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Presented by Google: The unofficial guide to official Washington. | | | | | |  | | By Tara Palmeri | | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | HOW YOU KNOW IT’S SERIOUS — Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER and Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) are meeting with President JOE BIDEN today at his home in Delaware as the parties seek to clinch a deal on Biden’s agenda, our colleagues Burgess Everett, Heather Caygle and Marianne LeVine report. More on the state of play here SPEAKEASY — “In the era of modern polling, only DONALD J. TRUMP had a lower approval rating at this early stage of his term,” NYT’s Nate Cohn writes on Biden’s poll numbers. OH YOU FANCY, HUH? — On the first night of early voting in the New York City mayoral race, Republican nominee CURTIS SLIWA tried to gatecrash the private members-only club Zero Bond in Soho around 9 p.m., looking for ERIC ADAMS, his Democratic opponent and a regular at the known billionaire hangout, as we reported on Friday. On Saturday, Sliwa — sporting his trademark red beret — tried to enter the club while holding a carton of milk (or, more precisely, soy milk) with Adams’ face on it, like a missing kid in the 1980s. Two aides filming with a cell phone and ring light trailed behind, and a club employee stationed at the door turned them all away. Unfortunately for Sliwa, he had the wrong night. Adams was at the club on Friday with RONN TOROSSIAN, an ally of Trump, and was introduced to billionaire financier JOHN PAULSON. Adams also spoke with PAOLO ZAMPOLLI, another close friend of the Trumps, at the club. This is all a part of Sliwa’s frequent refrain on the campaign trail that Adams is too fancy. “These are the uber-wealthy, these are the elites,” Sliwa told Playbook about the crowd inside the club he was rejected from. “That’s why I gave him the nickname ‘Elite Eric.’ It doesn’t fit the narrative that he set.” As for Adams, his team told Playbook that “Curtis is focused on stunts instead of the struggling — just one more reason he’s unfit to be mayor.” BACK WHERE THEY STARTED — Major League Baseball moved its All-Star Game out of Atlanta in protest of Georgia’s restrictive new voting laws earlier this year, but it looks like the state will still reap the economic benefits of a major sporting event. That’s thanks to the Braves’ victory over the L.A. Dodgers last night: They’re in the World Series, where they’ll face the Houston Astros. That’s right, Georgia and Texas — two states with restrictive voting-rights laws — will be hosting MLB’s championship. ACTUALLY TALENTED? — HUNTER BIDEN’s solo exhibition “The Journey Home” debuted in Soho at the Georges Berges Gallery on Saturday, and the most shocking thing about it — besides the $75K to $500K price point — is that Biden’s art is actually not bad. The New York Post managed to nab photos through the gallery’s windows. (For an up-close look, viewings are by appointment only.) | | A message from Google: Google is driving industry-wide security transformation. Google’s Cybersecurity Action Team, the world’s premier security advisory team, was launched to advise governments, critical infrastructure, enterprises and small businesses on how to strengthen their defense against cyber threats. Learn more. | | | DOWN TO THE WIRE IN VIRGINIA — With 10 days left until Election Day and the gubernatorial race as tight as ever, TERRY MCAULIFFE and GLENN YOUNGKIN both staged major rallies Saturday in the pivotal Richmond region (ICYMI, here’s the backstory on the battleground): — For McAuliffe: Former President BARACK OBAMA delivered a fiery speech on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University to pump up Dem enthusiasm, Zach Montellaro reports from Richmond. Obama also took some swipes at Youngkin while avoiding mentioning him by name. Highlights: | • | On Youngkin and Trump: “You can’t run ads telling me you’re a regular ol’ hoops-playing, dish-washing, fleece-wearing guy, but quietly cultivate support from those who seek to tear down our democracy.” Related reading: “Fear-of-Trump factor tested in Virginia gubernatorial race,” by WaPo’s Dan Balz | • | On fatigue among Dems: “I know a lot of people are tired of politics right now. We don’t have time to be tired. What is required is sustained effort.” | |
— For Youngkin: The GOP candidate capped off the opening day of a statewide bus tour with a rally in Henrico County on Saturday night. Speaking before a sprawling and enthusiastic crowd, Youngkin stayed on message, talking about taxes and education reform — and made two promises about what he’d do on day one as governor:
| • | On taxes: “On Day One, we’re going to eliminate the grocery tax,” Youngkin said. Video at WRIC | • | On critical race theory: “Dr. MARTIN LUTHER KING implored us to judge one another based on the content of our character and not the color of our skin. And therefore, on day one, I will ban critical race theory in our schools.” More from Newsweek | |
But even as Youngkin stayed on message, his supporters veered into theatrics perhaps less likely to win over swing voters in the Richmond suburbs:
| • | NBC’s Henry Gomez: “As we wait for Youngkin to take the stage, a brief round of ‘Let's Go Brandon’ chants ring out.” (The phrase, if you’re unfamiliar, is a placeholder for saying “F*** Joe Biden.”) | |
— Speaking of Virginia’s suburbs, Gregory Schneider and Laura Vozzella have a front-page story in this morning’s WaPo about the battle for the state legislature, which will be determined by a “handful” of seats — “almost all of them in suburban districts that could swing either way.”
