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Presented by Facebook: The unofficial guide to official Washington. | | | | | |  | | By Tara Palmeri | Presented by Facebook | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | Happy Fourth of July! A few months ago, President JOE BIDEN said we would all be celebrating Independence Day like we did back before Covid. Well, we’re not quite there: Biden aimed to have 70% of the country vaccinated by July 4, and right now, 67% of Americans over age 18 have received at least one shot, according to the CDC. — But this weekend could mark a turning point in the pandemic, write WaPo’s Fenit Nirappil, Dan Keating, Ryan Slattery and Dan Diamond: “Now the country is staring down two paths: deliver a finishing blow by achieving herd immunity through vaccination, or risk additional and preventable outbreaks from a virus that has grown more threatening. … ‘I worry that the July 4 weekend could become a superspreader event in low vaccinated areas without the necessary precautions,’ [said ADITI NERURKAR, a global health specialist at Harvard Medical School,] noting that eating and socializing without masks in those places could create a ‘petri dish for a brewing delta surge.’” One place hoping to avoid becoming a petri dish: the White House. Biden will host a July Fourth bash on the South Lawn for service members, and vaccinations are not necessary to attend, though guests are being asked to take a Covid test beforehand. Even so, the surging Delta variant hangs over the celebration, and “concerns about the continuing spread of the virus remain strong inside the administration,” as CNN’s Kevin Liptak and Kaitlan Collins report. Those concerns didn’t stop Biden from mingling with maskless Americans yesterday. On Saturday, the president trekked to Traverse City, Mich., a relatively small media market in one of the nation’s most important swing states. He was ostensibly there to promote his infrastructure plan, but “Biden stayed mum on policy … focusing instead on cherries — and cherry pie and cherry ice cream — and voters who were mask-free as coronavirus restrictions have eased,” writes the AP’s Josh Boak . “It had all the hallmarks of a campaign stop that he couldn’t make last year.” Also on the de facto campaign trail: DONALD TRUMP, who held a rally in Sarasota, Fla., that was notable for two big reasons. — First, the rally exacerbated the growing tensions between Trump and Gov. RON DESANTIS, as NYT’s Annie Karni reports: “The political rally in the midst of a disaster that has horrified the nation became a topic of discussion among aides to the former president and Gov. Ron DeSantis … whose growing popularity with the former president’s supporters is becoming an increasing source of tension for both men, according to people familiar with their thinking. “After officials from the governor’s office surveyed the scene of the condominium collapse in Surfside, Fla., ADRIAN LUKIS, chief of staff to the governor, called MICHAEL GLASSNER, a longtime Trump aide who is overseeing the Florida event, according to people familiar with the discussion. In a brief conversation, Mr. Lukis inquired whether the former president planned to continue with the event given the scale of the tragedy, two people said. He was told there were no plans to reschedule.” — Second, it was the first time Trump spoke publicly about the indictments against his company and its longtime CFO, ALLEN WEISSELBERG. For 10 minutes, he unleashed on the Manhattan DA’s office and called their case an example of “prosecutorial misconduct.” At the same time, he seemed to suggest that what he was accused of wasn’t that bad: “You didn’t pay taxes on the car, or company apartment … or education for your grandchildren,” Trump said. “They indict people for that, but murder and selling massive amount of the worst drugs in the world that kill people left and right, and that’s alright?” More from Matt Dixon in Sarasota, Fla. | | A message from Facebook: The internet has changed a lot since 1996 - internet regulations should too
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– Reforming Section 230 | | | Good Sunday morning, and happy Fourth. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza, Tara Palmeri. NEW POLL ALERT — There are mixed results for Biden in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll out this morning. — The good for Biden: Overall, his job approval is steady: 50% approve while 42% disapprove. And his handling of the coronavirus pandemic enjoys strong support: 62-31, a net approval of 31 points. — The bad for Biden: He’s underwater when it comes to both his handling of the immigration situation at the U.S.