| | | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | | Presented by |  | | | |  President Joe Biden is expected to make the case for Kamala Harris to succeed him in his DNC speech. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | |  | THE CATCH-UP | | | JOE BIDEN’S BITTER PILL — “The Celebration and Torment of Joe Biden’s Convention Speech,” by Jeff Greenfield for POLITICO Magazine: “It’s a bizarre inversion of a typical convention, full of conflicting emotions for the speaker. The happier Democrats look in Chicago, the prouder Biden must be — and the more it must hurt.” Dunn deal: ANITA DUNN, one of Biden’s closest confidantes, said his speech tonight will not be a look in the rearview mirror. “This is not a time for legacy,” Dunn told CNN. “This is a time for arguing why KAMALA HARRIS is the best candidate.” It also appears that the cold war between Rep. NANCY PELOSI (D-Calif.) and the Biden loyalists is still simmering. “If they’re upset, I’m sorry for them,” Pelosi said earlier today, referring to Dems who disagreed with her public questioning of Biden’s electability. Asked to respond, Dunn brushed away Pelosi’s comments: “Nobody wants to have a fight with Nancy Pelosi at this time because we’re a united party.” More from Irie Sentner LIVE FROM CHICAGO — The Democratic National Convention is underway in the Windy City. And while the main events of the day are still to come (from the can’t-miss CNN-POLITICO Grill to the floor action), the politicking has begun. The latest reporting:
- TIM WALZ made a surprise stop at the Pennsylvania delegation’s breakfast this morning, underscoring the importance of the biggest swing state “and, perhaps, the need to nurse a few hurt feelings in the room after Harris chose Walz over Pennsylvania Gov. JOSH SHAPIRO to be her running mate,” Holly Otterbein writes. Walz praised Shapiro as a “dear friend” and said “the Blue Wall is solid.” Shapiro himself went on to defend the pick, Holly notes, saying that “antisemitism played absolutely no role” in Harris’ decision, and directly calling out Trump for pushing the baseless accusation. Walz also dropped by an AAPI and Congressional Black Caucus meeting.
- At the New York delegation’s breakfast, Democratic leaders CHUCK SCHUMER and HAKEEM JEFFRIES were on hand to practice their message discipline: “That message? The Biden-Harris administration notched wins on infrastructure, climate and drug costs. DONALD TRUMP threatens democracy,” Emily Ngo writes. As for the mood? Relentlessly upbeat. “This is one happy, unified convention,” Schumer said. “We have the right ticket, the right program, the right values — all three.” Jeffries told reporters Harris “represents hope, she represents change.”
- Massachusetts Gov. MAURA HEALEY is getting a plum position in the DNC speaker lineup. She’ll address the convention on Thursday, the same night Harris speaks, Lisa Kashinsky reports. “It’s a notable slot for Healey, who was the first Democratic governor to publicly call on Biden, who she was a surrogate for, to reevaluate his reelection bid after his disastrous debate performance.”
|  Workers prep the convention hall for Monday's opening lineup. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | More from the scene:
- SETH TAYLOR, a first-time delegate from Georgia, gave a nearly spot-on impression of LIL JON, at the Georgia delegation breakfast this morning, per Brakkton Booker. “If you’re not getting tinnitus by the end of [the night] … they’ve done us wrong,” Taylor said.
- SPOTTED: Celebrity lawyer GLORIA ALLRED attending the California delegation breakfast this morning, donning a red power suit, per Melanie Mason.
More convention reads:
- “Inside Kamala Harris’s Enormous Fundraising Drive,” by WSJ’s Maggie Severns: “Democratic donors have gone wild for Harris’s whirlwind bid for the presidency despite her tepid polling for years, invigorated by what they think is an Obama-esque opportunity to create generational change in the Democratic Party — and elect the first female president. While Biden’s fundraising efforts sagged for weeks amid questions about his age and fitness for office, his decision to leave the race jolted Democratic donors big and small into action.”
