| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels and Ryan Lizza | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | |  Lawmakers return from recess Monday, when Democratic leaders will face a make-or-break moment with President Joe Biden. | Susan Walsh, File/AP Photo | THE POLL JOE BIDEN IS ACTUALLY READING — “Biden Narrows Gap With Trump in Swing States Despite Debate Loss,” by Bloomberg’s Gregory Korte and Mark Niquette: “Biden registered his best showing yet in a Bloomberg News/Morning Consult tracking poll of battleground states, even as voters offered withering appraisals of his debate performance amid panic within his party. Republican DONALD TRUMP led Democrat Biden by only 2 percentage points, 47% to 45%, in the critical states needed to win the November election.” COUNTERPOINT — Biden’s approval rating is now at an all-time low, per FiveThirtyEight’s polling tracker. THE ‘MAD KING’ AND HIS COURT — The most important moment of Biden’s massively high-stakes interview with ABC News’ GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS yesterday might have been a question he didn’t answer. As he dismissed polls showing Trump growing his lead, insisted no one is “more qualified to be president or to win this race than me” and otherwise denied the gravity of his situation, Biden said he’d leave the race only “if the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get outta the race.’” But Stephanopoulos pressed further: What if you are told by top congressional allies — the likes of CHUCK SCHUMER, HAKEEM JEFFRIES, NANCY PELOSI and JIM CLYBURN — that control of the House and Senate might be at risk if you stay in? “They’re not gonna do that,” Biden said. When Stephanopoulos asked, “You’re sure?” Biden was adamant: “Yeah, I’m sure.” The host pressed again — what if your allies say the House and Senate are lost? “I’m not gonna answer that question,” Biden said. “It’s not gonna happen.” Biden’s posture is, essentially, a dare: Will lawmakers go public with the private concerns that have dominated text chains and phone conversations since last week’s debate? Or will they fall in line and unify behind a candidate they don’t think can win? That question will be answered this coming week on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers return from recess Monday, when they’ll face a frantic press corps eager to pepper them with questions about what Biden should do. After a week of texts and calls, they’ll be face to face and able to gauge for themselves whether the “vast majority” of them — as Biden insisted yesterday — want the politically wounded president to stay. And if they determine otherwise, they will be in a better position to communicate, coalesce and formulate a plan to call for Biden to go. This much is already clear: If the interview was meant to stop the bleeding, it hasn’t. This morning, Rep. ANGIE CRAIG (D-Minn.) became the first front-line Democrat to call on Biden to step aside. “I do not believe the President can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump,” she wrote. Yesterday, Rep. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-Ill.) went from concerned to declaring Biden unfit to run again. They are unlikely to be the last: “I’ll be breaking my silence soon,” one House Democrat told MSNBC’s Julie Tsirkin, calling the interview “sad” and “completely out of touch with reality and insulated from truth.” Other lawmakers voiced dismay with some of Biden’s answers, including his declaration that he’d be at peace with a Trump victory “as long as I gave it my all” and his refusal to entertain a more intensive test of his mental faculties. Biden’s glib response to the latter question — “Look. I have a cognitive test every single day” — did not sit well with Rep. JUDY CHU (D-Calif.), who told our colleagues that it was “unsettling and not particularly convincing, so I will be watching closely every day to see how he is doing, especially in spontaneous situations.” There are further signs the tide could quickly turn on the Hill: As WaPo scooped, Sen. MARK WARNER (D-Va.), the Intelligence Committee chair who helped Biden pass a large chunk of his agenda, is organizing Democratic senators to discuss Biden’s future as nominee. Jeffries is convening his committee leaders for a similar conversation tomorrow, just as the debate gets turbocharged on the Sunday shows. (Notably, Clyburn — heretofore one of Biden’s key allies — canceled a scheduled interview with “Face the Nation,” CBS announced last night.)
| | | | A message from The National Association of REALTORS®: Whether you want to rent or buy, housing is in short supply—and it’s a crisis.
The National Association of REALTORS® is in an all-hands, all-front advocacy posture in this fight that impacts every American.
An equal majority of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents say housing affordability is a top concern.
Every elected official can rally around this cause at the local, state, and federal levels.
