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Presented by Mastercard: The unofficial guide to official Washington. | | | | | |  | | By Tara Palmeri | | |
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | OVERNIGHT — Archbishop DESMOND TUTU, the Nobel laureate and South African civil rights activist, died at 90 in Cape Town after a more than 20-year battle with prostate cancer. Tutu was revered as a non-violent crusader against the apartheid system and has been credited for laying the groundwork for the presidency of the late NELSON MANDELA. Obits from the NYT … WaPo … BBC News MORE ABOUT THAT CHRISTMAS CALL — Yesterday, we told you about a Christmas Eve conversation in which a father of four called into NORAD’s Santa Tracker, spoke with President JOE BIDEN and first lady JILL BIDEN, and ended his call by saying “Let’s Go Brandon,” a shorthand for “F--- Joe Biden.” Now, the man who made that remark says he is the true victim of the exchange. “I am being attacked for utilizing my freedom of speech,” the man, JARED SCHMECK, told The Oregonian’s Maxine Bernstein. “I mean no disrespect,” he went on, describing himself as a “free-thinking American and follower of Jesus Christ,” and not a “Trumper.” (Honestly, it’s hard to square the “no disrespect” comment with the fact that (1) he knew what “Let’s Go Brandon” meant, and (2) said it to Biden anyway, even after the president cordially spoke with him about his young children and asked what they wanted from Santa.) Either way, Biden was undeterred from making more calls yesterday — ones that were free of pranks: He spoke via video conference with U.S. troops stationed throughout the world, including members of “Army and Air Force in Qatar, the Navy in Romania, the Marines and Coast Guard in Bahrain, and the Space Force in Aurora, Colo.,” writes David Cohen. | | | | A message from Mastercard: Holiday cheer is in the air and shoppers are returning to stores in force, including millions of small businesses across America. Mastercard SpendingPulse data shows that total retail sales are up nearly 30% compared to last year. By empowering small businesses with digital payment solutions, data insights and the tools to operate more efficiently, Mastercard is committed to helping them during this holiday season, and thrive in the future. | | | OMICRON CRASHES CHRISTMAS — The spread of the Omicron variant threw many Americans’ holiday travel plans into a tailspin this weekend as Covid-related staffing shortages led airlines to cancel hundreds of flights. — The AP reports that Delta, United and JetBlue cancelled more than 10 percent of their planned Christmas Day flights. — CNN reports that the TSA screened 1.7 million people on Christmas Eve — almost 1 million more than the same date last year, but about 800,000 fewer than in 2019, before the pandemic. Even so, a major holiday travel-related Covid surge is likely to be reflected in the coming weeks, further straining a health system that’s already near its limits. Here’s a glimpse of where things stand — and keep in mind this is before the data accounts for the holiday increase: ARKANSAS: “The number of cases in the state considered currently infectious topped 10,000 for the first time since Sept. 30,” via the Democrat Gazette … CALIFORNIA: “Los Angeles County reported nearly 10,000 new coronavirus cases Friday. … In San Francisco, public health officials said the local case rate has tripled, which they called ‘a clear indication that we have entered the fifth surge in the pandemic,’” reports the L.A. Times … DELAWARE “breaks the record of reported daily Covid-19 cases as surge continues,” via The News Journal … FLORIDA “on Christmas Day saw its largest single-day increase of newly reported Covid cases since the pandemic began,” reports the Miami Herald … MISSOURI: “With 1,600 Covid cases, KC metro sees one of the biggest daily jumps since pandemic began,” Kansas City Star … NEW JERSEY “sets COVID record for third straight day,” via Bergen County’s Record … OHIO: “Last Christmas, more than 3,200 Ohioans reported new Covid cases. This Christmas Eve, there were more than 14,000,” via WKYC “In Cleveland, the Covid picture is one of the bleakest in the country,” report NYT’s Jack Healy, Noah Weiland and Richard Fausset . “Intensive care units are crammed with patients with the Delta variant, with a surge of new Omicron infections looming. New infections in Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, have grown by 234 percent in the past two weeks.” Even so, the unvaccinated are digging in: “Now, health experts say the roughly 15 percent of the adult population that remains stubbornly unvaccinated is at the greatest risk of severe illness and death from the Omicron variant, and could overwhelm hospitals that are already brimming with Covid patients.” One tactic HHS is trying: “New ads this week targeting rural, younger Americans featured the language: ‘When you’re done with Covid, it doesn’t mean it’s done with you.’ Other ads targeting rural adults warned of the financial costs of contracting the virus.” MEANWHILE, the fight for the hearts and minds of the unvaccinated is pitting right-wing podcast host CANDACE OWENS against former President DONALD TRUMP, who took a decidedly pro-vaccination stance in an interview with her that raised eyebrows this week. Now, Owens says Trump is embracing the vaccine because he relies too heavily on the mainstream media for his information. Owens, who has called the vaccine “pure evil” and has said she’d “never” take it, said Trump “came from a time before T.V., before Internet, before [people were] able to conduct their own independent research, everything they believed was in a newspaper.” One thought: Could Trump’s embrace of the vaccines ultimately be the thing that causes the MAGA-adjacent right to sour on the former president? Good Sunday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri. SUNDAY BEST … — Rep. FRED UPTON (R-Michigan) on CNN’s “State of the Union,” on the work environment in Congress: “It's pretty toxic. There is no question about it. … We get really nasty threats at home. The tone gets tougher and tougher. It is a pretty toxic place. I've never seen anything like this before.” — NIAID director ANTHONY FAUCI on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos,” on the coronavirus testing shortage: “The production of them has been rapidly upscaled … but the situation where you have such a high demand, a conflation of events, omicron stirring people to get appropriately concerned and wanting to get tested as well as the fact of the run on tests during the holiday season. We’ve obviously got to do better. I think things will improve greatly as we get into January, but that doesn't help us today and tomorrow.” More from David Cohen — Surgeon General VIVEK MURTHY on CNN’s “State of the Union,” regarding the surge of Covid cases and Americans feeling pessimistic: “[W]e now know more about how to stay safe than we’ve ever known. If you’re vaccinated and boosted, your risk of having a bad outcome with Covid-19 is much, much lower and we will get to the end of this pandemic. It’s gone through twists and turns. But we will get there and we will get there together.” | | | | A message from Mastercard:   The holidays are here and shoppers have returned to small businesses across America. We're empowering entrepreneurs with digital tools to help them grow and thrive. Learn More. | | | BIDEN’S SUNDAY — The president has nothing on his public schedule.