- “Convention Gives Chicago’s Mayor His Biggest Platform and His Biggest Test,” by NYT’s Mitch Smith in Chicago: BRANDON JOHNSON, “who is expected to speak from the main stage on Monday night, believes that this convention has the potential to reframe the conversation about Chicago. But if things go poorly, it could also reinforce the old, unflattering impressions of a big city run by Democrats. For the mayor, just like for his city, it is a week loaded with opportunity and risk.”
TUNE IN: TODAY AT THE GRILL — 3:30 p.m.: Sen. GARY PETERS (D-Mich.), DSCC chair, with Jonathan Martin … 4 p.m.: QUENTIN FULKS, Harris-Walz principal deputy campaign manager, with Eugene … 4:30 p.m.: New York Gov. KATHY HOCHUL, with Emily Ngo … 5:30 p.m.: North Carolina Gov. ROY COOPER, with Ryan … 6 p.m.: Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.), with Ryan … 6:30 p.m.: Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER, with Rachael. Follow along with every update from the Democratic National Convention with POLITICO’s live blog … In Chicago and want to check out today’s CNN-POLITICO events? Sign up for an invite Good Monday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at gross@politico.com.
| | | | A message from USAFacts: Want to know the facts on immigration, taxes and spending? Steve Ballmer, former Microsoft CEO and owner of the LA Clippers, shares facts and data, you make up your mind! | | | | | 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW | | |  The DCCC, chaired by Rep. Suzan DelBene, is going big on spending for the fall. | Rod Lamkey for POLITICO | 1. ON THE MONEY: Buoyed by the Harris campaign’s momentum, the DCCC is calling a $27 million ad campaign blitz on Republican-held seats, “targeting a mix of swing districts and red-leaning areas in a bid to retake control of the House,” NBC’s Sahil Kapur scoops. Where the money is going:
- The two biggest investments land in New York ($8 million) and California ($5 million)
- The campaign is also targeting “prime Democratic pickup opportunities in GOP-held districts in Oregon, Arizona and Nebraska.”
- “It also includes a red-leaning Pennsylvania district where former TV news anchor JANELLE STELSON is taking on Rep. SCOTT PERRY, R-Pa., and a couple of GOP-friendly Iowa districts where Democrats have an outside chance.
- There is also a $1.5 million slice funding Spanish-language ads in Latino-heavy districts in California and Texas.
2. LUKEWARM ON THE LEFT: After a year of bruising primary elections, the progressive wing of the Democratic Party is lining up behind Harris, hoping that she can deliver a friendly presidency for their causes. Progressive Caucus Chair PRAMILA JAYAPAL noted that “perfection” isn’t possible when it comes to the issues that her cohort cares about, but that “real progress” is on the horizon. “So much of our … Progressive Caucus agenda is stuff that we know she is for, just as the Biden-Harris administration was for, and I believe the Harris-Walz administration will be for,” Jayapal told NBC’s Sahil Kapur and Allan Smith. 3. GEORGIA ON MY MIND: The Georgia election integrity panel that has a Trump-supporting majority and has installed a series of rule changes to benefit the former president is considering “new rules for ballot-counting and election certification” at its meeting today, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Mark Niesse and Greg Bluestein report. Democrats in the state (as well as Georgia Secretary of State BRAD RAFFENSPERGER) have filed appeals against the panel’s three Trump-aligned members (whom Trump dubbed his “pit bulls”) and lambasted their lean. “Meanwhile, the trio was dealt a blow on Monday when Attorney General CHRIS CARR issued a formal opinion finding that the board can’t order him to reopen an investigation into Fulton County’s 2020 recount because state law doesn’t empower the board to do so.” Related reads: “How a Far-Right Takeover of Georgia’s Election Board Could Swing the Election,” by NYT’s Nick Corasaniti … RACHEL MADDOW pens an op-ed for NYT Opinion imagining a doomsday scenario for Democrats if the Georgia ruling rears its head in a tight contest: “What Worries Me Most About Election Night” 4. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN is in Jerusalem, where he met with Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU for roughly three hours earlier today. Blinken called it “a decisive moment” for cease-fire negotiations, NYT’s Robert Jimison reports. “After months without progress, talks that ended in Qatar on Friday and were expected to resume this week in Egypt represented ‘probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a cease-fire, and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security,’ Mr. Blinken said before meeting with the Israeli prime minister. ‘It is time for everyone to get to “yes” and to not look for any excuses to say “no,”’ he said.” Related read: “Hamas claims Tel Aviv attack as Blinken promotes cease-fire in Israel,” by WaPo’s John Hudson, Rachel Pannett, Annabelle Timsit and Loveday Morris in Tel Aviv
| | | | A message from USAFacts: All Americans are shareholders in this democracy: we contribute to the nation's coffers through tax dollars and elect representatives to write its laws. Like any shareholders, we deserve to know where the money goes and how lawmakers' policies affect society. Government data has those answers.
