| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza and Rachael Bade | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | COUNTDOWN — Election Day is 100 days away.
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Kamala Harris has started out her presidential campaign at a rapid pace. | Tony Gutierrez/AP | BLUE HEAT — What a difference a week makes. Seven days ago at this time, Democrats felt wobbly at best about their prospects in the presidential campaign. (It was, of course, last Sunday afternoon when President JOE BIDEN bowed to pressure and stepped aside as the party’s presidential candidate.) One week later, VP KAMALA HARRIS is off the blocks at an Olympic sprinter’s pace. In its first seven days, Harris’ campaign raised $200 million, with 66% of its contributions coming from first-time donors, and 170,000 people have signed up to volunteer. More from Brakkton Booker Just yesterday, a fundraising event for Harris in the Berkshires pulled in more than $1.4 million — triple what the organizer’s original goal was. The mini-concert included performances by YO-YO MA and JAMES TAYLOR. Our colleague Lisa Kashinksy was on the ground in Massachusetts and writes this morning about the sheer elation Democrats are feeling in a race where they feel like their chances have actually increased with so little time to go. As if to emphasize this, let’s contrast two trends in this morning’s ABC News/Ipsos poll poll …
- Trending above water: Harris. Last week, just 35% of Americans felt favorably towards the VP, and 46% held an unfavorable view (net: -11). Now, her favorability is up eight points at 43%, with 42% viewing her unfavorably (net: +1). That’s a huge swing.
- Trending below water: Both DONALD TRUMP and JD VANCE. Last week, Trump’s favorable-unfavorable numbers were 40%-51% (net: -11, same as Harris’). Now, it’s 35%-52% (net: -17). Vance’s trend is even steeper. A week ago, he was at 25% favorable and 31% unfavorable (net: -6). Now, he’s at 24% favorable and 39% unfavorable (net: -15).
| | A message from Capital One: Capital One recently announced our historic, five-year, $265 billion community benefits plan in connection with our proposed acquisition of Discover to advance economic opportunity and financial well-being. This plan is twice as large as any other community commitment developed in connection with a bank acquisition and demonstrates that the combined Capital One and Discover will create an opportunity to provide more lending, investment, and services for underserved communities than the institutions would undertake on a stand-alone basis. | | | One short-term task ahead for Harris: Avoiding a running mate rollout as shaky and damaging as Vance’s introduction to the campaign trail. Harris aides have told Playbook the usual bromides about how she is focused on finding a governing partner and is leaning toward someone with executive experience. But let’s be real: She’s going to lean toward the candidate she thinks will help her most in the swing states. And while the campaign has remained mum about who precisely that’ll be, the folks on the short (and long) list have been out making it very clear they are interested, while at the same time playing coy. — On Sen. MARK KELLY: Many Hill Democrats are pointing to the Arizona senator colleagues as Harris’ best option, and think “he would offset her biggest current weakness: the border,” Sarah Ferris, Ursula Perano, Adam Cancryn and Anthony Adragna report. Kelly has “pushed the Biden administration to take a tougher position on border security and aligned more closely with other border-state Democrats,” the quartet note. “Three such Democrats — Reps. VICENTE GONZALEZ (D-Texas), HENRY CUELLAR (D-Texas) and LOU CORREA (D-Calif.) — are all publicly pushing for Kelly.” — On Pennsylvania Gov. JOSH SHAPIRO: “In recent days, he’s started to campaign even harder for Harris — angling for a clear demonstration of his electability in the all-important swing state of Pennsylvania, where 19 Electoral votes will be up for grabs in November,” writes Jared Mitovich. “Shapiro helped kick off the vice president’s volunteer operation in the central part of the state on Saturday, and he’s then scheduled to appear alongside [Michigan Gov. GRETCHEN] WHITMER at a campaign event near Philadelphia on Monday.” — On Minnesota Gov. TIM WALZ: “When Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz showed up on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ last week to blast Donald Trump and JD Vance as ‘weird’ … the line of attack quickly gained traction among Democrats,” writes NBC’s Adam Edelman. “Key among them was de facto presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who days later started using the same word in her campaign messaging against the GOP ticket, including at a fundraiser in Massachusetts on Saturday. The simple phrase quickly highlighted why Walz — a popular two-term Midwestern governor, former congressman, military veteran and former public school teacher — had suddenly landed on Harris’ short list of prospective running mates.” — On Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG: “‘We all realize it’s unlikely.’ But Pete Buttigieg’s VP stock is rising,” by Adam Wren and Chris Cadelago: “The Transportation secretary is blitzing the airwaves with his Midwest-nice takedowns of Donald Trump and JD Vance. Members of Congress are talking him up. Buttigieg’s digital alumni network is circulating clips of appearances and touting his complementary skills to Kamala Harris. He did a canvassing kickoff for Harris in Traverse City, Michigan, on Saturday morning. And an ally in his home state of Indiana — saying they were acting independently of Buttigieg — has compiled a dossier evaluating Harris’ options and concluding: ‘Simply put, the vibes are high right now.’ … “But Harris confidants and allies remain skeptical about his chances, according to interviews with a half-dozen of them, all granted anonymity to speak freely. They anticipate she’ll be ruthlessly pragmatic about her selection, viewing other contenders from outside the Beltway as better positioned to deliver key states and constituencies.”
