Playbook PM: Trump tees off on McConnell

From: POLITICO Playbook - Wednesday Dec 08,2021 06:52 pm

Dec 08, 2021

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Former President DONALD TRUMP joined HUGH HEWITT’s radio show this morning for a long and winding interview that touched on a number of topics du jour. The full transcript … Some highlights:

— Trump, on the possibility he doesn’t run in 2024: “If I do decide that, I think my base is going to be very angry.”

Hewitt, returning to the topic later: “I think you’re going to run again. I think you’re going to win. But my question is if you get hit by a truck, if a meteor hits Donald Trump, or the Iranians get you like they want to, who do you want the Republican Party to nominate? People have got to know.”

Trump: “I’ll tell you about that someday soon, OK? I’ll tell you about it, but I’m not going to say anything about it now.” Related reading: CNN’s Gabby Orr on Trump’s freezing effect on the potential 2024 GOP field

— Trump and Hewitt on one key race for U.S. Senate:

Hewitt: “Please don’t, please don’t endorse [Missouri GOP Senate candidate] ERIC GREITENS. That’s a nightmare, Mr. President. We’ll lose that seat. But that’s Hugh Hewitt’s opinion, not yours.”

Trump: “Well, that’s an interesting opinion, that’s true. He’s right now leading by quite a bit.”

Hewitt: “I know, but he will lose the seat. We will lose the seat.”

Trump: “I understand that. OK, some people feel that.”

— Trump on MITCH MCCONNELL’s debt ceiling deal and the BBB: “So Mitch McConnell has the greatest hand, the greatest, the best, this is such an easy negotiation to kill the ‘Build Back Worse’ plan of Biden, which is going to destroy our country permanently. … And we have a thing called the debt ceiling. And this morning, I hear he gave it up. He gave it up for practically nothing. He could have used the debt ceiling card. … The debt ceiling is psychological. This is not psychological. This is fact. This will destroy our country, the fabric of the country as we know it.”

Note: No, McConnell couldn’t stop BBB because Democrats are using reconciliation. This is a separate issue than the debt ceiling. Holding it hostage to demand Democrats stop BBB would be about as smart as shutting down the government to try to get your border wall.

— Trump, after touting his work confirming hundreds of conservative judges (which was mostly due to McConnell’s guiding hand …), blaming McConnell for the border wall not being finished — as part of infrastructure?: “Why didn’t he get the wall? Why, because we had the wall just about complete. Another month, it would have been complete. He should have demanded it in the infrastructure bill when he gave that one up with 19 Senators, Republicans, voting for it, a real good victory for the Democrats. He should have demanded at least that they finish the wall.”

Note: In reality, Trump’s wall was barely started, not even close to being finished. Adding it to BIF would have been a poison pill, but facts …

— Trump on Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) and the upcoming BBB vote: “Joe will eventually fold. That’s what I know. So Joe’s going to fold, and that’s going to be that. But listen, this is just crazy that they got 19 Republican Senators to vote for the ‘unfrastructure’ bill? 19? And why didn’t we at least, if you’re going to do that, get some things in there that we wanted?”

Note: Between his use of “Build Back Worse” and saying that “I call it the ‘unfrastructure’ bill,” has Trump lost his marketing magic?

Good Wednesday afternoon.

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THE WHITE HOUSE

PUTIN POSTGAME — Biden told reporters this morning that the U.S. would not send troops to the Ukraine in response to Russia’s buildup of troops on the border, CNN’s Kevin Liptak reports. “‘That is not on the table,’ he said. ‘We have a moral obligation and a legal obligation to our NATO allies if they were to attack under Article 5, that's a sacred obligation. That obligation does not extend to ... Ukraine.’”

Biden said of his conversation with Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN: “I was very straightforward. There were no minced words. I was polite but I made it very clear: If, in fact, he invades Ukraine, there will be severe consequences. Severe consequences. Economic consequences like none he's ever seen or ever have been seen, in terms of being imposed.”

— Meanwhile, Putin said today that Moscow “will submit its proposals for a security dialogue with the U.S. a week after his call with U.S. President Joe Biden,” AP’s Dasha Litvinova, Aamer Madhani And Vladimir Isachenkov report. “The Russian leader reaffirmed his denial of planning to attack Ukraine, but said that Moscow can’t remain indifferent to NATO’s possible expansion to its neighbor. … He described the two-hour conversation with Biden in a video call Tuesday as ‘very open, specific and, I would say constructive.’”

