Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your usher to the radical and powerfulness centers successful the Biden administration. With assistance from Allie Bice and Daniel Lippman.
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In 2006, President GEORGE W. BUSH called the Democratic takeover of Congress successful that year’s midterm rhythm “a thumping” during a 42-minute East Room property league the adjacent day.
Four years later, erstwhile President BARACK OBAMA saw power of Congress plaything backmost to the GOP, helium called it “a shellacking” during a 56-minute presser successful the White House Cross Hall. Humbled, Obama reflected connected however helium failed to code the curse of incumbent presidents losing crushed successful midterm years — and the agelong contented of these leaders facing the euphony afterward.
“This is thing that I deliberation each president needs to spell through, because, you know, the responsibilities of this bureau are truthful enormous,” helium said. “This is simply a maturation process.”
After his ain midterm pummeling successful 2018, President DONALD TRUMP held distant for astir 90 minutes successful the East Room. He was, not surprisingly, little chastened than his predecessors, blaming his party’s losses connected Republicans who didn’t enactment him ardently enough.
With polls showing the existent predetermination scenery tilting successful favour of Republicans, it’s inactive unclear whether President JOE BIDEN is going to enactment successful the ritual of a post-midterm property conference. Or, much to the point, whether his aides spot immoderate upside successful putting him retired there.
The White House has yet to perpetrate to Biden holding a property league adjacent Wednesday aft each the votes are cast. And it’s not for deficiency of trying by the White House Correspondents Association.The group’s president, NPR’s TAMARA KEITH, and others person been pushing property caput KARINE JEAN-PIERRE astir the substance for months, archetypal successful regular meetings and, conscionable weeks ago, successful a written missive formalizing the request.
“There is simply a agelong contented of presidents, whether their enactment wins oregon loses, addressing the American radical and answering questions astatine magnitude from the property the time aft a midterm election,” Keith said successful a connection to West Wing Playbook. “We are disappointed that contempt this precedent and repeated requests from the WHCA, the White House has frankincense acold failed to perpetrate to the accepted post-midterms property conference.”
Biden’s docket for Wednesday, the White House said, is inactive up successful the air. But successful a connection to West Wing Playbook, a White House spokesperson confirmed that Biden volition present immoderate benignant of predetermination effect — it conscionable mightiness not beryllium successful the signifier of a property conference.
“As WHCA knows, and arsenic Karine has repeatedly confirmed from the podium, the president volition talk to the elections the time afterward,” the spokesperson said. “He takes questions from the property astir each day, which has not been the ‘norm’ for past presidents. We volition person further accusation to stock adjacent week.”
An denotation that Biden volition look the euphony successful immoderate manner came weeks ago, erstwhile his planned departure for an upcoming travel that’ll instrumentality him to 3 planetary summits were softly pushed backmost from Wednesday nighttime to Thursday. The determination forced immoderate of his question docket — which volition see stops successful Egypt, Cambodia and Indonesia — to beryllium compressed, but was driven by a designation helium would request to absorption Wednesday connected the predetermination fallout, according to a idiosyncratic acquainted with the situation.
And yet, aides stay divided connected what to do. Many successful the president’s interior ellipse are leery of a afloat property league for respective reasons: giving reporters a accidental to grandstand, Biden’s propensity for verbal slip-ups and, supra all, the expanding probability that helium won’t person overmuch bully quality to discuss. The moment, immoderate worry, is besides ripe for questions astir whether Biden volition tally again successful 2024, a taxable the president isn’t presently anxious to discuss.
One thought that has gained traction is to debar an extended ceremonial quality league connected Wednesday but to code the property — and perchance instrumentality a fewer questions — successful different setting, either astatine an lawsuit oregon adjacent erstwhile helium departs the White House connected Thursday for Egypt en way to Asia.
Regardless of signifier oregon format, the sentiment among immoderate wrong the gathering is that Biden indispensable prosecute the property corps, successful portion to squash immoderate stories that helium is ducking them, but besides to get it retired of the mode earlier helium leaves for the hugely consequential Asia trip. Those aides reason that addressing the predetermination earlier Air Force One lifts disconnected volition marque it acold much apt that the media volition absorption much afloat connected the travel itself – which volition see a gathering with China’s XI JINPING and efforts to rally the satellite against Russia’s VLADIMIR PUTIN.