| | | | A message from Google:   Google keeps more people safe online than anyone else in the world with products that are secure by default. Learn more. | | | Good Sunday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri. TOP SUNDAY READ — Democrats are considering ditching the Medicare expansion and paid leave proposals from the reconciliation package, report Heather Caygle, Alice Miranda Ollstein, Eleanor Mueller and Marianne LeVine, citing a half-dozen sources close to the discussions. (FWIW, the White House denies this.) A key point: “Speaker NANCY PELOSI and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have said they want a deal by the end of this week, though Manchin and the White House still don’t see eye to eye on a topline number for the bill; Manchin has consistently said he supports $1.5 trillion. Paid leave and Medicare expansion may not fit in a package that conforms to Manchin's preferred price tag.” SUNDAY BEST Sen. ANGUS KING (I-Maine) on the filibuster, on NBC’s “Meet the Press”: “I’m not really ready to say ‘Let's get rid of it altogether,’ because I think there are circumstances where it makes sense. So I prefer some alternatives to what the present rule is. I’d like to restore the Senate to what it was, where we actually had debates and people had to hold the floor. And so I think some kind of talking filibuster, [or] perhaps a rule that instead of having to have 60 votes to pass something, you'd have to have 41 votes to stop it.” — On climate provisions in the reconciliation package: “I think the most unfortunate part about losing the provisions of the reconciliation bill is that it weakens Joe Biden’s hands in Glasgow, the climate meeting that’s coming up, because if we’re going to get the rest of the world to take serious steps to remedy this problem, we’ve got to do it ourselves.” Rep. RO KHANNA (D-Calif.) on the timing of the reconciliation bill, on “Fox News Sunday”: “The president looked at us in the eye and he said, ‘I need this before I go represent the United States [in] Glasgow, American prestige is on the line.’ Many members understand that we're working very hard to get a deal. I understand we're close and I'm confident we're going to get there.” — On Sens. Manchin and KYRSTEN SINEMA (D-Ariz.): “Sen. Manchin has been a straight shooter. You know exactly where he stands. I disagree with areas, but I respect that. My concern with Sen. Sinema is, why are the rules different for her? Why doesn't she go on shows like yours? Why doesn't she explain herself? If she's shifted her position on Trump tax cuts, explain it. I guess I've never seen a politician — including, frankly, the former President Trump — who just totally ducks answering questions of the media and constituents, and that's my frustration with her, she's not clear about what she believes.” Sen. ROY BLUNT (R-Mo.) on a potential Trump 2024 run, on “Meet the Press”: “He can be a candidate if he wants to be, but again I think what President Trump could do that would be most helpful right now would be focus on the policies that aren’t working.” BIDEN’S SUNDAY — The president has nothing on his public schedule. VP KAMALA HARRIS’ SUNDAY — The VP has nothing on her public schedule. | | | | INTRODUCING CONGRESS MINUTES: Need to follow the action on Capitol Hill blow-by-blow? Check out Minutes, POLITICO’s new platform that delivers the latest exclusives, twists and much more in real time. Get it on your desktop or download the POLITICO mobile app for iOS or Android. GET A FIRST LOOK AT CONGRESS MINUTES HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | 
PHOTO OF THE DAY: People look toward an erupting volcano from El Paso on the Canary island of La Palma, Spain, on Saturday, Oct. 23. | Daniel Roca/AP Photo | THE WHITE HOUSE INTERESTING TIMING — AP’s David Crary and Holly Meyer report of an “intriguing subplot,” ahead of Biden’s meeting with POPE FRANCIS later this week: “Less than three weeks after Biden’s visit to the Vatican on Friday, the American bishops will convene in Baltimore, with one of the agenda items inspired in part by conservatives who contend that Biden’s support for abortion rights should disqualify him from receiving Communion.” ICYMI: Ruby Cramer’s must-read from Sept. on Biden’s very personal, very public clash with his church BIDEN HIS TIME — Since his January inauguration, Biden “has taken 35 personal trips and spent all or part of 108 of his first 276 days in office at one of his Delaware homes or at Camp David in Maryland,” writes CNN’s