-Mexico border (33-51), and — perhaps more salient, politically — on the issue of crime (38-48). — Interesting numbers on crime and voting rights: 59% of respondents described crime as either an “extremely” or “very” serious problem in the U.S., but only 17% said the same about crime in the area where they personally live. And on the voting-rights front, asked whether it is more important for new laws to make it easier to vote lawfully or harder to vote fraudulently, 62% said easier to vote lawfully, while 30% percent preferred laws making it harder to vote fraudulently. Full poll results SOME INDEPENDENCE DAY READS … — “A Fourth of July Symbol of Unity That May No Longer Unite,” by NYT’s Sarah Maslin Nir: “Thirteen stripes, a dusting of stars, the American flag has had infinite meanings over the 244 years since the country began flying one. … Politicians of both parties have long sought to wrap themselves in the flag. But something may be changing: Today, flying the flag from the back of a pickup truck or over a lawn is increasingly seen as a clue, albeit an imperfect one, to a person’s political affiliation in a deeply divided nation. … “What was once a unifying symbol — there is a star on it for each state, after all — is now alienating to some, its stripes now fault lines between people who kneel while ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ plays and those for whom not pledging allegiance is an affront. And it has made the celebration of the Fourth of July, of patriotic bunting and cakes with blueberries and strawberries arranged into Old Glory, into another cleft in a country that seems no longer quite so indivisible, under a flag threatening to fray.” — “The Fourth of July that Saved America,” by Ted Widmer for POLITICO Mag: “The way Washington celebrated [July 4, 1861] went a long way to determine the republic we became. In a fraught moment, with two versions of America competing against each other, one version — of a country rooted in calm democratic protocols — prevailed over the other. Despite his lack of experience in elective office, and his meager education, [ABRAHAM] LINCOLN clearly won this often-overlooked skirmish. He had a better Fourth of July than JEFFERSON DAVIS. As a result, we live in a single country, instead of a Balkanized set of mini-Americas separated by military checkpoints.” — “Capitol, symbol of democracy, off-limits on Independence Day,” AP: “Congressional leaders are working intensely to try to resume public tours at the Capitol in some form, but any reopening probably will come with new protocols for health and safety for the millions of annual visitors, 535 lawmakers and thousands of staff and crew that work under the dome and its surrounding campus.” — “How I Finally Managed to Connect to the American Flag,” by Erin Aubry Kaplan for POLITICO Mag: “A couple of weeks ago, however, my relationship to the flag changed. … For the first time, I liked it. I identified with it. The object is, like so many of us, tired. It has been claimed and exploited over hundreds of years, freighted with oppressive racial meaning it didn’t ask for and could never really bear. It has been a slave to the whims of the self-styled patriots who have long conflated whiteness with nationality, dominance with democratic ideals. This was never the object’s true meaning, only its job, which it has performed because America has not really given it any other. But that doesn’t mean it wanted the job, or approved of it.” FOR YOUR LAST-MINUTE PLANS — “What’s happening — and what’s safe — this Fourth of July in Washington,” WaPo | | | |   | | | SUNDAY BEST … ANTHONY FAUCI, on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” on Covid-19 deaths among the unvaccinated: “When you have a situation like you have today, where you have a formidable enemy in the virus that has tragically really disrupted our planet now for about a year and a half, destroyed economies, have just disrupted us in every possible way, and yet we do have a countermeasure that's highly, highly effective. … And whatever the reasons … some of them are ideologic, some of them are just fundamentally anti-vax or anti-science or what have you. We just need to put that aside now. We’re dealing with a historic situation with this pandemic, and we do have the tools to counter it. So for goodness' sakes, put aside all of those differences and realize that the common enemy is the virus.” Biden’s Covid response coordinator JEFF ZIENTS on ABC’s “This Week,” on the White House’s July Fourth celebration: “The event at the White House is being done in the right way. It’s an outdoor event with testing and screening. Vaccinated people not wearing masks. Unvaccinated people masked. It’s being done in the right way, consistent with CDC guidelines. That said — we are doubling down on our efforts across the summer months, we will vaccinate millions more people because you need to get vaccinated to be protected against the delta variant and against this disease overall. Rep. MIKE MCCAUL (R-Texas) on “Fox News Sunday,” on helping evacuate Afghanistans who have helped the U.S.: “We told them we would take care of them and we can’t turn our backs and leave them to die. They will be slaughtered by the Taliban, they are targeted by the Taliban. We have to get them out of there. … [W]hen we fully withdraw, the devastation and the killings and women, humanitarian crisis, fleeing across the border … President Biden is going to own these