Presented by The U.S. Chamber of Commerce
With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
DRIVING THE DAY
HUNTER BIDEN FALLOUT — “Biden world resigned to a campaign shadowed by Hunter drama,” by Jonathan Lemire and Holly Otterbein: “Inside the White House, U.S. Attorney DAVID WEISS’ selection as special counsel was met with private frustration. Those close to [President JOE] BIDEN believed that the appointment was the result of a GOP pressure campaign intended to distract from the legal troubles surrounding their party’s presidential frontrunner, former President DONALD TRUMP. …
“What was certain in the aftermath of Attorney General MERRICK GARLAND’s announcement was that as much as the White House had tried to turn the page, the specter of Hunter Biden’s legal problems would hang over his father’s reelection bid.”
How it happened … NYT’s Michael Schmidt and Glenn Thrush report that Hunter Biden’s legal team was still working with prosecutors to salvage a plea deal over the last week but the talks fell apart after Weiss moved to revise the terms.
“His offer preserved the core of the deal hammered out over the past several months — no prison time in exchange for a guilty plea on tax misdemeanors and enrollment in a diversion program for nonviolent gun offenders — but without the broad immunity guarantee for Mr. Biden, the people familiar with the situation said. It was a deal breaker.”
Related reads: “Biden’s reelection bid faces vulnerabilities in wake of special counsel appointment,” by AP’s Steve Peoples … “Distrustful Republicans rip Hunter Biden special counsel appointment,” by NBC’s Scott Wong and Kate Santaliz … “A Timeline of Hunter Biden’s Life and Legal Troubles,” by NYT’s Michael Levinson
IS PENCE LEADING WITH HIS CHIN? — Last year, a Pence ally speculated to our Adam Wren that the former vice president was at a crossroads: Pence, he said, had “to decide whether he wants to be a JIM BAKER–like statesman that can just always be principled and speak the truth for the rest of his life, with no calculation of political cost. … Or do you want to get the nomination?”
Surprisingly, as Trump’s Jan. 6-related legal troubles have grown, Pence has leaned into his role in certifying the 2020 election and upholding democracy — especially this week in Iowa:
- In conversations with Playbook and other reporters at the Iowa State Fair, he repeatedly blasted Trump for lying to the public about the election, even when they didn’t ask about it.
- During Iowa Gov. KIM REYNOLDS’ “fair-side” chat, he touted his decision to uphold the Constitution that day, entirely unprompted.
- During a Q&A session during his turn on the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox, he spent several minutes comfortably articulating why Trump was wrong about the 2020 election.
- And when one voter came up to him at the fair, asking how he could testify against Trump and whether executive privilege applies to his conversations with the former president, he carefully walked her through his role as a witness in Trump’s legal troubles.
It isn’t a strategy meant to pander to GOP voters, many of whom still believe Trump’s false claims of a stolen 2020 election. Chances are it could hurt him as much as it helps him as he continues to poll in the single digits. As Adam smartly observes in his latest story on Pence, “his presidential campaign these days can feel like it’s engineered as much for his place in history as the Iowa caucuses.”
Pence laughed at the suggestion and told Wren and Playbook that he’s in it to win it. “I’m running for president because I think this country’s in trouble — and I think I am the most qualified, the most consistently conservative,” he said.
In other comments yesterday, he said he welcomes the questions — and even the confrontations — about Jan. 6. And as Wren notes in his story, “there were signs here this week that the controversy surrounding Jan. 6 may not be as debilitating for Pence as advertised.”
Sure, he was heckled by hardcore Trumpies at the fair, but over the course of the hour or so that we walked with him, plenty of people came up to Pence and thanked him for what he did that day.
IOWA TALKERS — “Iowa governor at center of 2024 GOP race stays neutral but leaves door open for late endorsement,” by CNN’s Aaron Pellish and Jeff Zeleny … “Ron DeSantis and his backers paid $95,000 to an Iowa religious leader’s group,” by Reuters’ Alexandra Ulmer and Joseph Tanfani
Good Saturday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. You think Trump might drop some Slim Shady today? Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
TRUMP RIVALS’ DEBATE ULTIMATUM — Republican presidential candidates have been taunting the debate-averse Trump, trying to goad him onto the debate stage so they can potentially knock him down a peg on national television. But there’s another obstacle to Trump’s participation — his refusal so far to sign the RNC’s required pledge to support the eventual nominee — and at least some of his rivals aren’t willing to look the other way.
We caught up with Pence and North Dakota Gov. DOUG BURGUM at the Iowa State Fair, and both told us the RNC needs to stick to its rules: If a candidate wants to debate, he has to sign the pledge.
Here’s Pence: “I’m somebody that believes in a level playing field. Everybody ought to play by the same rules.”
Here’s Burgum: “These are all clubhouse rules. If they are clubhouse rules, they ought to apply to everybody.”
