attempts at reassurance and repair after his cataclysmic debate performance. | Matt Kelley/AP Photo | EYES EMOJI — Rep. JAMIE RASKIN (D-Md.) going further than most Democrats on MSNBC’s “Velshi”: “There was a big problem with JOE BIDEN’s debate performance … There are very honest and serious and rigorous conversations taking place at every level of our party. … We’re having a serious conversation about what to do. One thing I can tell you is that regardless of what President Biden decides, our party is going to be unified … Whether he’s the candidate or someone else is the candidate, he is going to be the keynote speaker at our convention. He will be the figure that we rally around to move forward and beat the forces of authoritarianism and reaction in the country.” A FAMILY AFFAIR — Typically, when a family has a therapy session, they do it behind closed doors. They voice their feelings and inner thoughts. Ideally, they can trust in one another. And they welcome the conversation, even if painful, because it can bring about a better future. What we’re witnessing right now in the Democratic Party has none of that. Yes, there are attempts at reassurance and repair after Biden’s cataclysmic debate performance on Thursday night.
- Don’t worry about money: The Biden camp says it has raised $26 million in grassroots donations since Thursday, and that nearly half of those contributions “were from first-time donors to the campaign this cycle.”
- Don’t worry about voter perception: “On every metric that matters, data shows [the debate] did nothing to change the American people’s perception,” JEN O’MALLEY DILLON, Biden campaign chair, wrote in a memo that circulated last night. (Still, she tried to spin the likely drop in the polls yet to come: “If we do see changes in polling in the coming weeks, it will not be the first time that overblown media narratives have driven temporary dips in the polls.”)
- Don’t worry about the polls: CORNELL BELCHER, BARACK OBAMA’s former pollster, told Playbook that “there may be two or three [debates in history] that altered some of the fundamentals of the campaign,” and he said this debate doesn’t seem to be one of them. Given that Biden has vowed to stay in the race, Belcher says it’s time to “shut the fuck up and get on with it.”
- Don’t worry; we know it was bad: “I understand the concern after the debate. I get it,” Biden told a ritzy donor event in New Jersey last night, per Lauren Egan and Myah Ward. “I didn’t have a great night, but I’m going to be fighting harder.”
- Don’t worry about the debate; focus on the big picture. “It’s not about performance in terms of a debate; it’s about performance in a presidency,” Rep. NANCY PELOSI (D-Calif.) said this morning on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Added House Minority Leader HAKEEM JEFFRIES on MSNBC’s “The Weekend”: “There is a big difference between our view of the world, the country and the future, and the extreme MAGA Republican view.”
- Don’t worry about Biden; this isn’t about age and mental acuity. “I’ve been a part of debate preparation before, and I know when I see what I call ‘preparation overload,’” added Rep. JIM CLYBURN (D-S.C.) in an explanation for Biden’s performance that would be more plausible had Biden’s answers evinced even a glimmer of forethought or strategy.
But the Biden campaign is also meeting expressions of grief, dread and fear with a weird slurry of gaslighting, denial and even mockery directed at those consultants, strategists and former staffers who have gone public with their concerns about the president. In a fundraising email sent last night, deputy campaign manager ROB FLAHERTY blasted “some self-important Podcasters,” a not-so-veiled reference to “Pod Save America” hosts JON FAVREAU, TOMMY VIETOR, DAN PFEIFFER and JON LOVETT, all former aides to Obama, who sounded inconsolable on their Thursday-night podcast episode. The so-called bedwetters are at it again, the campaign says. And they’re wrong, just like before. There are a few problems with that. One is that the “bedwetters” were right to panic about losing to DONALD TRUMP in 2016. Another is that you’re asking voters to distrust what they themselves witnessed from Biden on Thursday night. And yet another is that this criticism misses a vital point: They don’t want to be having this conversation, either. They wish the debate meltdown didn’t happen. They like Biden, love his policies and think he’s been great at the job. “We’re the Democratic Party and we are the ones trying to fight for a democracy where you can disagree in thoughtful ways without being disagreeable, trust people to be adults and have a conversation,” Favreau told Playbook in a phone call this morning. “They seem to think that if there’s any criticism out there, it’s bad. My view is it’s OK to have this conversation now. I’d rather have it now than in October.” “President Biden himself says the future of American democracy is at stake, and it would be irresponsible not to have a conversation about how best to win,” Vietor added in a text to Playbook. “This is not a few Beltway wimps acting squishy. These are broadly held concerns across the electorate.” Favreau told us this morning that it’s not about Biden’s ability to be president. He believes that he can do the job. He is concerned about Biden’s ability to change the dynamics of the race between now and November. “It’s up to the candidate” to be able to do that no matter how good the campaign staff is, Favreau told us. Last night, we also spoke to JAMES CARVILLE, who managed BILL CLINTON’s 1992 campaign. He conceded that he doesn’t know if Biden will be the nominee come November. But nothing he’s seen since the debate has changed his mind: “I think he shouldn’t be,” Carville told us, hours after his name was used for a Biden campaign fundraising text. “Goddamn, in politics you gotta give the people what they want sometimes.” Carville said it’s possible he could lose money and even friends for being so blunt. He told us that he’s gotten calls over the last few days from senior Democrats telling him that he needs to cut it out because he’s not being helpful right now. But the most important caveat: “No one says, ‘You’re wrong.’”