Only a bipartisan, comprehensive approach will win this fight. | | | Faced with ongoing doubts, the Biden campaign last night issued a lengthy deep-background statement which was not to be quoted and without a name attached. Rest assured, however, that Team Biden believes that their guy has done more than enough in recent days to put all the doubts to rest. Sen. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-Pa.), notably, remains one of the few to unequivocally back Biden on the record: “Democrats need to get a spine or grow a set — one or the other. Joe Biden is our guy.” Meanwhile, the parade of on-background anxiety continues unabated, further fueled by the sense of denial that sent dozens of our sources into a panic last night. “Sadly, it seems like he’s choosing the hard way, but the outcome will be the same,” one veteran Democratic operative told Playbook. “He won’t be the nominee.” The person continued: “We have a mad king.” “Whoever said ‘this will stop the bleeding’ should be fired,” a Democratic donor adviser insisted to Playbook last night. “He’s fucked. We are fucked.” Now as ever, the question remains: What are they actually going to do about it? Good Saturday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza. MORE BIDEN READS …
- “Some of Biden’s Upcoming Fund-Raising Events Face New Uncertainty,” by NYT’s Reid Epstein, Teddy Schleifer, Maggie Haberman and Ken Vogel: “Plans for a late July fund-raiser in Wisconsin are now off, and it’s unclear whether another event in Texas will proceed … [But] AMY GOLDMAN FOWLER, one of her party’s biggest donors … told The New York Times that she planned to donate $400,000 more to the Biden Victory Fund.”
- “These Obscure Democrats Could Soon Become Kingmakers,” by NYT’s Nick Corasaniti and Taylor Robinson: “Many [delegates] are loath to even consider [Biden dropping out] as an option, remaining steadfastly loyal to the president as he affirms his commitment to remaining in the race. And some find themselves overwhelmed by the possibility.”
ABOUT LAST NIGHT — “Reformist lawmaker Masoud Pezeshkian wins Iran’s presidential vote,” by CNN’s Nadeen Ebrahim and Michael Rios: “Experts say a more moderate face in the presidency could facilitate dialogue between Iran and Western states. Domestically, [MASOUD] PEZESHKIAN may also introduce some social changes, which he emphasized during his electoral campaign, though experts caution that such moves are far from guaranteed.” FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The joint fundraising entity Trump 47 Committee is holding a “Freedom First Event” fundraiser July 18 at the GOP convention in Milwaukee with the “Nominee for Vice President” and Trump before he accepts the nomination that night, according to an invite obtained by Daniel Lippman. To be on the “roundtable” at the fundraiser requires a person to give $200,000 or for a donor to raise $300,000; to get a photo takes $100,000 or to raise $150,000; and to get into the reception is $5,000. The invite
| | | | A message from The National Association of REALTORS®:   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | At the White House Biden has nothing on his public schedule. VP KAMALA HARRIS will be at Essence Fest in New Orleans for a moderated conversation this evening.
| | | | POLITICO AND WELT EVENT TUESDAY 7/9: Join POLITICO and WELT for a roundtable discussion on July 9 with the top defense officials in NATO countries that share a border with Russia, including Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. These are the crucial officials tasked with armoring these front-line states against Vladimir Putin’s aggressive expansionism. We will discuss how they are adapting to this new period of danger and explore the future of the NATO alliance and their relationship with the United States. Register here. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | |  Donald Trump seems to be taking seriously the Joe Biden campaign’s effort to link him to Project 2025. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | 9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US 1. 2025 DREAMING: Trump made a striking Truth Social post yesterday distancing himself from the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, one of the leading outside efforts to prepare for radical changes in a future Republican government. “I know nothing” about the project, he wrote — a claim that would be more believable if this were not a public, prominent effort staffed by some of his leading allies. Certainly the Trump campaign has been at pains to separate its official plans and platforms from those of other groups. But Trump’s post seemed to indicate that he’s taking seriously the Biden campaign’s effort to link him to Project 2025 — and the growing social-media backlash. More from CNN 2. ANNALS OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES: ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. wrote yesterday on X that “[i]t’s hard to tell what is a conspiracy theory and what isn’t” regarding the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In the White House, he said, “I won’t take sides on 9/11 or any of the other debates. But I can promise is that I will open the files and usher in a new era of transparency.” His openness to conspiracy theories about one of the seminal moments in American history provoked an instant firestorm online, though he later added that he was talking specifically about recent “60 Minutes” reporting on Saudi Arabia’s possible involvement. More from NBC 3. MUCK READ: “White House visits are cash cow for Biden,” by Jennifer Haberkorn and Elena Schneider: “[R]oughly a dozen [gatherings took place] featuring a small group of longtime Democratic donors at the White House between last summer and March of this year … Many, if not all of them, included the president … In many cases, attendees made a significant contribution to the Biden Victory Fund in the days or weeks afterward … Donors were anxious about the age issue but impressed with Biden in person.” 