|  The Trump-Vance campaign is still figuring out how best to attack Harris. | Jamie Kelter Davis for POLITICO | Meanwhile, Trump and his campaign are still testing out different lines of attack on Harris. At a rally last night, Trump “often found himself reverting to old attacks against Biden, before catching himself and jumping back to the vice president, Myah Ward reports. “It speaks to how Biden’s exit from the race has jolted the 2024 race for both parties. Democrats are scrambling to introduce their candidate on a truncated timeline, while Trump and his allies are struggling to find a consistent line of attack against Harris. Republicans are trying to adjust to an opponent vastly different from the 81-year-old, white, male incumbent they crafted their campaign messaging around.” Trump also mentioned his own near-assassination: “They all say, ‘I think he’s changed since two weeks ago. Something affected him.’ No, I haven’t changed. Maybe I’ve gotten worse,” Trump said, escalating his attacks on Democrats and abandoning the short-lived attempt for unity after his shooting. “Because I get angry at the incompetence that I witness every single day.” Good Sunday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza. SUNDAY BEST … — New Hampshire Gov. CHRIS SUNUNU on Trump’s “you won’t have to vote anymore” line, on ABC’s “This Week”: “I think it was a classic Trumpism, if you will. … Obviously, we want everybody to vote in all elections, but I think he was just trying to make a hyperbolic point that it can be fixed as long as he gets back into office and all that.” More from David Cohen — Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER on Trump picking Vance as his running mate, on CBS’ “Face the Nation”: “I think Donald Trump, I know him, and he's probably sitting and watching the TV, and every day it comes out Vance has done something more extreme, more weird, more erratic. Vance seems to be more erratic and more extreme than President Trump. And I’ll bet President Trump is sitting there scratching his head and wondering, ‘Why did I pick this guy?’ The choice may be one of the best things he ever did for Democrats.” — Maryland Gov. WES MOORE on what Harris should look for in a running mate, on “This Week”: “I've been very flattered by the level of interest, and I absolutely love my job and I want to continue doing my job. I think the thing that she needs to look for most is the person that gives her a sense of comfort that this is gonna be a partner in the work. I do not think that she needs to go through an exercise of being able to find what boxes to check in what part of the country.” — Buttigieg on Harris’ strength as a candidate, on “Fox News Sunday”: “It’s true that the Democratic Party is not famous for falling in line. That’s part of why it's so remarkable that in a matter of days, Kamala Harris has consolidated our big-tent party. … I was in a field office in Michigan yesterday, close to our home, and saw an extraordinary energy. So many people from different corners of our party ready to support Kamala Harris, ready for her to defeat Donald Trump. And it’s a level of energy that, frankly, I haven’t seen on the campaign trail in a long time.” — Sen. RON JOHNSON (R-Wis.) on investigations into the failed assassination attempt against Trump, on “Fox News Sunday”: [FBI Director CHRISTOPHER WRAY] “told us he would be providing us the documents that we’re going to be requesting. But the proof will be in the pudding. I mean, if he really follows through. He’ll be testifying before a joint committee hearing on Tuesday, and he has an awful lot to explain. … Unfortunately, the federal agencies are doing what they always do: They’re hiding behind the excuse, ‘This is an active investigation.’” TOP-EDS: A roundup of the week’s must-read opinion pieces.
| | | | A message from Capital One:   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | At the White House Biden will leave Camp David in the afternoon to return to the White House. Harris has nothing on her public schedule.