POLL POSITION — In a new Monmouth University Poll, Biden’s approval rating is ticking down again. The December numbers: 40% approve and 50% disapprove. That’s compared to 42% approval and 50% disapproval in November. More from Monmouth

BIDEN TAKES CLIMATE ACTION — Biden is signing an executive order today that “will reduce emissions across federal operations, invest in American clean energy industries and manufacturing, and create clean, healthy, and resilient communities” with the goal of making the federal government carbon neutral by 2050. Details from the White House fact sheet

CONGRESS

OMAR’S BOEBERT PUSH GETS SHELVED — Despite the ongoing push from progressives — and Rep. ILHAN OMAR herself — to strip Rep. LAUREN BOEBERT (the Colorado Republican we accidentally called a Democrat in Playbook this morning – oops!) of her committee assignments, NANCY PELOSI is not going there.

In her presser this morning, the speaker once again shut down questions about punishing Boebert, saying “It’s [Republicans’] responsibility to deal with their people. I don’t feel like talking about what the Republicans are doing or aren’t doing about ... the disgraceful behavior of their members.”

Translation: Omar’s prediction that Pelosi would do something to address these Islamophobic comments proved wrong. At least so far. And it’s already been two weeks since this tussle.

What’s really going on here: As our colleague Heather Caygle noted this morning, senior Democrats say they don’t have the votes to take action. More on Congress Minutes

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THE PANDEMIC

PFIZER BOOSTER EFFECTIVE AGAINST OMICRON — Pfizer said today that two is better than one (or none), but three is the magic number when it comes to its vaccine. “Two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine may not offer enough protection against the Omicron variant but a booster shot increased antibody defenses 25-fold,” Adriel Bettelheim reports. “The companies said a third dose appears to provide a similar number of antibodies as a two-dose series against the original virus and other variants. People who have two shots of the vaccine may still be protected against severe cases, they added.”

VACCINE DIPLOMACY — Biden has promised since he took office to share vaccines with the world, with no strings attached, but now some are raising eyebrows. “His aides have pledged from the podium and in front of lawmakers that the administration would not use the vaccine to curry diplomatic favors the way Russia and China have,” Erin Banco writes. “But a recent trip by BILL RICHARDSON, the former Democratic governor from New Mexico, to Myanmar is raising concerns among global health advocates and even senior Biden officials about the extent to which the U.S. is mixing politics with public health needs in deciding where to send its vaccine doses, according to two senior officials working on the effort to distribute the vaccine globally and three people familiar with the matter.”

THE ECONOMY

THE GREAT RESIGNATION — October saw 4.2 million American workers quit their jobs, according to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, further underscoring the growing trend on the heels of the pandemic. “The number of people who left jobs for other opportunities in October made up 2.8 percent of the workforce, the BLS said in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey. In contrast, the survey found 11 million job openings, only slightly less than the record from July,” WaPo’s Eli Rosenberg writes.

POLICY CORNER

CLIMATE FILES — The wrench in Biden’s climate plan is found in a relatively small but powerful group of workers. “PHIL SMITH, the top lobbyist for the United Mine Workers of America, said a general skepticism toward promises of economic relief was nonetheless widespread among his members. … The union has been pointedly mum on the current version of Mr. Biden’s bill, which the president is calling Build Back Better,” NYT’s Noam Scheiber writes. “Unfortunately for Mr. Biden, this skepticism has threatened to undermine his efforts on climate change.”

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

ALL POLITICS

WSJ POLL: GOP AND DEMS TIED WITH HISPANIC VOTERS — A new WSJ poll out today has more warning signs for Democrats that their support from Hispanic voters is diminishing. “One year after giving Democratic House candidates more than 60% of their vote, according to polls at the time, the Journal survey found that Hispanic voters are evenly split in their choice for Congress,” WSJ’s Aaron Zitner writes . “Asked which party they would back if the election were today, 37% of Hispanic voters said they would support the Republican congressional candidate and 37% said they would favor the Democrat, with 22% undecided. Hispanic voters were also evenly divided when asked about a hypothetical rematch in 2024 of the last presidential contenders, with 44% saying they would back President Biden and 43% supporting former President Donald Trump.” One big caveat: The poll has a margin of error of +/- 7 points.

