| | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | PLAINS UPDATE — “Jimmy Carter’s next goal is voting for Kamala Harris for president,” by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein: “JIMMY CARTER’s 100th birthday is Oct. 1. … [A] few days ago [son CHIP CARTER] asked the former president if he’s trying to make it to the century mark. He was clear he was more interested in electing [VP KAMALA] HARRIS.”
|  Kamala Harris' campaign is bringing on a raft of veteran Democratic operatives as they set up for the sprint to November. | Kayla Wolf/AP | THE NEW OLD GUARD — The Harris campaign underwent a major transformation yesterday. It added some very high profile names, layered over some important players, saw the departure of its chief strategist, and left some big staffing questions unanswered. At the center of the shakeup are a group of new senior advisers best known for their work on BARACK OBAMA’s campaigns for president and inside his White House. The backdrop, of course, is an extraordinary transition — from an operation built to elect JOE BIDEN to one built to elect Harris. It’s natural that things might be a little bumpy. Harris has different demographic strengths, policy priorities and a coterie of her own close advisers who understandably want a larger role in the campaign they’ve inherited. But the new moves seem likely to exacerbate lingering tensions between a team that has worked thanklessly for over a year to elect Biden while outside consultants — especially those generally associated with Obama — criticized them from the sidelines. Now the former group is watching nervously as some of Obama’s best and brightest from 2008 and 2012 are being brought in for senior roles. We picked up on some of the friction yesterday as these additions were made public, with officials we talked to taking care to frame things a little like that old “Veep” slogan: “continuity with change.” There was a noticeable difference between some officials downplaying the Obama vets’ role and others emphasizing their importance. Here’s what we know: — By far the most noteworthy addition is DAVID PLOUFFE, the key electoral strategist behind Obama’s primary defeat over HILLARY CLINTON in 2008 and Obama’s two general election victories. His title is unique: “Senior Advisor for Path to 270 & Strategy.” Of course, the only purpose of a presidential campaign is to win 270 electoral votes, so this is a singular role. Plouffe will report to JEN O’MALLEY DILLON, the former deputy White House chief of staff who was moved to the campaign in January and layered over the previous leadership as the campaign chair. She and Plouffe have a long history: It was Plouffe who hired Dillon, who had worked for the JOHN EDWARDS campaign, in the spring of 2008 to become Obama’s battleground states director. “I think he’s going to be like a consigliere to Jen and the campaign,” said DAVID AXELROD, who co-piloted the Obama campaigns with Plouffe, his longtime business partner. Plouffe is already making his presence known. After Trump said he has agreed to a Sept. 4 debate hosted by Fox News, Plouffe took the lead in the campaign’s response: “Donald Trump is cowardly backing out of the debate he agreed to,” he posted on X earlier today. “One just like the debate he did in June. Now, he seems only comfortable in a cocoon, asking his happy place Fox to host a Trump rally and call it a debate. Maybe he can only handle debating someone his own age.” Regarding the debates: Another Harris official tells us, “ABC has indicated they would host whoever shows up [at their previously scheduled Sept. 10 debate] so our belief is she would have the airtime to herself if Trump doesn’t show.”) More on the debate wrangling — MITCH STEWART was about 28 years old when Plouffe hired him to run the Iowa caucuses for Obama. The historic nature of Obama’s Iowa victory instantly made Stewart a legendary Democratic organizer. In the 2008 general election he ran Virginia, which turned blue that year, and in 2012 Stewart had Dillon’s old title, battleground states director. Now he’ll serve Dillon in a similar role as “senior advisor for battleground states.” — STEPHANIE CUTTER held a number of positions working for Barack and MICHELLE OBAMA, both in Obama’s presidential campaigns and in the White House. She and Dillon