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The sequence of events that led to the attempted assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, are still under intense scrutiny. | Scott Goldsmith for POLITICO | 1. ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT FALLOUT: In the wake of the failed assassination attempt on Trump, his Secret Service detail and some of his advisers have “privately questioned why they were not informed that local police were tracking a suspicious person before that person opened fire,” WaPo’s Josh Dawsey and Carol Leonnig report. “According to the two people, Trump advisers said that they first learned of any issue when the shots were fired, and that they could not understand why the suspicious-person alert hadn’t been passed on to them so they could consider delaying Trump’s speech — a sentiment Trump echoed in a TV interview.” The response: “Secret Service spokesman ANTHONY GUGLIELMI said Saturday the agency was declining to comment on The Washington Post’s questions about which radio communications Trump’s security detail received at the Butler rally. He repeated that the agency is examining everything about the incident, including whether there might have been a communication breakdown among its staff or other law enforcement, to determine precisely what happened.” 2. ONE TO WATCH: Harris campaign manager JULIE CHÁVEZ RODRÍGUEZ indicated that the current VP would continue the Biden administration’s asylum crackdown if she is elected president, she said in an interview with CBS’ Camilo Montoya-Galvez. “I think at this point, you know, the policies that are, you know, having a real impact on ensuring that we have security and order at our border are policies that will continue,” Chávez Rodríguez said. The comments amount to the “first indication that U.S. border policy may not change significantly if Harris succeeds Mr. Biden as president, despite pressure from progressive activists angry with the Biden administration's pivot on asylum.” 3. MAN OF THIEL: PETER THIEL, who helped engineer the rise of JD VANCE, is “warming toward supporting the Republican ticket,” indicating a cooling of tensions with Trump after Thiel initially was reluctant to back the former president’s reelection bid, Thiel told NYT’s Teddy Schleifer in an interview. But, but, but: Thiel also said he’s not ready to make any sort of donation to the ticket, “remaining noncommittal and sounding dour about whether his money could make a difference.” What he said: “I always try to resist getting swept up in excitement,” Mr. Thiel told The New York Times over breakfast in Washington, making his first comments about the Republican ticket since Mr. Vance’s selection. “But in spite of many misgivings I had earlier this year, it makes me more hopeful that a second Trump term will be better than the first.” The thaw may also be influencing a race out West: Trump last night on Truth Social issued a second endorsement in the GOP primary for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, adding his support for BLAKE MASTERS in addition to his previous endorsement of ABE HAMADEH. Masters is a close ally of both Thiel and Vance. The primary will be held on Tuesday. Related read: “Inside the powerful Peter Thiel network that anointed JD Vance,” by WaPo’s Elizabeth Dwoskin, Cat Zakrzewski, Nitasha Tiku and Josh Dawsey 4. KNOWING TIMOTHY MELLON: Mellon, the rail magnate, has become known as one of Trump’s most loyal and generous political backers. He has donated to the tune of $227 million since 2020 — with $75 million going to Trump already this year. “Yet for all his financial influence, Mr. Mellon and his interests — and what exactly is motivating his largess — have remained largely a mystery,” NYT’s Alexandra Berzon and Mike McIntire write. “Interviews with his associates, along with a review of court documents and other public records, reveal an ideologically driven conservative with a combative streak. Mr. Mellon spent most of his life leveraging his family fortune to create his own. His freight railroad, a regional line that repeatedly ran afoul of worker and environmental protections, was recently sold for $600 million. Over time, Mr. Mellon’s politics shifted far to the right.”