Betsy Klein . “That includes partial days, like Friday — when he spent the day at the White House and departed in the evening.” TRUMP CARDS NOT AT THE HOTEL YOU’RE THINKING OF — In the run-up to Jan. 6, Trump allies created a “command center” for their effort to deny Biden the presidency: the Willard Hotel, report WaPo’s Jacqueline Alemany, Emma Brown, Tom Hamburger and Jon Swaine. Inside the Willard, an assortment of pro-Trump figures — including RUDY GIULIANI, JOHN EASTMAN, STEVE BANNON and BERNARD KERIK — gathered to coordinate their efforts, which centered on convincing VP MIKE PENCE that he had the legal authority to effectively set aside electoral votes from certain states, handing Trump the presidency. THE HARD TRUTH ABOUT ‘TRUTH’ — WSJ’s Patience Haggin and Michael C. Bender take a look at whether there’s enough room in the current conservative media landscape for Trump’s social media outlet he announced this week, Truth Social: His “new venture will vie for attention with a bevy of websites and news channels that cater to conservative audiences … It will also compete directly with other social-media platforms targeting conservatives, such as Parler and Gab as well as Gettr, which was launched by former Trump adviser JASON MILLER earlier this year.” | | A message from Google: Google launches a premier security advisory team to keep companies safe from cyber attacks. The recent onslaught of attacks like ransomware, software supply chain hacks, and data theft all speak to a major shift in the needs of threat protection today. As part of a $10 billion investment to help companies, organizations, and governments modernize their security infrastructures, Google announced the Google Cybersecurity Action Team to advise governments, critical infrastructure, enterprises and small businesses on deploying effective cyber defense solutions. Read more about the Google Cybersecurity Action team. | | | ALL POLITICS GEORGIA ON MY MIND — Georgia again finds itself near the center of the political universe as Democrats in the state look to D.C. for help in the fight over voting rights, Laura Barrón-López writes in Morrow, Ga. “A Senate election is coming up next year along with a gubernatorial contest. Beyond that, Georgia has become a test run for whether Republicans, encouraged by former President Donald Trump’s lies about election fraud and attacks on democracy, will use their new restrictive election laws to consolidate power.” MAKING MOVES — While New York A.G. TISH JAMES hasn’t yet said whether she’ll run for governor, NYT’s Katie Glueck reports that she’s “recently recruited several advisers and fundraisers” that hint a candidacy may be in the works. Recently, James hired CELINDA LAKE , a longtime Democratic strategist and pollster who worked on Biden’s 2020 campaign. The move “would strongly suggest James is gearing up for a high-profile, competitive race — rather than focusing on her current run for reelection as state attorney general.” BEYOND THE BELTWAY BACK TO CHARLOTTESVILLE — “After four years of legal wrangling, a civil trial begins Monday in a federal courtroom in Charlottesville, where a jury will decide whether the organizing of the rally amounted to a conspiracy to engage in racially motivated violence,” WaPo’s Hannah Allam and Ellie Silverman report. “Because only a handful of participants faced criminal charges, the plaintiffs’ lawyers say, the civil suit is one way to correct what they call a lack of accountability that paved the way for other extremist violence, including the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.” MEANWHILE, IN FLORIDA — Florida surgeon general JOSEPH LADAPO, along with two of his aides, was asked to leave a state senator’s office for refusing to wear a mask. Florida Politics’ Christine Jordan Sexton reports that state Sen. TINA POLSKY , who had been diagnosed with breast cancer in August, told Ladapo she had a serious medical condition and requested both parties wear masks to meet. Ladapo offered to meet outside, without a mask, but she declined the offer, turning him away. VALLEY TALK THE FACEBOOK FILES — WSJ’s Newley Purnell and Jeff Horwitz report that “inflammatory content on Facebook spiked 300 percent above previous levels at times during the months following December 2019, a period in which religious protests swept India, researchers wrote in a July 2020 report … Rumors and calls to violence spread particularly on Facebook’s WhatsApp messaging service in late February 2020, when communal violence in