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Presented by TikTok: The unofficial guide to official Washington. | | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels | Presented by TikTok | With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | SPECIAL REPORT — “Inside the stunning growth of Russia’s Wagner Group,” by Erin Banco, Sarah Anne Aarup and Anastasiia Carrier, “Exclusive U.S. diplomatic cables and internal documents detail the expansion of the paramilitary force and global network led by a top [Russian President VLADIMIR] PUTIN ally.” Meanwhile in Munich: Alex Ward reports that VP KAMALA HARRIS “formally accuses Russia of crimes against humanity in Ukraine.” HOT ON THE LEFT — “Presenting: MAGAzine!” edited by Air Mail’s Graydon Carter and Bruce Handy: “The Official Lifestyle Publication and Policy Journal of Your Once and Future Favorite President” HOT ON THE RIGHT — “Impeachment Is the Only Weapon Left to Fight Biden’s Border Sabotage,” by National Review’s Andrew C. McCarthy: “Either Republicans use the best tool they have to force [President JOE] BIDEN’s hand, or they are aiders and abettors.” VALENTINE’S WEEK — Everyone was focussed on relationships this week. JMart exposed the secret feelings Democrats have about Biden. Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL continued to neg Florida Sen. RICK SCOTT. And the NYT’s Magdalene J. Taylor declared that things would be better if everyone just had more sex. Today brings a pair of must-read pieces about two relationships dominating politics right now.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo | 1. If you want to understand the relationship between former President DONALD TRUMP and Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS, read this three-byline history from the Washington Post: “[T]heir emerging rivalry is the latest twist on a years-long public alliance that belied private misgivings and suspicions, according to interviews with more than a dozen people, many of whom were present for key decisions and conversations, and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private interactions. Despite basking in each other’s reflected glow, Trump and DeSantis had a relationship based on mutual advantage rather than genuine closeness — ‘an alliance of convenience,’ in the words of one person who knows both men.”
| | | | A message from TikTok: We work hard to create a positive experience for teens. That's why accounts for anyone aged 13-15 are set to private by default without access to direct messaging. It’s also why we developed Family Pairing tools that let parents link their account to their teens’ and decide together what settings work best. Set screen time limits, decide who can comment on their content and more, so everyone can use TikTok safely and responsibly. Learn more. | | | |  Kevin Hagen/Getty Images | 2. If you want to understand the relationship between Fox News and its audience, read Brian Stelter in The Atlantic on the Dominion case: “The basic story of Fox News and the 2020 election is well understood. Fox’s relatively small news operation covered the vote count accurately; this coverage infuriated President Donald Trump, the MAGA base, and Fox’s opinion stars; some viewers temporarily flipped to further-right outlets, such as Newsmax; and Fox panicked. “But thanks to Dominion Voting Systems, which is pursuing a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox, we now know that the network’s sense of crisis was even more intense than it appeared from outside. With the case careening toward trial, a court filing yesterday revealed some of what Dominion found during the discovery process, including eye-popping messages from SEAN HANNITY, TUCKER CARLSON, and Fox’s senior management. ‘Getting creamed by CNN!’ Fox’s owner, RUPERT MURDOCH, wrote to its top executive after seeing the overnight ratings on November 8. ‘Guess our viewers don’t want to watch it.’ “He was right. Some of Fox’s top shows began broadcasting a better story, one that its viewers did want to watch: a conspiracy-laden tale about crooked Democrats stealing an election. Dominion is arguing that Fox knew full well that Trumpworld’s voter-fraud allegations were bunk but promoted the lies anyway. Whether or not Dominion prevails in court, and many experts believe it will, the lawsuit is already forcing an ethical reckoning over Fox’s disrespect of its audience. Hour after hour, day after day, Fox stars kept signaling to viewers that Trump might still win the election not because they thought he would, but because they were worried about their ratings. And we all witnessed the consequences on January 6.”