| | | | A message from The American Petroleum Institute: For nearly four years, Americans have faced the pain of high inflation and global conflict.
The American Petroleum Institute’s Policy Roadmap contains five actions policy makers can take today to secure energy leadership, protect consumers and help reduce inflation. Americans deserve answers. | | | Related reads:
- “Two Joe Bidens: The night America saw the other one,” by Axios’ Alex Thompson: “The time of day is important as to which of the two Bidens will appear. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Biden is dependably engaged — and many of his public events in front of cameras are held within those hours. Outside of that time range or while traveling abroad, Biden is more likely to have verbal miscues and become fatigued, aides told Axios.”
- “A private call of top Democrats fuels more insider anger about Biden’s debate performance,” by AP’s Steve Peoples: “Multiple committee members on the call, most granted anonymity to talk about the private discussion, described feeling like they were being gaslighted — that they were being asked to ignore the dire nature of the party’s predicament. The call, they said, may have worsened a widespread sense of panic among elected officials, donors and other stakeholders.”
- “‘It’s a mess’: Biden turns to family on his path forward after his disastrous debate,” by NBC’s Carol Lee, Kristen Welker, Jonathan Allen, Mike Memoli and Monica Alba: “Senior congressional Democrats, including Reps. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and Nancy Pelosi of California, have privately expressed concerns about his viability, said two sources apprised of those discussions, even as they all publicly back the president. One Democratic House member who believes Biden should drop out of the race — but has yet to call for that publicly — told NBC News that three colleagues expressed the same sentiment to him during votes on the House floor Friday.”
- “Biden Tries to Quell Donor Panic at New York Fundraisers,” by WSJ’s Ken Thomas and Annie Linskey: “[White House officials] viewed the first 24 hours as the most crucial period to calm rattled elected officials and top donors, who in private text chains and conversations questioned if the president could remain at the top of the ticket. The president’s team conducted a flurry of phone calls and outreach to respond to lawmakers and Biden allies, in which they reiterated that Biden wasn’t dropping out of the race, according to people familiar with the calls.”
- “48 Hours to Fix a 90-Minute Mess: Inside the Biden Camp’s Post-Debate Frenzy,” by NYT’s Lisa Lerer, Shane Goldmacher and Katie Rogers: “By Saturday, their efforts appeared to have successfully slowed the tide of prominent Democrats calling for Mr. Biden to step aside. The president, for his part, grabbed microphones at campaign events, telling supporters and deep-pocketed donors that he knew he had flubbed the debate. And he repeatedly tried to flip the focus back onto Donald J. Trump’s performance.”