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

REALITY CHECK — As Biden prepares to unveil his grand visions for a more whole global democracy at his virtual summit starting Thursday, there is reason to wonder what effect it will really have. “Biden hopes to reassert American faith in democracy after four years in which former President Donald Trump toadied to dictators; to lead the world’s democracies in the struggle with autocratic states, above all China, for the hearts and minds of the world’s citizens,” James Traub writes for POLITICO Magazine . “But will it? Do summits achieve such heights? Certainly the Glasgow climate summit which concluded last month did not. After conducting dozens of interviews with officials and experts in and out of the Biden administration over the last eight months, I fear the administration will have labored mightily and brought forth a Glaswegian mouse.”

THE OLYMPIC PICKLE — Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom announced today that they would join the U.S. in a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

FYI — via AP: “Center-left leader OLAF SCHOLZ on Wednesday became Germany’s ninth post-World War II chancellor, opening a new era for the European Union’s most populous nation and largest economy after ANGELA MERKEL’S 16-year tenure.”

MEDIAWATCH

‘TIS THE SEASON — “A suspect is in police custody and has been charged with arson after allegedly setting fire to the 50-foot-tall ‘All-American Christmas Tree’ outside Fox News headquarters in midtown Manhattan, the New York City Police Department confirmed on Wednesday,” Quint Forgey writes.

PLAYBOOKERS

OUT AND ABOUT — The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition hosted its annual Tribute Celebration over Zoom on Tuesday night, where Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.), U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres and nearly 100 U.S. mayors were honored. Condoleezza Rice, Madeleine Albright, Anthony Zinni and James Stavridis all honored the life of Colin Powell. Also spotted: U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Sens. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Reps. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Charlie Crist (D-Fla.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Peter Meijer (R-Mich.) and Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), Tom Daschle, Tom Ridge, Dan Glickman, Jim Kolbe, Norm Coleman, Mike Bloomberg, David Miliband, Liz Schrayer, Samantha Power and more.

— SPOTTED at the Renwick Gallery to celebrate Bahrain’s national day on Tuesday night: Israeli Ambassador Michael Hertzog, Kuwait Ambassador Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Iraqi Ambassador Fareed Yasseen, Victoria Coates, Ellie Cohanim and Brian Hook.

— SPOTTED at the Irish Ambassador's residence on Tuesday night for a reception honoring the House Chiefs of Staff Association, where 75 Republican and Democratic chiefs of staff and staff directors were treated to festive Irish coffees and live Irish Music by the Inn Mates: Irish Ambassador Dan Mulhall, co-chairs Mitchell Rivard and Jonathan Day, Nancy Peele, Chris Crawford, Anna Romeo, Jennifer VanDerHeide, Mark Dreiling, Melanee Farah, Robert Edmonson, Laura Engquist, Sean Gard, Hope Goins, Hillary Gross, Bee Guerreo, John Byers, Pagie Hutchinson, Ernie Jolly, Vivian Moeglein, Aaron Schmidt, Austin Weatherford and John McCarthy. Pics

— SPOTTED at Fiola on Tuesday night for a dinner honoring Italian Ambassador Mariangela Zappia hosted by the National Italian American Foundation: Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), Carol Miller (R-W.Va.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Mike Ferguson, Jeff Paravano, Kraig Siracuse, Chris Berardini, Lauren Van Wazer, Pat Harrison and John Calvelli.

TRANSITIONS — Tom Manatos is joining Block (FKA Square) as head of federal policy. He was previously VP of government relations at Spotify. … Bobby Fraser is now director of government affairs and public policy at Atlas Air. He most recently was a VP at Nahigian Strategies and is a Trump DOT alum. … Karyn Richman and Matt Schnappauf are joining Cornerstone Government Affairs’ federal government relations team. Richman previously was a professional staff member for the House Appropriations Committee and Schnappauf previously was director of the U.S. Navy Liaison Office to the U.S. House of Representatives and deputy chief of legislative affairs for the Navy. …

… Nick Petrone, Jennifer Fukuto and Brandon Brandenburg are joining HIT Strategies. Petrone and Fukuto will be data associates and previously were a data acquisition at Catalist and a Texas political operative. Brandenburg will be a sales associate and copywriter and previously was a regional organizing director for Andrew Yang’s presidential campaign.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Adrienne Schweer, partner at Forbes Tate Partners and a fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, and Brad Schweer, director of federal affairs at Lumen, welcomed Barry Ward Schweer on Nov. 30. He joins three big sisters and a brother. Pic

BONUS BIRTHDAYS: Sophia Narrett and Honey Sharp

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