| | | | A message from TikTok:   | | | Some bonus relationship reads: — Maureen Dowd on John Leguizamo’s beef with the Times over the underrepresentation of Latinos in its newsroom. — Darren Samuelsohn on “Questioning Obama’s love for America, 8 years later” — White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates on Sen. Rick Scott bowdlerizing Point 6 of his “12 Point Plan to Rescue America”: “We congratulate Senator Scott on joining the post-State of the Union red wave of Republicans acknowledging that they have, in fact, been attempting to put Medicare and Social Security on the chopping block. For the past year he has explained the absence of an exception by saying, ‘If it's worth keeping, we're going to keep it.’ But make no mistake, his true colors are undeniable and on the record. Cutting Medicare and Social Security benefits is a longstanding passion of Senator Scott’s, as it is for the majority of House Republicans who comprise the Republican Study Committee and many of his Senate colleagues, ranging from John Thune to Ron Johnson. For example, in the 1990s Senator Scott supported fully privatizing Medicare. And now, by supporting repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act, Senator Scott is pursuing the biggest Medicare benefits cut in a generation just so Big Pharma can receive a debt-worsening bailout. We thank Senator Scott for continuing to share his heart with the world. We always support him doing so.” Good Saturday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line and tell us about your favorite political relationship: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | BIDEN’S SATURDAY: The president has nothing on his public schedule.
HARRIS’ SATURDAY (all times Eastern): Earlier today, the vice president delivered remarks at the 2023 Munich Security Conference, met with British PM RISHI SUNAK and met with Swedish PM ULF KRISTERSSON and Finnish PM SANNA MARIN. Harris departed Munich to return to D.C. at 11:35 a.m. | | | | | | We’re spilling the tea (and drinking tons of it in our newsroom) in U.K. politics with our latest newsletter, London Playbook PM. Get to know all the movers and shakers in Westminster and never miss a beat of British politics with a free subscription. Don’t miss out, we’ve got some exciting moves coming. Sign up today. | | | | | PHOTO OF THE DAY
|  VP Kamala Harris speaks at the 2023 Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Feb. 18. | Johannes Simon/Getty Images | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | 9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US 1. THE SEARCH PARTY’S OVER: “U.S. Calls Off Search for Unidentified Objects It Shot Down,” by NYT’s Katie Rogers in Deadhorse, Alaska: “The United States on Friday called off the search for two of the unidentified flying objects that the military shot out of the sky this month, raising the possibility that the devices will never be collected and analyzed, according to a U.S. military official. … American authorities had been trying to reach remote areas of Alaska and Lake Huron for two of the objects, but on Friday a U.S. official said the conditions made it too difficult to pinpoint the objects. The Canadian search for the third object over the Yukon was still continuing, the official said.” 2. DeSANTIS STAFFS UP: “DeSantis 2024 Bid Takes Shape as He Enlists Aides, Woos Donors,” by Bloomberg’s Nancy Cook and Michael Smith: “DeSantis is expected to appoint GENERRA PECK as campaign manager and director … Peck earned the trust of both DeSantis and his wife, CASEY, who remains his most influential political adviser, by running his successful gubernatorial campaign last year. … Florida pollster RYAN TYSON, who runs his own agency in Tallahassee … will be responsible for all internal polling. HEATHER BARKER is expected to run the finance operation, with TUCKER OBENSHAIN as her deputy. PHIL COX, a longtime GOP operative, is likely to sign on as a consultant.” 3. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: “Meet ‘Patriot’s Row’: Mark Meadows’ MAGA hub buys a multimillion-dollar chunk of ‘the Swamp,’” by Grid’s Maggie Severns, Steve Reilly and Anna Deen: “Though former president Donald Trump’s own political future is in doubt, the Conservative Partnership Institute, whose leaders include ex-Trump chief of staff MARK MEADOWS, Trump elections lawyer CLETA MITCHELL and former Tea Party senator JIM DeMINT, is pursuing an aggressive expansion. The group appears to be quietly buying up properties, often in off-market transactions, Grid has found — apparently using a network of anonymous shell companies registered in Delaware to conduct the purchases.” 