An RNC official told us yesterday that the rules are the rules — period. But if Trump decides to join the debate stage — whether this month or for one of the later debates — the RNC will be faced with a choice: Do they stand by their requirement and bar the clear frontrunner from the debate stage, risking a backlash? Or do they allow him to debate anyway, bowing to the intense pressure to accommodate the front-runner?
SPEAKING OF THE DEBATE RULES — We’ve heard gripes from at least one campaign about Burgum’s “gimmick” for meeting the RNC’s donor threshold: giving donors a $20 gift card for a $1 contribution.
The RNC official told us that’s fair game. And Burgum, a wealthy self-funding former tech exec, defended his strategy, arguing that “what an entrepreneur does is figure out what’s the most cost-effective way to solve the problem.”
“Anybody who’s ever started an online business knows that when you launch a company, you have to have some kind of promotion to get people come to your website,” he said. “We were able to achieve that goal at probably one-fifth the price than other people.”
PHOTO OF THE DAY
PLAYBOOK READS
9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US
1. UNDER THE HOOD: Our elections guru Steve Shepherd is up with a deep dive on the factors behind VIVEK RAMASWAMY’s rise in the polls. While the long-shot GOP presidential candidate edged Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS for second place in one of two newly released polls, polling averages put him clearly in third behind Trump and DeSantis, with his strength coming “almost entirely from polls conducted over the internet,” rather than phone surveys.
“There’s no singular, obvious explanation for the disparity, but there are some leading theories for it, namely the demographic characteristics and internet literacy of Ramaswamy’s supporters, along with the complications of an overly white audience trying to pronounce the name of a son of immigrants from India over the phone.”
Related read: “How Vivek Ramaswamy is pushing — delicately — to win over Trump supporters,” by AP’s Sarah Burnett
2. TAKING STOCK: After dropping a plan to send rockets to Russia earlier this year, Egypt is now pushing back against requests from U.S. officials to send weapons to Ukraine, “posing an obstacle for the Biden administration’s push to generate arms for a Ukrainian counteroffensive,” WSJ’s Jared Malsin and Summer Said scoop. “The U.S. asked Egypt to supply artillery shells, antitank missiles, air-defense systems and small arms for Ukraine, according to a U.S. official … Egypt has attempted not to take sides since Russia invaded Ukraine, maintaining friendly ties with the Russian government.”
3. THE LOCAL ANGLE: “The Pentagon plans to shake up DC’s National Guard, criticized for its response to protests, Jan. 6,” by AP’s Lolita Baldor: “The changes under discussion would transfer the District of Columbia’s aviation units, which came under sharp criticism during the protests when a helicopter flew dangerously low over a crowd. In exchange, the district would get more military police … A key sticking point is who would be in control of the D.C. Guard … According to officials, Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN is weighing two options: maintaining the current system or handing control to U.S. Northern Command, which is in charge of homeland defense.”
4. INSIDE THE IRAN DEAL: “What’s behind the tentative US-Iran agreement involving prisoners and frozen funds,” by AP’s Jon Gambrell and Matthew Lee: “Details of the money transfer, the timing of its completion and the ultimate release of both the American and Iranian prisoners remain unclear. However, U.S. and Iranian officials say they believe the agreement could be complete by mid- to late-September. … Under the tentative agreement, the U.S. has given its blessing to South Korea to convert frozen Iranian assets held there from the South Korean currency, the won, to euros.”
5. DEEP IN THE HEART: Republicans’ efforts to remove Nueces County, Texas, District Attorney MARK GONZALEZ from office next month is just one example of an effort by conservatives across the country to limit the power of Democratic prosecutors who have promised to reform the criminal justice system, or to oust them entirely, NYT’s J. David Goodman reports from Corpus Christi, Texas: “More than two dozen bills have been introduced in 16 states to limit prosecutors’ power, mostly in Republican-controlled states … Attempts to rein in prosecutors hinge on legal distinctions that vary from state to state, but at their heart, they are a battle between executive discretion and prosecutorial discretion.”
6. DANCE OF THE SUPERPOWERS: As relations between the U.S. and China fray, goods from China account “for the smallest percentage of U.S. imports in 20 years,” report WSJ’s Anthony DeBarros and Yuka Hayashi. “Instead, buyers are turning to Mexico, Europe and other parts of Asia for wares ranging from computer chips and smartphones to clothing, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of trade data released this week by the Census Bureau.” Click through for a bunch of interesting charts
7. TRAGEDY IN HAWAII: Almost a decade before a wildfire ravaged the coastal Maui town of Lahaina this week, fire researchers warned that the area was at extremely high risk of burning. Local officials said that they still weren’t prepared, WSJ’s Dan Frosch and Jim Carlton report: “The fire hit the coastal town so quickly and caught officials so off-guard that emergency sirens didn’t sound. Many panicked residents were unable to flee on the town’s one clogged highway and took boats or swam to safety, if they were able to escape at all.”