| | A message from Capital One: Developed in partnership with a coalition of leading community groups, our five-year community benefits plan includes significant financial and programmatic commitments through community development, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), philanthropy and pro bono, consumer card and auto lending, small business and supplier diversity, and bank access. These commitments will aim to expand economic opportunity for underserved consumers, including those in low- and moderate-income (LMI) neighborhoods, rural areas, and communities of color. It will also support increased access to best-in-class products and services for unbanked or underbanked consumers as well as consumers across the credit spectrum and expand access to capital and opportunity. | | | 5. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: “Diplomatic Efforts Pick Up to Avert Israel, Hezbollah War,” by WSJ’s Carrie Keller-Lynn, Summer Said and Jared Malsin: “U.S. and Middle East diplomats worked Sunday to keep the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah from spiraling into a full-scale war, as the Druze community in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights began to bury the 12 children and teenagers killed by a rocket fired from Lebanon. Israel has accused the Lebanon-based Hezbollah of carrying out the deadly strike on Saturday and threatened a strong response. The Israeli cabinet is meeting later Sunday to discuss its course of action, hours after Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU returned from his visit to Washington.” Related reads: “Fears of Escalation After Rocket From Lebanon Hits Soccer Field,” by NYT’s Patrick Kingsley, Euan Ward and Isabel Kershner … “IDF strikes deep in Lebanon after rocket attack, stoking fear of wider war,” by WaPo’s Heidi Levine, Rachel Pannett, Niha Masih and Kareem Fahim 6. SPACE TO WATCH: “A Fed Rate Cut Is Finally Within View,” by WSJ’s Nick Timiraos: “While Federal Reserve officials aren’t likely to change interest rates in the coming week, their meeting will nonetheless be one of the most consequential in a while. At each of their four meetings this year, interest-rate cuts have been a question for later. This time, though, inflation and labor-market developments should allow officials to signal a cut is very possible at their next meeting, in September. As a result, the coming week’s meeting, which wraps up Wednesday, could resolve the trade-off Chair JEROME POWELL has been weighing between the risks of cutting rates too soon and waiting too long, in favor of acting sooner.” 7. UNDER THE GUN: As newly elected NRA CEO DOUG HAMLIN takes control of the organization, he’s met with tension from within: newly elected board president BOB BARR, a former Georgia representative. “Dissent between the two surfaced during a trial this month in Manhattan, in which the N.R.A. was trying to persuade a New York judge not to appoint a monitor to oversee the embattled gun rights organization and its finances. But the association’s top two leaders have not put forward a unified front, underscoring the management disarray that persists after more than a half decade of corruption scandals and leadership turmoil,” NYT’s Danny Hakim and Kate Christobek write. 8. LIFE ON THE FRINGE: Americans are increasingly tapping in to online forums like Patriot Party News, “one of about a dozen far-right media platforms that has grown in both size and influence over the past few years, not only by creating an ecosystem of disinformation but also by providing an authentic sense of community,” NYT’s Eli Saslow writes. “In a fracturing country, here was an echo chamber with the power to turn fringe conspiracy theories into widely accepted political dogmas — that the Covid vaccine was poison, the mainstream media was deceitful and the federal government was controlled by a ‘deep state cabal’ that had stolen the 2020 election from former President Donald J. Trump and was now trying to orchestrate his assassination.” 9. ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOR: “The unlikely alliance bringing the tech giants to heel,” by Ruth Reader: “An alliance of little-known advocacy groups has convinced five states to pass laws to protect kids online and is now making inroads in Washington. The nonpartisan coalition has done it by delivering parents’ and kids’ stories about bullying and exploitative content on Facebook, TikTok and other platforms. … Even though the laws are facing legal challenges from a well-resourced tech sector, these advocates have now managed to kick a famously do-little Congress into bipartisan motion: The Senate is expected to pass the Kids Online Safety Act on Tuesday, a bill that would make companies responsible for the ill effects of design features that recommend content and encourage engagement.”
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, our newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | OUT AND ABOUT — Swati Sharma and Shadi Hamid co-hosted a party for Zack Beauchamp’s new book, “The Reactionary Spirit: How America's Most Insidious Political Tradition Swept the World,” ($30) at the home of Hamid yesterday evening, co-sponsored by the Aspen Institute’s Philosophy and Society program and the Wisdom of Crowds. SPOTTED: Molly Ball, Juleanna Glover, Stephen Wertheim, Jacob Heilbrunn, Karen Attiah, Stephanie Slade, Josh Keating, Mustafa Akyol, Astead Herndon, Shikha Dalmia, Adam Taylor, Damir Marusic, Rachel Rizzo, Amirah Sequeira, Adam Green, Andrew Prokop, Christian Paz, Lee Drutman, Natan Sachs, Damir Marusic, Akbar Shahid Ahmed, Osita Nwanevu and Katelyn Esmonde. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: NBC’s Courtney Kube … Huma Abedin … WaPo’s Ruby Cramer and Beth Reinhard … Mark Meadows … CNN’s Kate Bolduan and Annette Choi … Richard Haass … Scott Pelley … Kathy Dedrick … Josh Bell of Rep. Ron Estes’ (R-Kan.) office … Abigail Kane … former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) … Patrick Boland … Mandy Snapp … Steve Deace … Kirsten Fedewa of Kirsten Fedewa & Associates … Tanya Snyder … former AG Michael Mukasey … Stacey Finkel … former Sen. Bill Bradley (D-N.J.) … Stacy McBride of Husch Blackwell Strategies … POLITICO’s Megan Ednie … Lacey (White) Peterson 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. | | | | 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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