Good Sunday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza. SUNDAY BEST … — Sen. CHRIS COONS (D-Del.) on Biden’s electability, on ABC’s “This Week”: “I think he’s the only Democrat who can beat Donald Trump. … [In the 2022 midterms, Biden] said, ‘Chris, have confidence in the American people. They’re seeing this clearly.’ He was right. I was wrong. We won those midterms decisively.” (Fact check: Democrats literally lost the House.) — Sen. JOHN BARRASSO (R-Wyo.) on Biden’s fitness for office, on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures”: “My concern right now … is not just all the Americans who watched this debate. It’s what foreign leaders, our enemies, saw in that debate in China, Russia, Iran, North Korea. Right now, are they thinking, ‘This is our moment of opportunity’? … [If Democrats replace him,] you’re stuck with KAMALA HARRIS, the vice president, who actually I think would be worse than Joe Biden.” — North Dakota Gov. DOUG BURGUM on his former comment that American women were “unsafe” before Roe v. Wade, on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “That was a comment from over eight years ago. And certainly I’ve evolved in that position. … The states are going to be different. And I have been clear that I’m opposed to [a] federal abortion ban. I’m aligned with President Trump on that, and this is something that has to be left to the states.” — ANTHONY FAUCI on STEVE BANNON claiming that his call for Fauci to be beheaded was just a “figure of speech,” on “This Week”: “Yeah, that’s nonsense — ‘figure of speech.’ Words matter, and he thinks it’s [a] figure of speech. And then you have maybe one out of 500 out there who’s a wacko, who doesn’t think it’s a figure of speech, and thinks it’s a mandate to go ahead and do something.” TOP-EDS: A roundup of the week’s must-read opinion pieces.
| | | | A message from The American Petroleum Institute:   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | At the White House Biden and Harris have nothing on their public schedules.
| | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | |  A massive amount of power is about to shift from federal agencies to the judiciary after a new Supreme Court decision. | Mark Schiefelbein, File/AP Photo | 9 THINGS FOR YOUR RADAR 1. SCOTUS BOMBSHELL: The Supreme Court conservative supermajority’s ruling overturning Chevron deference is poised to upend federal policymaking in America — and corporate lobbyists are already planning how they’ll use the change to challenge regulations, WaPo’s Tony Romm reports. The country can now expect “years of lawsuits that could redefine the U.S. government’s role in modern American life,” as a massive amount of power shifts from federal agencies to the judiciary. Industry and conservative groups are eyeing a long list of regulations, including student debt relief, pollution, net neutrality, overtime pay and cryptocurrency — and they hope it will also have a chilling effect on new rules. 2. A NEW SEAT OF POWER: Jonathan Martin’s latest column takes a look at the Dakotas as the surprising geographic focal point of a new generation of GOP leaders on the national stage. That includes Burgum, South Dakota Gov. KRISTI NOEM and South Dakota Sen. JOHN THUNE, along with other Great Plains leaders from Montana and Wyoming. “Taken together, it’s an imposing array of force from such a sparsely populated corner of the country.” And what’s especially notable is that, Noem excepted, these are mostly pre-Trump establishment Republicans who “have avoided the bomb-throwing style so many in their party have adopted to keep with current fashions.” News nuggets: Trump has encouraged Sen. STEVE DAINES (R-Mont.) to challenge Thune for the Senate GOP leader position, but Daines is backing Thune and would get a leadership role under him. … Burgum tells JMart that he’s “tapped out” financially on supporting the Trump campaign. 3. UNBOWED: Bannon is definitively going to prison tomorrow after exhausting all his appeals. But he’s far from cowed by the punishment, he tells NBC’s Vaughn Hillyard, Dan Gallo, Alexandra Marquez and Megan Lebowitz. Bannon still sees the existential stakes of his political fight as either “victory or death of this republic,” claiming that Democrats “shred the Constitution.” He maintains his claims about executive privilege against the House Jan. 6 committee subpoenas that courts have dismissed. 4. HOW TRUMP WINS: “Black men helped power Biden’s 2020 Georgia win. Some are wavering,” by WaPo’s Maeve Reston in Macon: Many of them “are undecided and conflicted about their choice in November. They often expressed wariness of Trump — particularly his undeniable thirst for power and the role he played in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. But there is also a deeply ingrained belief among many who spoke to The Post that Trump would act more aggressively than Biden to improve the economy. The struggle to keep up with rising prices has intensified many of those voters’ frustration with Biden’s handling of” immigration, Ukraine aid and Israel aid.