MESSAGE US — Are you SANDRA FORD, the peculiar adjunct to the president for nationalist wellness and science? We privation to perceive from you! Seriously! And we’ll support you anonymous! Email america astatine [email protected].
This one’s from Allie. Which president was an avid velocity scholar and took courses portion successful the White House to larn however to work adjacent faster?
(Answer astatine the bottom.)
TGIF! It’s cartoon diagnostic day. This one’s by PAT BAGLEY. Our precise ain MATT WUERKER also publishes a enactment of cartoons from each implicit the country. View the cartoon carousel here.
WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: Anything astir the latest jobs report. AP’s CHRISTOPHER RUGABER reports that “America’s employers kept hiring vigorously successful October, adding 261,000 positions, a motion that arsenic Election Day nears, the system remains a representation of coagulated occupation maturation and achy inflation. Friday’s study from the authorities showed that hiring was brisk crossed industries past month, though the wide summation declined from 315,000 successful September. The unemployment complaint roseate from a five-decade debased of 3.5 percent to a still-healthy 3.7 percent.” As elder advisor NEERA TANDEN tweeted: “Oh look. A beardown jobs study showing that the labour marketplace is healthy. Not vibes but existent facts.”
WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This portion by NYT’s ALAN RAPPEPORT and JIM TANKERSLEY about Biden’s latest inaccurate statements astir his record. As the president “has told it successful caller months, America has the fastest-growing system successful the world, his pupil indebtedness forgiveness programme passed Congress by a ballot oregon two, and Social Security benefits became much generous acknowledgment to his leadership. None of that was accurate. The president, who has agelong been seen arsenic embellishing the truth, has precocious overstated his power connected the economy, oregon omitted cardinal facts.”
BETTING ON BASS: Rep. KAREN BASS, 1 of the fewer Democrats Biden has campaigned alongside this cycle, has seen her pb successful the Los Angeles mayor’s contention shrink dramatically implicit the past month. Billionaire businessman RICK CARUSO, who was 15 points down a period ago, is present wrong 4 points of Bass, according to the latest canvass of the contention by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies and the Los Angeles Times. Caruso has gained ground, the LAT’s BEN ORESKES reports, by “opening up sizeable leads among Latinos, moderates and radical surviving successful the San Fernando Valley.”
Biden appeared with Bass, a erstwhile VP shortlister, doubly successful LA past month, touting operation of the city’s new, federally-funded Metrolink enactment and popping into a Westwood taco shop. And during an lawsuit successful San Diego Thursday evening, helium made his astir explicit transportation for her to date: “By the way, our friends successful Los Angeles, we request to elite Karen Bass.” California Gov. GAVIN NEWSOM, connected the different hand, hasn’t taken sides successful the race.
MAD DASH TO THE MIDTERMS: The president is spending parts of this play successful Illinois, wherever he’ll present remarks astir the administration’s efforts to little medicine cause prices. On Saturday, helium volition rally with erstwhile President BARACK OBAMA and Democratic Senate campaigner JOHN FETTERMAN successful Philadelphia. On Sunday, helium heads to Westchester County, N.Y., wherever he’ll enactment successful a governmental lawsuit days up of the midterm elections. Not precisely a drawstring of accepted battlegrounds, and a worrisome awesome for Democrats that New York Gov. KATHY HOCHUL could beryllium successful information of losing her bid for a afloat word successful a heavy bluish state.
Similarly, archetypal woman JILL BIDEN’s just-announced question Monday to rally enactment for Rep. JENNIFER WEXTON (D-Va.) whitethorn beryllium an indicator the enactment is disquieted astir different territory wherever a GOP flip (Wexton won 2 years agone by 13 points) would suggest that Democrats are astir to get blown out.
It’s not conscionable the president who is connected the determination — our ELENA SCHNEIDER and HOLLY OTTERBEIN person much details connected what’s happening arsenic Election Day gets closer.
As for Saturday’s rally with Obama, The Washington Post reports it is “the benignant of associated quality that immoderate White House aides had been uneasy astir for fearfulness that Obama would overshadow Biden and invitation unfavorable comparisons."
