POLITICO Playbook: The one Republican message that keeps failing - POLITICO - POLITICO

1 year ago 51

With assistance from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross

DEBT CEILING LATEST — Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY told CBS’ Margaret Brennan connected “Face the Nation” this greeting that helium is hopeful for negotiating the indebtedness bounds with President JOE BIDEN erstwhile the 2 conscionable connected Wednesday. “His unit tries to accidental thing different, but I deliberation the president volition beryllium consenting to marque an statement together,” McCarthy said.

More from Olivia Olander: “Asked astir White House concerns that immoderate Republicans are seeking cuts to Social Security and Medicare, McCarthy said, ‘Let’s instrumentality those disconnected the table.’ Cuts to defence spending, however, are inactive successful play, McCarthy suggested.”

WHAT TRUMP CAN LEARN FROM McCONNELL, McCARTHY AND McDANIEL — Republicans person performed poorly successful 3 elections successful a enactment and yet they've maintained each of their cardinal leaders: MITCH McCONNELL successful the Senate, KEVIN McCARTHY successful the House, and RONNA McDANIEL astatine the RNC. McConnell is present the longest-serving Senate leader successful American history. McCarthy has had a apical enactment presumption successful the House GOP since 2010. McDaniel, by winning a 4th term, volition beryllium the RNC’s longest-serving seat since the Civil War.

The 3 races had unsocial dynamics, but they had 1 large happening successful common: Republicans making the lawsuit for “fresh leadership” each failed.

That losing connection is worthy keeping successful mind arsenic the GOP turns its attraction to the 2024 statesmanlike primaries, which volition diagnostic frontrunner DONALD TRUMP against a ample tract of candidates arguing that it’s clip for idiosyncratic caller to beryllium successful charge.

There was small caller astir Trump’s archetypal forays into New Hampshire and South Carolina connected Saturday. There were the accustomed provocations (Mexico is “sending radical that are killers, murderers; they’re sending rapists,” he said); the acquainted taunts astir imaginable rivals (“When I perceive that [Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS] mightiness [run] I deliberation it’s precise disloyal,” he told reporters); and the aforesaid head-scratching absurdities laced passim his remarks (“The hour-long diatribe suggested Joe Biden would person been shrewd to propulsion his son, HUNTER, nether the bus, that the Taliban were incapable of warring astatine nighttime due to the fact that they lacked ‘binoculars,’ and that upwind turbines routinely sound planes retired of the sky,” Time noted).

Much of this morning’s sum of the events is mocking successful tone. But 2 years aft the onslaught connected the Capitol, a fewer months aft Trump helped pb Republicans to an historically disappointing midterm election, and amid respective investigations astatine the authorities and national level that could pb to transgression charges against him — and the emergence of astatine slightest a twelve imaginable superior challengers — Trump remains the astir apt 2024 Republican statesmanlike nominee.

This WaPo portion by Dan Balz captures what we mean: “Trump’s way to GOP information is strewn with obstacles,” says the headline. “Still, a wide tract could truthful disagreement the contention that Trump could instrumentality the nomination, arsenic helium did successful 2016, by winning a plurality of superior voters.”

There is simply a precise déjà vu prime to the reporting. There are a cardinal reasons that Trump shouldn’t inactive beryllium lasting and that his enactment should cull him and determination connected and find a caller nominee for 2024. But helium has a bully accidental of winning anyhow if helium tin conscionable wide a fewer hurdles successful the primaries.

AP: “Trump’s squad has struggled to enactment up enactment from South Carolina lawmakers, adjacent immoderate who eagerly backed him before. … South Carolina House Speaker MURRELL SMITH was among the legislative leaders awaiting Trump’s arrival, though helium said helium was determination not to marque a ceremonial endorsement but to invited the erstwhile president to the authorities successful his relation arsenic speaker. …

“DAVE WILSON, president of blimpish Christian nonprofit Palmetto Family, said immoderate blimpish voters whitethorn person concerns astir Trump’s caller comments that Republicans who opposed termination without exceptions had outgo the enactment successful the November elections. …

“But GERRI McDANIEL, who worked connected Trump’s 2016 campaign, rejected the thought that voters were acceptable to determination connected from the erstwhile president. ‘Some of the media support saying he’s losing his support. No, he’s not,’ she said. ‘It’s lone going to beryllium greater than it was earlier due to the fact that determination are truthful galore radical who are aggravated astir what’s happening successful Washington.’”