8. ON WISCONSIN: “Is Ben Wikler the Most Important Democrat in America?” by The Atlantic’s Elaine Godfrey: “Wikler’s legacy as a Democratic leader will be the nationalization of the state party’s donor base — something he’s achieved by arguing that Wisconsin is at the epicenter of America’s political battle. Whether that’s good for democracy is another matter.”
9. A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR: “Washington’s challenge as lawmakers warm to psychedelic medicine: not letting hype outpace science,” by Erin Schumaker and Katherine Ellen Foley: “Advocates still must overcome stigma associated with 1960s drug culture and concerns about side effects, but they’ve never enjoyed such strong support inside government. … The money flowing into psychedelics and the hype around the drugs has some physicians concerned that patients are being misled about the medical potential.”
CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 15 funnies
GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Ryan Lizza:
— “The Ones We Sent Away,” by The Atlantic’s Jennifer Senior: “I thought my mother was an only child. I was wrong.”
— “Lessons in Controversy,” by Air Mail’s Ash Carter: “During his years as publisher of The New Republic, Martin Peretz held sway over Washington. In a memoir, he attempts to make sense of the fall from grace that followed.”
— “‘Treat it like China’: How U.S. officials stay safe, and have fun, at the world’s biggest hacking conference,” by John Sakellariadis and Joseph Gedeon: “The DEF CON hacking conference presents some very real risks — and plenty of fun, say current and former U.S. cybersecurity officials and conference regulars.”
— “How Hip-Hop Changed the English Language Forever,” by NYT’s Miles Marshall Lewis: “In just 50 years, rap has transformed the way the world speaks. Here are five words that tell the story of the genre’s linguistic power.”
— “‘Where Is Britney Spears?’ After her conservatorship ended, some of her fandom latched on to a new theory: What if she had never been freed at all?,” by Vox’s Rebecca Jennings
— “Grimes on Living Forever, Dying on Mars, and Giving Elon Musk Ideas for His Best (Worst) Tweets,” by Wired’s Steven Levy: “Claire Boucher is open sourcing her musical persona to let people create their own version of Grimes with AI.”
— “How Athletic Beer Won Over America,” by GQ’s Gabriella Paiella: “Nonalcoholic beers used to be a lowly punch line—until Athletic Brewing Company came along and transformed the whole industry. Here’s the story of how, in just a few short years, its cofounders built a modern $60 million brand.”
— “How Social Media Apps Could Be Fueling Homicides Among Young Americans,” by ProPublica’s Alec MacGillis: “As shooting rates among the young remain stratospheric, evidence suggests social media is serving as an accelerant to violence. Taunts that once could be forgotten now live on before large audiences, prompting people to take action.”
— “Flavourless Bacon,” by Irina Dumitrescu for the London Review of Books
PLAYBOOKERS
SPOTTED at the Statue of Liberty open water swim in NYC: Barbara Woodward
Dwyane Wade did not deny reports that Florida Dems have encouraged him to run for Senate.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: George Soros … Ed Feulner … HuffPost’s Dave Jamieson … Brian Devine … Google’s Brianna Puccini Duff and Nick Meads … Matt Sparks … Casey Nelson of the House Republican Whip’s office … Treasury’s Liz Hipple … Justin Folsom of Sen. Jon Tester’s (D-Mont.) office … Brandi Travis … POLITICO’s Jan Byun, Nidhi Prakas and Heather Richards … AgencyIQ’s Scott Stephens … CNN’s Kyle Blaine … Angela Kuefler of Global Strategy Group … CBS’ Jericka Duncan … Toby Burke … Stand Up America’s Kim Hall … Kelley McCormick … Tristan Fitzpatrick … Doris Truong of the Poynter Institute … WaPo’s Karen Attiah … Melanie Sheppard of EY … former FHA Administrator Nicole Nason … former Rep. Connie Mack IV (R-Fla.) … Lesley Fulop Byers … Forage’s Molly Pfaffenroth … Pfizer’s Stephen Claeys … Thurgood Marshall Jr. … Christina Hartman … WilmerHale’s Bill McLucas … Uber’s Tony West … BBB National Programs’ Eric Reicin … Mike Kelleher
THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here):
ABC “This Week”: Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) … Chris Christie … Gabriel Sterling. Legal panel: Preet Bharara and Sarah Isgur. Panel: Donna Brazile, Rachael Bade, Ramesh Ponnuru and Susan Glasser.
CBS “Face the Nation”: Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) … Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii) … Deanne Criswell … David Becker … Abbe Lowell … Robert Pape.
FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) … Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) … CeCe Winans. Panel: Michael Allen, Richard Fowler, Julia Manchester and Katie Pavlich. Legal Panel: Jonathan Turley and Tom Dupree.
NBC “Meet the Press”: Mike Pence … Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) … Chuck Rosenberg. Panel: Brendan Buck, Eugene Daniels, Symone Sanders-Townsend and Betsy Woodruff Swan.
MSNBC “Inside with Jen Psaki”: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis … Tim Ryan … Brian Deese … David Hogg.
Send Playbookers tips to [email protected] or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.
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