then founded Precision Strategies, which has become a powerhouse political firm. Most recently she has been in charge of programming for the upcoming Democratic National Convention. Her now more formalized role with Harris world includes the title “senior advisor for message and strategy.” — BRIAN NELSON is the one real Harris person added to this list. He had policy roles when she was AG in California and a senator. She swore him in in 2021 when he took a senior position at Treasury. But he also worked at Obama’s DOJ. As the campaign’s new senior adviser for policy, we’re told he will play a key role in harmonizing any gaps between the Biden and Harris agendas. — DAVID BINDER, a key Obama pollster and focus group moderator who Axelrod once called a member of his “tight, harmonious strategic core” on messaging in the 2008 campaign, will now be in charge of polling. He is a Californian and has worked with Harris for two decades, including as the pollster on her 2020 presidential run. — JIM MARGOLIS was also one the key consultants inside both Obama’s 2008 campaign and Harris’ 2020 campaign, though his role with Harris this time around has still not been worked out. The campaign is expected to use Margolis’ firm GMMB in some capacity but the details remain TBD. We’ll note that QUENTIN FULKS, principal deputy campaign manager, now has an expanded portfolio that includes paid media. — The campaign also announced that JEN PALMIERI, the longtime Democratic communications operative and a familiar presence on MSNBC, will serve as a senior adviser to second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF. — Another related source of turf rivalry is between the longtime Biden advisers and the core campaign staff around Harris. Buried in the news yesterday was a significant change: Harris’s top campaign advisors — SHEILA NIX, BRIAN FALLON, SERGIO GONZALES, MEGAN JONES, SHELBY COLE, and JALISA WASHINGTON PRICE — are being elevated with additional responsibilities. But the exact details haven’t yet been explained. — One thing that is now clear is the fate of chief strategist MIKE DONILON: Biden has asked him to return to the White House and no exact replacement has been named. How much Plouffe ends up serving in that role will be something to watch. Good Saturday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Wells Fargo: Wells Fargo seeks broad impact in our communities. As a company, we are focused on building a sustainable, inclusive future for all by supporting housing affordability, small business growth and financial health. We have donated nearly $2 billion to strengthen local communities over the last five years. What we say, we do. See how. | | | MAYBE RUN IT UP THE FLAGPOLE NEXT TIME — Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN yesterday “overruled the overseer of the war court at Guantánamo Bay and revoked a plea agreement reached earlier this week with the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and two alleged accomplices,” NYT’s Carol Rosenberg reports from Guantánamo. “The Pentagon announced the decision with a memorandum relieving the senior Defense Department official responsible for military commissions of her oversight of the capital case against KHALID SHAIKH MOHAMMED and his alleged accomplices for the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York City, at the Pentagon and in a Pennsylvania field. … In taking away the authority, Mr. Austin assumed direct oversight of the case and canceled the agreement, effectively reinstating it as a death-penalty case.” The reaction … “We are glad that Secretary Austin came to his senses, heeded our warning, and decided to take the concerns of 9/11 victims and families seriously,” Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL and Sen. TOM COTTON (R-Ark) said in a joint statement this morning. “The President must know that we continue to watch this situation closely.”
| | | | A message from Wells Fargo:   We seek broad impact in our communities. What we say, we do. See how. | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | At the White House Biden and Harris have nothing on their public schedules. On the trail Trump and Vance are scheduled to hold a rally in Atlanta at the Georgia State University Convocation Center, where Harris held an event earlier this week.
| | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US
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New details about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump are coming out. | Scott Goldsmith for POLITICO | 1. ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT FALLOUT: As the search continues for answers about how THOMAS CROOKS was able to fire shots at Trump during a rally last month, WaPo has the details of a “previously unreported transcript of more than seven hours of encrypted radio communications by local police at the rally that day and interviewed multiple law enforcement officials,” which together “provide the clearest picture yet of the minute-by-minute hunt for Crooks, and show how he evaded police and climbed onto the roof of a nearby building undetected,” Shawn Boburg, Samuel Oakford and Devlin Barrett write. A snapshot: “Police lost track of Crooks for 20 minutes after he was seen with the range finder, the transcript shows. When he was spotted again, walking toward the area where he would gain access to the rooftop of what local police called the ‘AGR building,’ an officer mischaracterized where he was headed, directing his colleagues to the wrong side of the building. “The Post examination also shows that communication between the Secret Service and the local police was disjointed and time-consuming, helping to explain why Secret Service agents closest to Trump were taken by surprise when gunfire erupted. On two occasions, a local officer inside the Butler County command post had to relay information about Crooks to the Secret Service hub by cellphone — on a day when cell service was balky and unreliable.” 2. WHAT COMES NEXT: “Prisoner Deals Stoke Fears of Perverse ‘Incentive’ to Grab Americans,” by NYT’s Michael Crowley: “Behind the jubilation over the latest release of Americans unjustly imprisoned abroad are growing concerns that a new era of hostage diplomacy has emerged, with U.S. adversaries concluding that it pays to arrest innocent Americans and trade them for convicted smugglers, hackers, spies — and even killers. While loath to criticize any specific swap, current and former U.S. officials worry that strongmen like President VLADIMIR V. PUTIN of Russia are exploiting America’s willingness to horse-trade for its citizens.” How it happened: National security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN sits down with our colleague Erin Banco to talk about the Russian prisoner swap that allowed the release of several Americans. “Sullivan was one of many key figures involved in the prisoner swap, but the White House has called him a leader of the effort, and he acknowledged how meaningful getting this deal done was for the Biden administration, and for him. ‘I’m pretty overwhelmed,’ he said.” Related read: “The Americans Left Behind in Russia After Historic Prisoner Swap,” by WSJ’s Brett Forrest and Louise Radnofsky: “A spa worker and schoolteacher are among the estimated 20 U.S. citizens still held by Russia.” 3. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: “US shifts aircraft carrier to Middle East amid fears Iran may attack Israel,” by Paul McLeary: “Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is currently operating in the Pacific, and its destroyer escorts to the region along with an additional squadron of fighter planes. Additional ballistic air defense units will also be deployed to the Middle East, not only to defend Israel but to protect U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria who have come under attack by Iran and its proxies, the Pentagon said. “This is the second time since April that the U.S. has acted quickly to defend Israel after the government of Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU conducted targeted assassinations of Iranian officials and militant groups backed by Tehran.” Related read: “Israel, U.S. Prepare for Severe Iranian Retaliation,” by WSJ’s Summer Said, Benoit Faucon and Lara Seligman 4. TRUMP 2.0: As the world over prepares for the possibility of Trump’s return to the White House, governments around the world (including the U.S.) are “racing to secure their global climate strategy against a potential rollback” by the former president, Karl Mathiesen and Zack Colman report. “The push includes leaning on the World Bank to unleash money for clean-energy projects in developing nations in a way that a future Trump administration could not unilaterally reverse. … Meanwhile, climate diplomats and environmentalists have been holding their first early discussions about ways to persuade deep-pocketed investors that green energy is still the wave of the future — even if Trump wins in November.” 5. DOING THE MATH: “Trump’s presidential bid has the support of only half of his Cabinet,” by WaPo’s Azi Paybarah, Szu Yu Chen, Hayden Godfrey and Michael Scherer: “In total, The Post reached out to all 42 members of Trump’s Cabinet, asking each of them whether they supported his presidential bid. Twenty responded. Twenty-two didn’t, but we were able to determine through public statements that nine of them backed Trump’s candidacy and two didn’t.” 6. TRIAL BALLOON: After a long time on the sidelines, the election subversion case against Trump started to move again yesterday, Kyle Cheney, Josh Gerstein and Erica Orden report. “The case was returned to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which took just minutes to send the matter back to the courtroom of U.S. District Judge TANYA CHUTKAN, who has been in a holding pattern since December awaiting the outcome of the immunity fight.” Reminder: “There appears to be no real prospect of a trial in the case before the November election, but some Trump critics have been eagerly awaiting the Supreme Court’s