WaPo: “Trump has done small successful the mode of accepted campaigning since announcing, and has struggled to reignite the vigor of his erstwhile runs, starring immoderate Republicans to question his committedness to the 2024 race. …The run stops — featuring Trump speaking successful smaller settings than the ample rallies helium hosted successful past campaigns — underscored the challenges facing Trump, the sole entrant successful the Republican contention truthful far. Some successful the enactment person been openly captious and galore longtime allies are holding disconnected connected endorsements. …

“His speeches zigged and zagged done aged talking points — ‘the fake news,’ his hatred of windmills, his favorable polling. But helium and his allies besides sought to absorption connected the policies helium enacted arsenic president and vowed to prosecute successful the future. He leaned into civilization warfare issues connected which rivals specified arsenic DeSantis person focused heavily, getting immoderate of his biggest cheers with proposals to combat “indoctrination” successful schools and name principals by election.”

NYT: “Mr. Trump’s effort to drape himself with the trappings of a accepted run is an unspoken acknowledgment that helium begins the contention successful 1 of the astir politically susceptible positions of his nationalist life. He remains the wide front-runner for the Republican statesmanlike nomination, yet the solidity of his enactment seems progressively successful doubt.

“Longtime donors person been reluctant to recommit. Leaders successful the Republican National Committee are openly encouraging different candidates to run. Voters rejected the handpicked candidates helium vowed would triumph Republicans power of the Senate, but whose losses alternatively near the enclosure successful Democratic hands.”

WSJ: “Many Republican leaders crossed the state proceed to impulse Mr. Trump to measurement aside, citing the controversies and ineligible problems helium has faced and disappointing results successful caller elections — including losses successful November by Trump-endorsed candidates successful immoderate cardinal Senate and politician races. That sentiment was felt astatine a Republican National Committee gathering successful California this week, wherever Ronna McDaniel was re-elected arsenic enactment seat aft a contention that featured a heated statement implicit the party’s direction. …

“In South Carolina, helium could bump up against location authorities candidates. Republican Sen. TIM SCOTT, has been mulling a imaginable statesmanlike bid. So, too, has erstwhile Gov. NIKKI HALEY, who has said she is adjacent to making a decision. Neither attended the Trump event, held astatine the State House with astir 500 radical invited. Mr. Trump said helium precocious spoke with Ms. Haley, who successful April 2021 said she wouldn’t situation him if helium ran again.

“Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM, who appeared with Mr. Trump astatine the State House, addressed the enactment unrest implicit its future. ‘How galore times person you heard, “We similar Trump policies but we privation idiosyncratic new?”’ helium said. ‘There are nary Trump policies without Donald Trump.’”

Related read: “Trump hits DeSantis: He's a Covid skeptic phony,” by Meridith McGraw successful Columbia, S.C.

Good Sunday morning. Thanks for speechmaking Playbook. Drop america a enactment with your 2024 superior predictions: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.

SPOTTED astatine the notoriously off-the-record Alfalfa Club meal connected Saturday nighttime astatine the Capitol Hilton, which featured speeches by outgoing president David Rubenstein, incoming president Jim Mattis, “crop reporter” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) (who introduced the caller “sprouts”) and Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who introduced Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), whom the Alfalfa Club jokingly selected arsenic its nominee to tally for U.S. president, successful enactment with its yearly tradition: Tim Cook, Doug McMillon, David Solomon, John F.W. Rogers, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Elaine Chao, Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont and Annie Lamont,Rob Portman, Dina Powell McCormick and David McCormick, Andy Card, UAE Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore …

… Mike Bloomberg, Norah O’Donnell, David Petraeus, Fred Ryan, Brenden Bechtel, Marillyn Hewson, Bob Steel, Ron Klain, Bryan Lourd, Ron Howard, Jamie Dimon, Bret Baier, Jean and Steve Case, Jon Karl, Caryn Zucker, Michael Paese, Josh Bolten, Geoff Morrell, Paul and Janna Ryan, Chris Nassetta, Paul Pelosi, John Waldron, Peggy Noonan, Ken Mehlman, John Tyson, Michael Milken, Jeb Bush, George P. Bush, Jeb Bush Jr., Lisa Jackson, Pierre-Yves Roussel, Cesar Conde and William Webster. New sprouts included Satya Nadella, Tory Burch, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Tom Baltimore,Jim Farley andCommerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who work a missive from the president.

MEGATREND — “U.S. colonisation halfway trending toward South this decade,” by AP's Mike Schneider

SUNDAY BEST …

— Sen. MARK WARNER (D-Va.) connected the mishandling of classified documents by Biden, Trump and Pence, connected “Face the Nation”: “We’ve got a occupation successful presumption of some classification levels and however elder elected officials, erstwhile they permission government, however they grip documents. We’ve had excessively galore examples of this.”

— Sen. MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.) connected his menace to withhold backing if the Senate Intelligence Committee can’t reappraisal the classified documents, connected “Face the Nation”: “I’d similar not to spell down that road. But it’s 1 of the pieces of leverage we person arsenic Congress. I’m not, we’re not going to beryllium present and conscionable contented property releases each day.”

— New Hampshire Gov. CHRIS SUNUNU connected Trump’s run rollout, connected CNN’s “State of the Union”: “He’s not truly bringing that fire, that vigor I deliberation that a batch of folks saw successful '16. I deliberation successful galore ways, it was a small disappointing to immoderate folks.” Sununu besides told CNN that he’s considering a 2024 tally of his own.

— Rep. ERIC SWALWELL (D-Calif.) connected McCarthy’s statements against him and Reps. ILHAN OMAR (D-Minn.) and ADAM SCHIFF (D-Calif.), connected “State of the Union”: “These smears animate violence. And the 3 of america person said implicit and implicit to Speaker McCarthy, erstwhile you accidental this, we perceive it connected voicemails, we spot it successful emails, oregon shouted astatine airports oregon nationalist spaces parroting what you say. You person to condemn the unit and halt spreading smears. Otherwise, you person enactment a people connected each of our backs, the backs of our families.”

— Rep. JIM JORDAN (R-Ohio) connected McCarthy and the House GOP, connected NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “I deliberation you’re going to spot our squad travel together. And Kevin has kept our squad unneurotic amended than immoderate person we’ve had.”

— Rep. ADAM SMITH (D-Wash.) connected indebtedness ceiling negotiations, connected “Fox News Sunday”: “Our presumption is: rise the indebtedness ceiling, wage the bills. That’s our position. We are not going to negociate with ourselves. That’s our position. If the Republicans privation to enactment thing connected the array and say, ‘This is what we privation to cut,’ well, past we tin person a conversation, but that’s wherever we’re astatine successful the negotiation.”

— Rep. BARBARA LEE (D-Calif.) connected a imaginable 2024 Senate run, connected MSNBC’s “The Sunday Show”: “I’ve been encouraged by each of the enactment I’ve received to run, and truthful I volition springiness an announcement arsenic it relates to a ceremonial day erstwhile I volition motorboat my campaign.”

TOP-EDS: A roundup of the week’s must-read sentiment pieces.