PHOTOS OF THE YEAR | 
Our first of a series of photos of the year as we head into 2022. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) holds the Speaker's gavel in the air on the House floor in the Capitol after becoming Speaker of the 117th Congress on Jan. 3, 2021. | Bill Clark/Getty Images, via pool | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 7 SUNDAY READS … — “U.S. stocks are on track to end 2021 with another year of outsize gains. Many investors aren’t expecting a repeat in 2022,” reports WSJ’s Karen Langley. “Wall Street strategists are forecasting smaller gains for the S&P 500 in 2022. Among 13 banks and financial services firms whose analysts have published 2022 forecasts, the average target for the S&P 500 to end next year … about 4.5 percent above where the index closed Thursday.” — It’s the next big fight over monopoly power, data privacy and, well, you: Google, Apple and Amazon are racing to control your car — from self-driving technology to entertainment services and beyond. Now, “some policymakers and regulators believe the battle over connected cars represents a chance to block potential monopolies before they form,” reports Leah Nylen. — Speaking of which, the president is “turning to the federal government’s antitrust authorities to try to tame red-hot price increases that his administration believes are partly driven by a lack of corporate competition,” NYT’s Jim Tankersley and Alan Rappeport report. — A new glimpse into “long Covid”: An NIH study has found that the coronavirus “can spread within days from the airways to the heart, brain and almost every organ system in the body, where it may persist for months,” Bloomberg’s Jason Gale reports. The scientist who conducted the research “found the pathogen is capable of replicating in human cells well beyond the respiratory tract. … The results point to delayed viral clearance as a potential contributor to the persistent symptoms wracking so-called long Covid sufferers. Understanding the mechanisms by which the virus persists, along with the body’s response to any viral reservoir, promises to help improve care for those afflicted, the authors said.” | | | | A message from Mastercard:   Mastercard is helping entrepreneurs thrive during this holiday season and into the future. Learn More. | | | — MEHMET OZ’s “long history of dispensing dubious medical advice” gets the close-up treatment from NYT’s Trip Gabriel , who reports that the surgeon-turned-TV host-turned-Pennsylvania Senate candidate regularly brushed aside the pushback from researchers on his show while recommending unproven Covid treatments and miracle weight-loss pills, among other products. — Will GREG GUTFELD become the new ratings king at FOX News? The Daily Beast’s Justin Baragona notes that two shows hosted by self-described “libertarian” (“The Five” and “Gutfeld!”) are among the most-watched on the network, and have relegated SEAN HANNITY “to third-place status at the network.” Is TUCKER CARLSON next? — Just how much did 2021 scramble American politics? Here’s another reminder: Mother Jones, the lefty magazine, has named Rep. LIZ CHENEY (R-Wyo.) one of its “heroes of 2021.” | | PLAYBOOKERS | | HAPPY BIRTHDAY: CEA’s Jared Bernstein … Jonathan Hoffman … Mary Blanche Hankey of Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R-Ala.) office … Amelia Colton … Mike Hammer, U.S. ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo … Bishop Garrison … Katie Fallon … Noelle Troost … Eloy Martinez of Aristocrat … Matthew Verghese of Rep. Anthony Brown’s (D-Md.) office … Kristin Davison … Alex Zuckerman of Newsy … Peter Segall … Rohit Mahajan of Radio Free Asia … Sarada Peri … William Gordon … Sally Fox … Jeremy Broggi … Jon Henke … Jennifer Duck … Fox News’ Emily Cyr … Joe Deoudes … Candy Crowley … former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) … Scott Shepard … Ellen Field … former California Gov. Gray Davis … Synim Rivers … Rob Pyron … Bill Becker of Becker Environmental Consulting (72) 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. | | | | A message from Mastercard: What do you do when your dreams don’t go according to plan?
That’s what many small business owners who depended on foot traffic wondered last year when the pandemic suddenly forced them to close their doors and change their business models.
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Now, as shoppers return to small businesses this holiday season, Mastercard is helping entrepreneurs prepare for the future. | | | | | | | 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 | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |  |