ministerial action of returning the case to the trial court, hoping that it results in a series of swift decisions from Chutkan that could again put Trump on the defensive.” Elsewhere in Trump-related cases: “Arizona AG Kris Mayes says defendant in ‘fake electors’ case has agreed to flip,” by NBC 12 News’ Brahm Resnik 7. PIVOT WATCH: North Carolina Lt. Gov. MARK ROBINSON appears in a new ad for his gubernatorial campaign in which they reveal that his wife, YOLANDA, had an abortion 30 years ago. “Later in the ad, Robinson says he agrees with the current abortion restrictions in North Carolina, which limit the procedure after 12 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother, and says ‘that’s why I stand by our current law,” NBC’s Alexandra Marquez writes. The ad lands “as news organizations and Democratic groups in the state have for months unearthed controversial comments Robinson has made about abortion.” What he said in 2019: “Abortion in this country is not about protecting the lives of mothers. ... It is about killing the child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down.” 8. A READ FOR YOUR COMMUTE: “‘Incredibly frustrating’: Northeast rail snags highlight infrastructure needs,” by Jordan Wolman: “Commuters and other travelers along America’s busiest stretch of passenger railway have faced a nightmare summer of heat-related delays and cancellations that are complicating the transit legacy of a president nicknamed ‘Amtrak Joe.’ Record heat has exposed long-standing physical problems along the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Virginia that highlight the need for planned improvements that would get a big boost from the bipartisan infrastructure law while leaving officials without immediate answers for outraged constituents.” 9. WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT: “Florida attorney pleads guilty to trying to detonate explosives near Chinese embassy in Washington,” by AP’s Michael Kunzelman: “A Florida attorney pleaded guilty on Friday to using a rifle to try to detonate explosives outside the Chinese embassy last year in Washington, D.C. CHRISTOPHER RODRIGUEZ also bombed a sculpture of communist leaders VLADIMIR LENIN and MAO ZEDONG in a courtyard outside the Texas Public Radio building in San Antonio, Texas, in 2022, according to a court filing accompanying his guilty plea.”
| | | | A message from Wells Fargo:   What we say, we do. See how. | | | CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 16 funnies
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| GREAT WEEKEND READS: Special veepstakes edition, curated by Ryan Lizza: Josh Shapiro — “Politics: Cleaning House,” by Ben Wallace for Philly Mag in November 2007: “At 34, an Abington reformer is Harrisburg’s fastest-rising young star. But is there a place for Jimmy Stewart in Pennsylvania’s smoke-filled back rooms?” — “People close to Josh Shapiro saw at an early age that ‘his career would catch fire,’” by the Philly Inquirer’s Anna Orso, Andrew Seidman, Julia Terruso and Jeremy Roebuck: “As Shapiro is on the shortlist to become Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, friends, classmates, and colleagues said he has long showed flashes of leadership capabilities and political skill.” Mark Kelly — “Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly once said he never aspired to politics, but ‘I do get asked a lot,’” by the Arizona Republic’s Alden Woods in 2018: “For the first time in a long time — maybe the first time in his entire adult life — Mark Kelly doesn't know what he wants.” — “Here’s the inside story on how Mark Kelly defeated Blake Masters,” by the Arizona Republic’s Ronald Hansen in November 2022: “In the end, Kelly’s vote share was almost unchanged from his 2020 victory over former Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz. It underscored an electoral status quo that helped preserve Democrats’ Senate majority in Washington and left Republicans ruminating about another missed opportunity in the nation’s newest swing state.” Tim Walz — “Could Tim Walz go from teaching history to being part of it?” by WaPo’s Ben Terris: “Former classmates and colleagues talk about the teacher and coach who went into politics and is now believed to be on Kamala Harris’s short list for a running mate.” — “Is Tim Walz the Midwestern Dad Democrats Need?” by NYT’s Ezra Klein: “He grew up in a small town in the Midwest and repeatedly won a congressional seat that was quite red. So I also wanted to hear his thoughts on why the Democrats have been losing the types of voters he knows so well and how to win them back.” Andy Beshear — “‘Methodical’; Meet the man who unseated Matt Bevin to become governor,” by The Courier-Journal’s Deborah Yetter in February 2020: “Beshear is famous for staying on message to a point where some criticize him as scripted or stilted. And his recent State of the Commonwealth speech got eye rolls from Republican legislative leaders for his optimistic goals, including pay raises for public school teachers who supported him.” — “The Amiable Attack Dog From Kentucky Who Could Join the Harris Ticket,” by NYT’s Nick Corasaniti: “Andy Beshear, the Democratic governor of a deep-red state, is an intriguing Southern contender to become Kamala Harris’s running mate. He’s already straining to go after JD Vance.” Pete Buttigieg — “Pete Buttigieg Is Still Figuring This Out,” by Mark Leibovich for NYT Magazine in July 2019: “A dark-horse presidential candidate tries to stay on track.” — “How Mayor Pete Started to Look Presidential,” by Adam Wren for POLITICO Magazine in April 2019: “In the span of 11 weeks, the South Bend mayor has risen from the bottom of the pack to a slot in the top tier of the 2020 Democratic field. Can it last?”
| | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Reid Hoffman would like you to know that he’s not using campaign contributions to force out Lina Khan. Ben Stiller, Jason Bateman and Kathy Griffin are among the headliners for an upcoming “Comics for Kamala” Zoom event. Joe Bowser, father of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, died yesterday. OUT AND ABOUT — Keep our Republic received the American Bar Association’s Unsung Heroes Award yesterday in Chicago. SPOTTED: Ari Mittleman, Jeh Johnson, Thomas Griffin, Carly Fiorna, Richard Haas, Tom Rogers, Judy Woodruff, Ken Frazier, Ben Ginsburg, Michael Luttig and Mary K. Smith. TRANSITIONS — Jordan Langdon is joining Prologue as senior director of client experience. She previously was a director at Purple Strategies and is a Jerry Moran and Jeff Denham alum. … Cheryl Oldham is now EVP of human capital at the Bipartisan Policy Center. She previously was SVP of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and VP of education and workforce policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): NBC’s Dylan Dreyer HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) … Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) (4-0) … U.S. Ambassador to Chile Bernadette Meehan … Kaiser Health News’ Rachana Pradhan … Matthew Foldi … ABC’s Ben Siegel and John Parkinson … Scott Parkinson … Claire Olszewski of the Obama Foundation … Jeff Dressler of SoftBank … Tom Freedman … Matt Compton … former Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) … Jordan Burke … Erikka Knuti … Graham MacGillivray … Dmitri Mehlhorn … Jessica Ennis … Brian Morgenstern … City Journal’s Brian Anderson … NYT’s Clarissa Matthews … Joe Ramallo of Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R-La.) office … Jay Caruso … Rachael Shackelford … Reuters’ Brad Brooks … Ken Nahigian … DNC’s Emma Bailey … James Wegmann … Jacob Weisberg of Pushkin Industries … Shaadi Ahmadzadeh … Andrew Craft … Katherine Robertson of Alabama AG Steve Marshall’s office THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here): CBS “Face the Nation”: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) … Jonathan Finer … Shawn Fain … Paul Beckett … Weijia Jiang … Kadia Goba … Amy Walter … Anthony Salvanto. FOX “Fox News Sunday,” guest-anchored by Jacqui Heinrich: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) … Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) … John Kirby. Panel: Bob Cusack, Rich Lowry, Catherine Lucey and Meghan Hays. Sunday special: Justice Neil Gorsuch. ABC “This Week”: Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) … Jon Finer … Almar Latour. Panel: Chris Christie and Donna Brazile. Panel: Rachel Scott, Susan Page and Jonathan Martin. Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures”: pre-taped interview with Donald Trump … Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) … Stephen Miller. Panel: Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and Kash Patel. CNN “Inside Politics Sunday”: Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) … Bernie Moreno. Panel: Harry Enten, Eli Stokols, Laura Barrón-López and Margaret Talev. MSNBC “Inside with Jen Psaki”: Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) … James Carville … Sarah Longwell … Bob Bauer … Al Sharpton. NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”: Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) … Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) … William Cohen … Michael Meehan … Whit Ayres. Panel: Olivia Nuzzi, Noah Rothman, Domenico Montanaro and David Drucker. 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 Wells Fargo: Wells Fargo seeks broad impact in our communities. As a company, we are focused on building a sustainable, inclusive future for all by supporting housing affordability, small business growth and financial health.
In 2023, examples of our work include:
- Donated approximately $300 million to over 3,000 nonprofits in support of housing, small business, financial health, sustainability, and other community needs.
- Opened HOPE Inside centers in 15 markets supporting 57 retail branches to help empower community members to achieve their financial goals through financial education and free one-on-one coaching.
- Launched $10,000 Homebuyer Access℠ grants that will be applied toward the down payment for eligible homebuyers who currently live in or are purchasing homes in certain underserved communities.
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