Farah Stockman successful the NYT: “One of the Strangest Friendships successful Washington”
Michelle Goldberg successful the NYT: “Trans Kids Deserve Private Lives, Too”
Anne Helen Petersen successful Culture Study: “Layoff Brain”
John T. Bennett successful Roll Call: “Senate Republicans to House GOP connected Biden probes: Evidence matters”
Carl Hendrick successful Aeon: “The Evidence Is Clear: Learning Styles Don’t Exist”
David Axelrod successful The Atlantic: “Yes, Mr. President, There Is Some There There”
Laurie Roberts successful the Arizona Republic: “Election Denial Is a Lucrative Business”
Greg Sargent successful WaPo: “Biden’s devious program to interruption the MAGA fever conscionable mightiness work”
Rachel E. Gross successful The Atlantic: “Please Don’t Call My Cervix ‘Incompetent’”
Jonah Goldberg successful The Dispatch: “Threat Level Midnight Forever”

PHOTO OF THE DAY

9 THINGS FOR YOUR RADAR

1. DEMS’ NEW LINE OF ATTACK: “GOP nationalist income taxation speech backfires, arsenic Dems spot governmental gold,” by Benjamin Guggenheim: “House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has backed his chap Republicans into a country with 1 of the promises helium made to his far-right flank to onshore his job: opening the doorway to considering fringe authorities that would regenerate the income taxation with a national income taxation and abolish the IRS.

“Most GOP members look determined to distance themselves arsenic overmuch arsenic imaginable from the thought and McCarthy himself said this week helium doesn’t enactment the legislation. But Democrats aren’t going to fto the contented dice quietly. They’ve been much than blessed to usage it arsenic a cudgel to represent Republicans arsenic unsafe radicals.”

— Related read: “Inside McCarthy’s House: Famous friends and hard realities,” by AP’s Lisa Mascaro

2. THE NEW GOP: “RNC promises to beryllium autarkic from Trump successful 2024. Can it succeed?” by NBC’s Allan Smith: “For years, the Republican National Committee has been intimately tied to Donald Trump. But with different candidates apt to tally against him successful 2024, RNC members privation neutrality.”

3. DOCU-DRAMA: “Classified docs probe pushes Biden deliberation vessel into spotlight,” by AP’s Colleen Long: “The beingness of the documents astatine the Penn Biden Center has trained unwanted disapproval connected the deliberation tank, peculiarly by House Republicans investigating the mishandling of classified materials. They person requested a database of each halfway employees, including dates of employment and salaries, visitant logs and documents and communications related to security.”

— Related read: “Public sees Biden cooperating with documents investigation; occupation support remains unchanged,” by CBS’ Anthony Salvanto, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Kabir Khanna

4. NEVER AGAIN: “Emhoff Calls for Fighting Anti-Jewish Tropes connected Auschwitz Visit,” by Bloomberg’s Jordan Fabian: Second man DOUG EMHOFF “said helium was profoundly moved by his Friday sojourn to the erstwhile Auschwitz-Birkenau attraction and decease camp, wherever astir 1.1 cardinal radical were killed during the Holocaust, much than 90% of them Jews. … Friday was the 78th day of Auschwitz’s liberation, and Emhoff was the top-ranking US authoritative to be this year’s observance ceremony. He held different events to larn much astir the persecution of Jews successful Europe and cod accusation to assistance the US government’s still-developing strategy connected antisemitism.”

5. THE NEW BATTLEFIELD: “Do Abortion Rights Hang On State Constitutions?” by NYT’s Kate Zernike: “For termination rights groups, authorities constitutions are a captious portion of a strategy to overturn bans that person chopped disconnected entree to termination successful a wide swath of the country. Those documents supply overmuch longer and much generous enumerations of rights than the United States Constitution, and past is afloat of examples of authorities courts utilizing them to pb the mode to found wide rights — arsenic good arsenic to onslaught down restrictions connected abortion. They connection a mode astir gerrymandered authorities legislatures that are pushing stricter laws.”

6. IMMIGRATION FILES: “Online strategy to question asylum successful U.S. is rapidly overwhelmed,” by AP’s Elliot Spagat successful Tijuana, Mexico: “If it succeeds, CBPOne could beryllium utilized by asylum-seekers adjacent if Title 42 is lifted arsenic a safe, orderly alternate to amerciable entry, which reached the highest level ever recorded successful the U.S. successful December. It could besides discourage ample camps connected Mexico’s broadside of the border, wherever migrants cling to unrealistic hopes. But a scope of complaints person surfaced.”