4. HEADS UP: “Negotiations ongoing for Blinken meeting with Chinese official in Munich,” by Phelim Kine: “U.S. and Chinese officials have spent the last few days locked in last-minute negotiations to broker a meeting between Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN and China’s top diplomat, WANG YI, on the sidelines of this weekend’s Munich Security Conference, according to three people familiar with those efforts. Beijing’s condition that the U.S. formally request the meeting had slowed progress in the talks, said a Washington, D.C.-based diplomat with knowledge of the discussions.” Meanwhile: “Silicon Valley’s Ro Khanna Leads Congressional Trip to Taiwan,” by Bloomberg’s Mackenzie Hawkins 5. TIGHTENING THE SCREWS: “Momentum builds in Congress to crack down on TikTok,” by NBC’s Scott Wong, Kate Santaliz and Liz Brown-Kaiser: Members of Congress are “sounding the alarm that the Chinese Communist Party is using TikTok as an entry point to spy on its tens of millions of American users. … The discovery of a Chinese spy balloon in U.S. airspace has only amplified the warnings.” 6. EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Rep. MAXWELL FROST (D-Fla.) sat down with our colleagues for an interview to discuss the latest string of deadly shootings. Frost told us that he’s “representing the ‘mass shooting generation.’” Watch the interview on The POLITICO Show on Snapchat
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| 7. GOOD LUCK WITH THAT ONE: “RNC weighs requiring loyalty pledge from every 2024 GOP candidate to support eventual Republican nominee,” by Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser: “GOP sources confirmed to Fox News that longtime RNC chair RONNA McDANIEL, concerned that disunity in the nomination race could hurt the party as it aims to win back the White House next year, is pushing for the pledge. It’s modeled on a similar pledge the RNC asked presidential contenders to sign during the turbulent 2016 GOP nomination race.” 8. HOW IT’S PLAYING: “Turmoil in courts on gun laws in wake of justices’ ruling,” by AP’s Alanna Durkin Richer and Lindsay Whitehurst: “A landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision on the Second Amendment is upending gun laws across the country, dividing judges and sowing confusion over what firearm restrictions can remain on the books. The high court’s ruling that set new standards for evaluating gun laws left open many questions, experts say, resulting in an increasing number of conflicting decisions as lower court judges struggle to figure out how to apply it.” 9. THE LATEST IN EAST PALESTINE: “Biden officials weighing civil penalties in Ohio's toxic rail disaster,” by Tanya Snyder … “As residents near Ohio train derailment begin to file lawsuits, some report lingering coughs or chest pain,” by NBC’s Aria Bendix and Uwa Ede-Osifo
| | | | A message from TikTok:   | | | CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 15 funnies
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| GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Ryan Lizza: — “Get Me Risa Heller!” by N.Y. Mag’s Shawn McCreesh: “If you’re Jeff Zucker or Mario Batali or Jared Kushner and you’re trying to survive a bout of very bad press, she’s who you call.” — “Why Is Affirmative Action in Peril? One Man’s Decision.” by NYT Magazine’s Emily Bazelon: “How the landmark 1978 Supreme Court decision that upheld the practice may ultimately have set it on a path to being outlawed.” — “Joe Montana Was Here,” by ESPN’s Wright Thompson: “He won four Super Bowls and retired as the undisputed greatest. What came next was turning a legacy into a life.” — “Israelis Fear Their Democracy Is Crumbling — and the U.S. Isn’t Coming to Help,” by Mya Guarnieri Jaradat for POLITICO Magazine: “Out on the street with 130,000 protesters.” — “What was it like to grow up in the last Ice Age?” by April Nowell for Aeon: “With the help of new archaeological approaches, our picture of young lives in the Palaeolithic is now marvelously vivid.” — “The writing of Roald Dahl,” by The Telegraph’s Ed Cumming, Genevieve Holl-Allen and Benedict Smith: “Across his beloved children’s books, hundreds of the author’s words have been changed or entirely removed in a bid for ‘relevancy.’” — “Avenging Billy: How amateur sleuths took on a gay porn actor’s haunting Hollywood murder,” by L.A. Times’s Kevin Rector: “Local sleuths help find a suspect in gay porn actor Bill Newton’s murder. His dismembered head and feet were found in a Hollywood dumpster in 1990.” — “Hidden Hydrogen,” by Science’s Eric Hand: “Does Earth hold vast stores of a renewable, carbon-free fuel?” — “I Thought Mentalphysics Was New-Age Nonsense. It Changed My Life,” by GQ’s Eric Wills: “It sounds like a hippie fantasy: a kind of super yoga that can supposedly extend your lifespan, give you clairvoyant powers, and help you control your reality. But in a dark moment on a desert retreat, I became a believer.”