Delhi left 53 dead.” What stood out to us: “The reports show that Facebook is privately aware that people in its largest market are targeted with inflammatory content, and that users say the company isn’t protecting them.” | | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we’ve got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don’t miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Mitt Romney was excited to watch Jason Sudeikis host SNL last night. “Ann and I will be watching while splitting a nice, cold carton of chocolate milk,” he tweeted. Hillary Clinton ran into Duran Duran while doing a BBC hit for her new book. SPOTTED ... — at a “Not-a-book-party Party” on Saturday night at the Ukraine House in Kalorama where host Juleanna Glover made White and Black Russians for guests, which were paired with Astro Doughnuts and Fried Chicken and tater tots: Bill Kristol, Sam and Danielle Feist, Carol Melton, Matt Lewis and Erin DeLullo, Mark Neuman, James Rosen, Scott Simon, Ben Pauker, Nahal Toosi, Alex Thompson, Molly Ball and David Kihara, Jonathan Swan and Betsy Woodruff Swan, Tim Mak, Hailey Fuchs and Phil Rucker. — at the 82nd Overseas Press Club of America awards dinner held at Cipriani’s in NYC on Friday night, where Christopher Dickey was given the President’s Award posthumously, and Maggie Haberman delivered the keynote: Dana Thomas, Francois Picard, Vivienne Walt, Sally Buzbee, Sarah Ellison, James Dickey, Robert Nickelsberg and Kevin Kallaugher. — at The National Italian American Foundation’s 46th anniversary gala in Washington, D.C. on Saturday night: Italian Ambassador Mariangela Zappia, Joe Piscopo, Stanley Tucci (virtually), Susan Molinari, Gerald Kunde, Jeff Shapiro, Tony Bennett (virtually) and Andrew Robreno. — at the Arlington Dems Golden Gala at a donor’s house on Saturday night: Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), Glenn Nye, Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, state Sen. Barbara Favola, Dels. Alfonso Lopez, Josh Cole, Patrick Hope and Rip Sullivan and Nadarius Clark. — at a birthday dinner at The Smith on Saturday night for NPR reporter Tim Mak that also celebrated his upcoming book about the NRA called “Misfire” ($25.99): Jonathan Swan and Betsy Woodruff Swan, Lachlan Markay and Anna Massoglia, Conor Ryan, David Pasch, Hayley Alexander and Matt Fuller. — at the Hebrew naming ceremony for Morgan Ortagus’ and Jonathan Weinberger’s baby Adina on Saturday afternoon at Mark and Nancy Weinberger’s house in Potomac, Md. (Instapics): Kerry Healey, Brian Hook, Joel Rayburn, Keith and Fara Sonderling, Charlie and Lisa Spies, Virginia Boney, Kevin Cirilli, Omar Vargas, Kimberly Reed, Kerri Kupec, Omri Ceren, Simone Ledeen, Daniel Lippman, Ed Roland and Aishah Hasnie. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Tara DiJulio, senior executive director of global corporate communications at GE, and Scott DiJulio, president of DiJulio Contracting, welcomed Jack Franklin DiJulio on Wednesday. He came in at 7 lbs, 11 oz and 20.5 inches and joins big brother Michael. Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) … Reps. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) and Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) … New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham … Marty Baron … Tony Podesta … NYT’s Jonathan Weisman … Bloomberg’s Nancy Cook … POLITICO’s Kellie Mejdrich and Monica Akhtar … Henry Schuster of “60 Minutes” … Tony Arend of Georgetown University … Melissa Salmanowitz Luce … Chris Wilson of WPA Intelligence … David Ferguson … Matt Thornton … Antonia Ferrier … Chris Tuck of the Senate GOP … Bullpen Strategy Group’s Michael Ahrens … Rahul Chopra of Sen. Mark Kelly’s (D-Ariz.) reelect … Kristine Michalson of the House Press Gallery … NPR’s Tim Mak … Carl Cannon of RealClearPolitics … Caitlyn Stephenson … David Mastrangelo … Jenna Schuette Talbot … Deadline’s Ted Johnson … CNN’s Pamela Kirkland … Invariant’s Joey Smith … Neda Toloui-Semnani … American Viewpoint’s Josh Davidson … Alison Hawkins … Christian Whiton … former Reps. José E. Serrano (D-N.Y.) and Mary Bono (R-Calif.) (6-0) … Liz Spayd … Zephyr Teachout (5-0) … Omer Farooque … German Khan (6-0) … Ron Flax (6-0) … Raphael Cohen-Almagor (6-0) Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike Zapler, deputy editor Zack Stanton and producers Allie Bice, Eli Okun and Garrett Ross. | | | | 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 | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |  |