Founded by Steve Ballmer, USAFacts guides you through the maze that is government data. We’re a team of career researchers, data analysts, statisticians, and communication professionals. We track down government metrics in digital reports or the occasional Freedom of Information Act request. We standardize the numbers, consult designers to make clear visuals, and we refine our reports so that we share just the facts. | | | 5. WHATSAPP, DOC: The Harris-Walz campaign is rolling out a broadcasting channel on WhatsApp focused on improving outreach to Latino voters — an effort to meet a critical slice of the electorate on a platform that has seen significant political engagement in recent elections, NYT’s Jazmine Ulloa writes. “It is set to be unveiled with a bilingual selfie-style video that features Ms. Harris’s campaign manager, JULIE CHAVEZ-RODRIGUEZ. … It will be run by Latino staff members within the campaign, with daily voice memos, videos and notes featuring surrogates and supporters. It will also serve as a tool to combat misinformation and disinformation, officials said.” 6. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS: “Businesses Are Already Girding for Next Phase of the U.S.-China Trade War,” by NYT’s Peter Goodman in Allentown, Pennsylvania: “In interviews with two dozen American manufacturers, retailers and shipping agents, many said they were holding off on investments and expansion given the uncertainty over tariffs on imported products and parts — especially on those shipped from China. If Mr. Trump wins the election, the potential for further disruption is great. If Vice President Kamala Harris wins, many of the people said, they expect trade hostilities with China to continue, threatening increased costs for components used by American businesses.” 7. BRAVE NEW WORLD: “Mayoral candidate vows to let VIC, an AI bot, run Wyoming’s capital city,” by WaPo’s Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Jenna Sampson: “Mayoral candidate VICTOR MILLER, a bespectacled librarian with an AI obsession, stood between an American flag and a Wyoming flag, preaching what he sees as the untapped potential of artificial intelligence in government. AI would be objective. It wouldn’t make mistakes. It would read hundreds of pages of municipal minutiae quickly and understand them. It would, he said, be good for democracy.”
| | PLAYBOOKERS | | John Kelly is not a fan of Donald Trump’s view that a Presidential Medal of Freedom outweighs a Medal of Honor. Alvin Bragg isn't opposed to delaying Trump’s sentencing next month. George Santos is providing an entirely new definition of white-collar crime. John Fetterman, call your office. J. Michael Luttig is feeling the momentum for Harris. TRANSITIONS — Jonay Holkins is now founder at Trendline Strategies. She previously was senior director of policy and corporate initiatives at the Business Roundtable. … George (Chip) Cannon is joining Hogan Lovells’ global regulatory and IP practice as a partner. He previously was a partner at A&O Shearman. … Tom Healy is joining Honigman as senior counsel in the government relations and regulatory practice group. He previously was a senior attorney with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. WEEKEND WEDDING — Mike Fallon, outreach director for Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Rebecca Yungk, digital comms for Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), got married Friday in West Hartford, Connecticut. The two originally met working for Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim’s campaign in 2019. Pic, via Jully and Alex Photography … Another pic 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 politics and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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