| | | | JOIN POLITICO ON 3/1 TO DISCUSS AMERICAN PRIVACY LAWS: Americans have fewer privacy rights than Europeans, and companies continue to face a minefield of competing state and foreign legislation. There is strong bipartisan support for a federal privacy bill, but it has yet to materialize. Join POLITICO on 3/1 to discuss what it will take to get a federal privacy law on the books, potential designs for how this type of legislation could protect consumers and innovators, and more. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | George Santos’ rise to Congress is the subject of a forthcoming book, “The Fabulist.” SPOTTED: WSJ’s Berber Jin having lunch with Devon Spurgeon on Friday at Tatte on Connecticut Ave. (We see everything, Berber.) MEDIA MOVE — Theodore Johnson is joining WaPo’s opinion section as a contributing columnist. He currently is director of New America’s Us@250 initiative. TRANSITIONS — Toby Tyler Douthat has been named executive director of Engage, the women's economic security nonprofit founded by Rachel Pearson. She most recently was deputy comms director for Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). … Celia Morté will be a military legislative assistant for Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.). She previously was a military legislative assistant for Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.). … … William A. Miller is now director for industrial trade policy for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. He most recently was senior policy adviser at the Commerce Department. … Will Mitchell has been hired on the clean energy and energy efficiency legislative affairs team of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. He most recently was senior adviser for Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.). ENGAGED — Kevin LeBoeuf, a marching arts composer and clinician who works with marching bands and drum corps around the world, on Wednesday proposed to Lyzz Schwegler, co-founder and SVP of digital at state-focused progressive group Sister District. “We were visiting a friend in the U.S. Virgin Islands and went for a hike out to the end of a deserted peninsula when he asked,” Lyzz tells us. “Another fun fact is the ring was my great-grandmother’s, who married a longtime union organizer in 1917! We met through mutual friends on a group trip to Mexico in 2019. He presented a plastic placeholder ring (he was too nervous to bring the real one on the hike lol).” Pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Reps. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), Steve Womack (R-Ark.) and Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) … Keith Urbahn … James Hohmann … NPR’s Rachel Martin … Bill Bertles … Kiara Pesante Haughton … Al Quinlan … FT’s Janan Ganesh … Marc Lampkin … Abby Blunt … Lucien Zeigler … CBS’ Rebecca Kaplan … Angela Chiappetta … Elizabeth Kanick … Matt Burgess … Adam Prather … Jesse Purdon … former Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) … Ben Wofford … former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner … Denise Dunckel … Commerce’s Ayodele Okeowo THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here): ABC “This Week”: Secretary of State Antony Blinken … Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Panel: Averi Harper, Susan Glasser, Catherine Lucey and Rachael Bade. CBS “Face the Nation”: Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki … Secretary of State Antony Blinken … Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) … John Sullivan … Fiona Hill … Joshua Gordon. FOX “FOX News Sunday”: John Kirby … Nikki Haley … Jack Keane. Panel: Rich Lowry, Peggy Collins, Michael Allen and Juan Williams. NBC “Meet the Press”: Secretary of State Antony Blinken … Larry Hogan … Richard Engel. Panel: Peter Alexander, Thomas Friedman, Amna Nawaz and Danielle Pletka. CNN “State of the Union”: Reps. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Mike Turner (R-Ohio) … U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield … Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). Panel: Geoff Duncan, Karen Finney, Alice Stewart and Bakari Sellers. Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton, digital editor Garrett Ross and producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.
| | | | A message from TikTok: TikTok offers an abundance of tools to help parents create a positive experience for their teens. For starters, it sets accounts for anyone aged 13 to 15 to private by default, and restricts access to direct messaging. TikTok also offers a Family Pairing tool that gives parents the ability to manage various account and privacy settings for even more peace of mind. They can link their own account to their teens’ and then decide together which settings work best for their unique needs. This encourages ongoing conversations around reasonable screen time limits and responsible messaging practices. TikTok has always been a place where people can express themselves openly and creatively. With these tools, and open dialogue, parents can help ensure it stays that way for their teens. Learn more at tiktok.com/safety. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |  |