| | | | A message from The American Petroleum Institute:   | | | 5. VEEPSTAKES: One of the biggest factors for the contenders vying to become Trump’s running mate is proving fundraising prowess, NYT’s Michael Bender and Teddy Schleifer report. Many of the would-be VPs are emphasizing their connections to megadonors and the ultra-wealthy, especially leading contenders Burgum and Sens. J.D. VANCE (R-Ohio) and MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.). In turn, donors are trying to influence Trump’s pick themselves — that’s how STEVE WYNN powered Sen. TOM COTTON (R-Ark.) into contention — even as some of them resent “being used as pawns in internecine warfare.” From humbler beginnings, AP’s Jeffrey Collins has a look at Sen. TIM SCOTT’s (R-S.C.) rags-to-riches personal trajectory, including the mentors who boosted Scott and the opportunities he seized in business and politics. “He largely stayed above the fray of internal party fights, making more friends with the powerful than enemies. In his wake, he has left a trail of true believers.” 6. THE NEW GOP: “McCarthy’s congressional replacement brings Asian representation to a deep-red California district,” by NBC’s Claire Wang: “[Rep. VINCE] FONG ran on a staunchly conservative platform of reining in fiscal spending, lowering taxes and bolstering law enforcement to fight crime. Fong, 44, says progressives have ‘moved in a direction that’s antithetical’ to principles that are important to Asian Americans. … California’s farm belt has also become a bastion of Asian American Republican politics and civic engagement.” 7. BATTLE FOR THE BALLOT REFERENDUM: “Abortion rights groups argue Florida is trying to throw up barriers to amendment,” by Arek Sarkissian in Tallahassee: “The fight is over a seemingly obscure fiscal impact statement estimating the cost to the state for passing the proposed constitutional amendment. It highlights how both pro-abortion rights and anti-abortion forces are clawing for every inch of ground.” 8. SETTING EXPECTATIONS: Ahead of this week’s monthly jobs report, economists surveyed by Bloomberg project a gain of 190,000 jobs and a steady unemployment rate of 4 percent, Vince Golle and Craig Stirling report. That would be a dip from May’s 272,000 new jobs, along with expectations that wage growth will moderate as well — all part of an expected and ongoing slowdown in the economy. 9. NOT A WALK IN THE PARK: “Biden’s administration celebrated Pride Month. But one of his agencies clamped down,” by Robin Bravender and Rob Hotakainen: “Weeks before the festivities began, [National Park Service] leaders issued an edict that took many of their employees by surprise: They were forbidden to wear their uniforms to public events that could be construed as the agency supporting a particular issue, position or political party. And that, they said, included Pride parades. … The uniform ban brought a swift backlash from LGBTQ+ activists, public rebukes from employees and a scramble by the park service to defend its policy. But within days, Interior Secretary DEB HAALAND reversed it.”
| | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Masoud Pezeshkian and Saeed Jalili advanced to Iran’s presidential runoff. Tim Scott went to the Zach Bryan concert in Nashville. Thom Tillis went there on the 25th Amendment. WEEKEND WEDDING — Nathan Flagg, legislative director for Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), and Tanya Clark, lead CX designer at NuAxis Innovations, got married this weekend on the Chesapeake Bay. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: The Atlantic’s David Frum … Robyn Shapiro … Kyle Plotkin … former Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) … Dan Leistikow … Meteorite’s Mills Forni … Dan Judy of North Star Opinion Research … Paul Cheung … Rachel Gorlin … Advoc8’s John Legittino … former IRS Commissioner John Koskinen … Zack Christenson … Kara Adame … Norm Sterzenbach … Alexandra Acker-Lyons … Eve Sparks of the House Administration GOP … Kenneth Callahan III … Revv’s Robert Mohn … Blake Nanney of the American Cleaning Institute … Adam Kennedy … Stephanie Miliano of Pursuit … Ward Carroll 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 Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. Correction: Friday’s Playbook misnamed a Biden campaign pollster. She is Molly Murphy.
| | | | A message from The American Petroleum Institute: For nearly four years, the American people have faced the pain of high inflation and global conflict. Now, more than ever, it’s time to end political gamesmanship. Let’s work together on solutions that help American consumers and secure our energy future.
At a time of persistent inflation and geopolitical instability, the American people need more affordable energy and less partisanship. Here are five actions policymakers can take now that will make a difference.
a. Protect consumer choice
b. Bolster geopolitical strength
c. Leverage our abundant natural resources
d. Reform our broken permitting system
e. Advance sensible tax policy
Let’s work together on solutions that help address the consequences of inflation, while securing America’s energy future. Learn more. | | | | | | | 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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