4. JOBS DAY: The monthly jobs report released yesterday showed that the U.S. added 206,000 jobs in June as unemployment ticked up to 4.1 percent. Reactions overall were somewhat mixed: 206,000 was higher than economists had expected, but job growth was also slower than in May and not very well distributed across the economy, NYT’s Talmon Joseph Smith writes. That helped paint a picture of a labor market that’s still running strong but cooling under the weight of high interest rates. Wage growth also slowed, though it’s still higher than inflation. The upshot for the Fed: A long-anticipated rate cut is starting to look somewhat likelier from the central bank in September, WSJ’s Justin Lahart and Nick Timiraos write. 5. THE BEST THING THAT’S EVER BEEN MINE: “US miners push Washington to revive long-dormant Bureau of Mines,” by Reuters’ Ernest Scheyder: “Mining trade groups plan to push Washington to revive and expand the long-dormant Bureau of Mines, an effort aimed at streamlining how the U.S. government regulates and supports critical minerals production and timed to coincide with the 2024 presidential election. … The bureau closed in 1996 during budget cuts. The push to resuscitate it and add new responsibilities would, supporters argue, allow Washington to craft a unified critical minerals policy for permitting, research funding, and industry grants and loans.” 6. THE ABORTION LANDSCAPE: Kansas’ Supreme Court yesterday threw out major restrictions on abortion in a big though not unexpected decision, The Wichita Eagle’s Jonathan Shorman reports. That will allow abortion providers to keep operating as before in a state that has become an important access point. Meanwhile, Arkansas became the third state this week to see abortion-rights supporters submit the signatures to place a referendum on the ballot, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Neal Earley reports. Advocates claim their total will meet the required numbers of signatures. 7. THE STAKES FOR NOVEMBER: “Trump courts Black men as he pledges return to a policy that disproportionately targeted them,” by NBC’s Curtis Bunn: “A key pillar of Trump’s anti-crime platform demands police departments reinstate stop and frisk — which allows officers to randomly stop and search people for weapons — or else risk critical federal dollars flowing into their coffers. … But with more than 2 million Black men having experienced stop-and-frisk, even some Black conservatives who support Trump … say they are ambivalent about the policy.”
| | | | A message from The National Association of REALTORS®:   | | | 8. KNOWING DUKE BUCHAN III: WSJ’s Gregory Zuckerman profiles the RNC national finance chair, who has emerged as a crucial fundraiser for Trump. Buchan, a significant donor himself and former hedge-funder, “has raised tens of millions of dollars, becoming the person most responsible for surging megadonor money.” A former U.S. ambassador to Spain, he’s known for flying somewhat under the radar but using a friendly approach and long list of contacts to reel in big money. 9. FOR YOUR RADAR: “US says troops are leaving Niger bases this weekend and in August after coup,” by AP’s Lolita Baldor: “The U.S. will remove all its forces and equipment from a small base in Niger this weekend and fewer than 500 remaining troops will leave a critical drone base in the West African country in August, ahead of a Sept. 15 deadline set in an agreement with the new ruling junta, the American commander there said Friday.” CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 16 funnies
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Rick McKee - Caglecartoons.com | GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Ryan Lizza: — “The Conspiracy of Silence to Protect Joe Biden,” by N.Y. Mag’s Olivia Nuzzi: “The president’s mental decline was like a dark family secret for many elite supporters.” — “Biden Has Fallen Into a Psychological Trap,” by The Atlantic’s Franklin Foer: “The same approach that has long driven his success now threatens to destroy his legacy.” — “Savior Complex,” by The New York Review of Books’ Fintan O’Toole: “Biden’s tragedy is that he has come to feel that he alone can rescue America.” — “Not Everyone Has an Inner Voice Streaming Through Their Head,” by Simon Makin in Scientific American: “The extent to which people experience ‘inner speech’ varies greatly, and the differences matter for performing certain cognitive tasks.” — “She’s a Blue-Collar, Bible-Quoting, Israel-Supporting, Pro-Choice, Millennial