7. ONE TO WATCH: “TikTok Ban Faces Obscure Hurdle: The Berman Amendments,” by WSJ’s John McKinnon: “The measures, known arsenic the Berman amendments, day to the past years of the Cold War. They took distant the president’s authorization to modulate oregon prohibition imports of ‘informational materials’ from adversarial nations specified arsenic Cuba, and shielded those who produced specified works — and their U.S. distributors — from penalties for violating economical sanctions. …

“The dilemma for lawmakers now: however to constitute authorities to forestall China’s authorities from influencing contented connected TikTok oregon different Chinese social-media apps, and gathering information connected users, without shutting down planetary exchanges of contented — oregon inviting retaliation against U.S. platforms and media.”

8. NAME TO KNOW: “Ramping up for imaginable gubernatorial bid, Gottheimer picks nationalist governmental operative arsenic caller main of staff,” by the New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “A erstwhile determination governmental manager for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, [CHELSEA] BROSSARD led the efforts to elite Democratic House members successful six occidental states. She managed integer persuasion campaigns for dozens of high-profile gubernatorial and legislature races crossed the U.S. during the 2020 midterms. She was a elder manager astatine Wavelength Strategy, a Washington governmental consulting firm.”

9. WAR IN UKRAINE: “Some Western Backers of Ukraine Worry That Time Might Be connected Russia’s Side,” by WSJ’s Laurence Norman successful Berlin and Stephen Fidler successful London: “That interest suggests the model for Ukraine isn’t indefinite and it needs almighty Western weapons — main conflict tanks, different armored vehicles and much air-defense systems — soon to reenforce the momentum it achieved successful violative successes astir Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson past year.”

— “At the Pentagon, propulsion to nonstop F-16s to Ukraine picks up steam,” by Lara Seligman, Erin Banco, Connor O’Brien, Paul McLeary and Lee Hudson

OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED astatine a ribbon-cutting ceremonial yesterday for Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen astatine the Wharf: Gordon Ramsay, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, British ambassador to the U.S. Karen Pierce,Shawn Townsend, Robin McGahey, Patrick Kane, Grace Cutts and Montanna Mellion. Pic… Another pic

TRANSITIONS — Alex Rosenberg is present scheduler for HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. He antecedently was main of unit for erstwhile Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.). … Sarah Henderson is present comms manager for Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.). She astir precocious was property adjunct for the GOP broadside of the House Science Committee. … Sam Mulopulos is present an Ian Axford Fellow researching Indo-Pacific commercialized and proviso chains argumentation successful the New Zealand Treasury and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He antecedently was lawman unit manager for the Senate Homeland Security Committee and a commercialized argumentation advisor for erstwhile Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) … erstwhile Speaker Paul Ryan … Robyn Bash … Bloomberg’s Lauren Dezenski and Eric Roston … Jocelyn Frye … Kristy Schantz … Steve Hagenbuch … CMS’ Gavin Proffitt … Seth Appleton … Amazon’s Mary Kate McCarthy … Kristine Grow of America’s Health Insurance Plans … POLITICO’s Jesús Rodríguez, Annie Connell-Bryan and Michelle Bastian … Laura Rosenberger … erstwhile Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) … Gaby Hurt of Sen. John Barrasso’s (R-Wyo.) bureau … Maureen “Mo” Elinzano of Rep. Doris Matsui’s (D-Calif.) bureau … John Newton of theSenate Agriculture GOP … Tom Collamore … Brian Donahue of CRAFT | Media/Digital … Geoff Smith of Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt’s D.C. bureau … erstwhile Holyoke, Mass., Mayor Alex Morse … Emily Tara Weberman … Sam Conchuratt … Kim Ghattas … Slate’s Jonathan Fischer … Edelman’s Aaron Guiterman … Michael Duga … Denielle Sachs … International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi … American Conservation Coalition’s Sariyah Khaldi … Alexis Torres of Rep. Joaquin Castro’s (D-Texas) office

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