NOT RUNNIN’ ON DUNKIN’: Labor Secretary MARTY WALSH said Friday successful an interrogation with Bloomberg TV that he's not "actively progressive successful negotiations" betwixt freight obstruction companies. This comes a time earlier members of 1 of the progressive unions votes connected the compromise negotiated successful portion by the White House, our ALEX DAUGHERTY reports for Pros. Walsh added that if an statement is not reached, "Congress volition person to instrumentality action."
MEET THE FELLOWS: A caller people of White House Leadership Development Fellows have started work astatine 1600 Pennsylvania: LYNE-ROBERT DESROCHES, VANESSA R. SLOAN, CHRISTOPHER O'CONNELL, MICHAEL BOYCE, ADITI SHAH, SEAN PETERS, DOMINIC BEAMER, ANNY K. PACHNER, CARMEN (COLES) TULL, ANIL CHAUDHRY, ASHLIE FLEGEL, BRIAN MOHR, CHRISTOPHER HOPPEL, DIANA RUTBERG, JONATHAN SLEEMAN, KATHERINE DONOHUE PAPILLON, MARC TKACH, MARIA TEMIQUEL, MINDY KAIDEN and PATRICK CLOWNEY. The U.S. authorities officials person been elaborate to assorted White House offices from antithetic national agencies.
WARNING SIGN FOR KYIV: A caller canvass by the Wall Street Journal shows that a bulk of Americans enactment continuing assistance to Ukraine successful its warfare with Russia, but specified enactment is besides becoming a much partisan issue. “Some 30 percent of respondents wide said successful the caller survey they judge the medication is doing excessively overmuch to assistance Ukraine, up from 6 percent successful a March Journal poll,” WSJ’s VIVIAN SALAMA reports. “The alteration was driven by a large displacement among GOP voters: 48 percent of Republicans present accidental the U.S. is doing excessively much, up from 6 percent successful the erstwhile survey. The information of GOP voters who said the U.S. isn’t doing capable to assistance Ukraine fell to 17 percent, a steep driblet from 61 percent successful March.”
SPEAKING OF… National Security Adviser JAKE SULLIVAN met Friday with Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY and different apical Ukrainian officials successful Kyiv, reaffirming U.S. enactment for the federation arsenic the Russian penetration drags on. Sullivan besides announced an further $400 cardinal successful aid.
Biden says ‘we’re gonna escaped Iran’ arsenic protests determination spell on (AP’s Aamer Madhani)
Immigration and rights groups inquire Biden medication not to nonstop Haitian migrants to Guantanamo facility (NBC News’ Julia Ainsley)
U.S., Allies Set Parameters for Price Cap connected Russian Oil (WSJ’s Andrew Duehren)
Sullivan is appearing virtually astatine the Council connected Foreign Relations connected Monday with the group’s president, RICHARD HAAS, and writer GEORGE PACKER, who has been captious of the administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Family vacations for Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN don’t dependable precisely similar a … vacation.
According to a 2013 USA Today profile, Yellen, her hubby GEORGE AKERLOF and their son, ROBERT AKERLOF, who are besides economists, “occasionally flight from the grind, taking formation vacations.”
To hole for their clip away, “they typically battalion a suitcase of economics books.”
A longtime friend, CHRISTINA ROMER, besides said they “never spell into the water. … They beryllium backmost and look astatine the h2o and work and write, and they're precise happy.”
At slightest download them connected Kindle!
JIMMY CARTER took velocity speechmaking precise seriously, boasting that helium could work up to 2,000 words per minute.
In an NBC Nightly News interview, Carter said he, his household and White House unit took velocity speechmaking courses astatine nighttime to amended their skills.
“Although I was a reasonably accelerated scholar erstwhile I was elected president, I greatly improved my velocity speechmaking capabilities and besides my comprehension and truthful did the members of my household and my cardinal unit members,” helium said. “One investigation that was made by my unit was that I had to work astir 300 pages a time of important documents.”
A CALL OUT — Do you deliberation you person a harder trivia question? Send america your champion 1 astir the presidents with a citation and we whitethorn diagnostic it.
Edited by Eun Kyung Kim and Sam Stein.
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- Eli Stokols @EliStokols
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