Latina. Is She the Future of Democratic Progressivism?” by Natalie Fertig in POLITICO Magazine: “With an eclectic voting record, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez from Washington state has riled the left flank of her party. She thinks that’s a good thing.” — “Inside a Violent Gang’s Ruthless Crypto-Stealing Home Invasion Spree,” by Wired’s Andy Greenberg and Matt Giles: “More than a dozen men threatened, assaulted, tortured, or kidnapped 11 victims in likely the worst-ever crypto-focused serial extortion case of its kind in the US.” — “Why Do India and China Keep Fighting Over This Desolate Terrain?” by NYT Magazine’s Yudhijit Bhattacharjee: “Long-running battles in the Himalayas may foretell a more dangerous conflict.” — “Revolution in the air: how laughing gas changed the world,” by Mark Miodownik in the Guardian: “Since its discovery in the 18th century, nitrous oxide has gone from vaudeville gimmick to pioneering anaesthetic to modern party drug.” — “Babydog Unleashed: Inside the Weird World of the Most Powerful Pooch in Politics,” by Washingtonian’s Sylvie McNamara: “West Virginia governor Jim Justice seems bound for the US Senate. His secret weapon? A 62-pound English bulldog who might be the best retail politician the state has ever known.”
| | | | 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 | | Mark Robinson declared that “some folks need killing!” Donald Trump wants to delay his classified documents case after the immunity ruling. Bob Casey’s family ties are under scrutiny in his reelection race. Sam Brown, David McCormick, Bernie Moreno and Tim Sheehy are getting backup from a crypto investment firm. John Curtis is putting environmentalists in an unusual spot. Brad Schneider’s office was vandalized, targeting his photos of Hamas-held hostages. SPOTTED: John Kerry dining at the Ritz-Carlton in Paris on Thursday evening. Pic FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Geo Saba, chief of staff for Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), is leaving to do a JD/MBA at Stanford. He’ll join Khanna’s campaign as a senior adviser. Marie Baldassarre, his comms director, will become chief of staff. Kevin Fox has been promoted to be deputy chief of staff and continues as legislative director, while Sarah Drory will move up to be comms director. TRANSITIONS — Kristin Lee is now VP for comms and client advocacy at Waystar. She most recently was director for technology comms at Meta and is an Obama OSTP alum. … Nathan Yanez is joining Invariant’s strategic comms and public affairs team as a manager. He previously was senior account executive at Lucas Public Affairs. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Former President George W. Bush … Storm Horncastle of the VP’s office … POLITICO’s Anita Kumar and Benjamin Guggenheim … CBS’ John Dickerson … WaPo’s Glenn Kessler and Tyler Pager … Targeted Victory’s Sarah Morgan … Christyn Lansing of Narrative Strategies … Gabriela Meléndez-Olivera … CNN’s Athena Jones … Jennifer Duffy … Kimberly Dozier … Chris Paulitz … Danny Sepulveda … Mark Tomb … Jill Zuckman of SKDK … Apple’s Nick Ammann … Caleb Orr … Zachary Karabell … CNBC’s Dan Colarusso THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here): ABC “This Week”: President Joe Biden. Panel: Donna Brazile, Sarah Isgur, Susan Page and Marianna Sotomayor. CNN “State of the Union”: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) … Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). Panel: Rep Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Scott Jennings, Doug Thornell and Shermichael Singleton. NBC “Meet the Press”: Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) … Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.). Panel: Matt Gorman, Mike Memoli, Stephanie Murphy and Amy Walter. Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures”: Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) … Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) … Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) … RNC Chair Michael Whatley … Miranda Devine. CBS “Face the Nation”: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) … Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) … NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. MSNBC “The Weekend”: Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) … NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”: Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.). Panel: Bob Cusack, Daniel Lippman, Robert Doar and Tia Mitchell. 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.
| | | | A message from The National Association of REALTORS®: Whether you want to rent or buy, housing is in short supply—and it’s a crisis.
The National Association of REALTORS® is in an all-hands, all-front advocacy posture in this fight that impacts every American.
An equal majority of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents say housing affordability is a top concern.
Every elected official can rally around this cause at the local, state, and federal levels.
Only a bipartisan, comprehensive approach will win this fight. | | | | | | | 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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