ugly images.” BIDEN’S SUNDAY: — 4 p.m.: The president and first lady JILL BIDEN will leave Wilmington, Del., arriving at Joint Base Andrews at 4:45 p.m. — 7:30 p.m.: The Bidens will host a Fourth of July barbecue on the South Lawn with essential workers and military families. Biden will speak about “Independence Day and independence from Covid-19.” — 9:09 p.m.: The Bidens will watch the fireworks over the Mall. KAMALA HARRIS’ SUNDAY — The VP is in Los Angeles and has nothing on her public schedule. | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO WEST WING PLAYBOOK: Add West Wing Playbook to keep up with the power players, latest policy developments and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing and across the highest levels of the Cabinet. 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PHOTO OF THE DAY: Biden takes a bite of ice cream at Moomers Homemade Ice Cream in Traverse City, Mich. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo | THE WHITE HOUSE HOW PROGRESSIVE WILL HE GO? — “Student-Loan Holders Get Piecemeal Relief From Biden Administration,” by WSJ’s Josh Mitchell and Joshua Jamerson: “The Biden administration is considering extending a pandemic freeze on Americans’ student-loan payments beyond its scheduled expiration in September and turning to piecemeal measures to lower their student-debt bills. “Five months into his term, President Biden has resisted calls from fellow Democrats and activists to cancel most of America’s $1.6 trillion in federal student-loan debt in one swoop through an executive action. … Yet many Americans effectively are seeing their debt bills reduced through policy changes that started under the Trump administration, which froze student-loan payments when the pandemic began unfolding in March 2020.” PLACING BLAME ON THE PRESIDENT — “Gasoline is up and GOP sees an easy target: Biden,” by Matthew Choi CONGRESS THE MILLENNIALS ARE COMING — “The geriatric Senate confronts a youth movement,” by James Arkin: “[A]t a time when the Senate is better known for lawmakers who stick around well past retirement age, 2022 could emerge as the year when the chamber starts to get a whole lot younger. … It’s no guarantee [Georgia Sen. JON] OSSOFF’S win will open the floodgates for millennials actually joining the Senate, but they're running in greater numbers.” Among those current or potential candidates: KATIE BOYD BRITT (R-Ala.), 39; CHARLES BOOKER (D-Ky.), 36; former Rep. ABBY FINKENAUER (D-Iowa), 32; QUENTIN LUCAS (D-Mo.), 36; LUCAS KUNCE (D-Mo.), 38; state Sen. JEFF JACKSON (D-N.C.), 38; J.D. VANCE (R-Ohio), 36; state Rep. MALCOLM KENYATTA (D-Pa.), 30; Rep. CONOR LAMB (D-Pa.), 37; state Treasurer SARAH GODLEWSKI (D-Wis.), 39; Milwaukee Bucks exec ALEX LASRY (D-Wis.), 33; Lt. Gov. MANDELA BARNES (D-Wis.), 34. TRUMP CARDS LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON? — “In Case Against Trump’s Company, Echoes of His Father’s Tactics on Taxes,” by NYT’s Mike McIntire and Russ Buettner: “Long before Donald J. Trump’s company was accused of plotting detours around the tax code to compensate its chief financial officer with carpeting, televisions and car leases, there were the $16,135 boilers. “The boilers were bought for that amount by Mr. Trump’s father, FRED [TRUMP ], in the 1990s for his numerous apartment buildings. But in a bit of financial alchemy that embodied the family ethos of paying as little tax as possible, the elder Mr. Trump used inflated invoices to pay the bill and the extra money was skimmed off for his children — all to avoid gift and inheritance taxes.” | | A message from Facebook: Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations
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See how we’re taking action on key issues and why we support updated internet regulations. | | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD SCENES FROM THE AFGHANISTAN PULLOUT — “The Relics of America’s War in Afghanistan,” by NYT’s Thomas Gibbons-Neff in Bagram: “Just a mile from Bagram Air Base, where U.S. forces departed on Thursday, shops sell items left over from two decades of fighting. Each one tells a story.” ON THE GROUND — “‘What was the point?’ Afghans rue decades of war as U.S. quits Bagram,” Reuters PANDEMIC WHERE DELTA IS HITTING — “Delta Variant Fuels Missouri’s Covid-19 Uptick,” by WSJ’s Melanie Grayce West and Talal Ansari: “The highly contagious Delta variant of the virus that causes Covid-19 is prompting a surge of coronavirus cases in Missouri, a warning sign of what may happen this summer in other areas of the U.S. with low vaccination rates, public-health experts say. For more than a week, Missouri had the highest case rate in the country, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of July 1, the seven-day average of new cases hit 898, up from 511 three weeks earlier, data from Johns Hopkins University show.” THE NEW NORMAL — “Pandemic Wave of Automation May Be Bad News for Workers,” by NYT’s Ben Casselman: “Businesses from factories to fast-food outlets to hotels turned to technology last year to keep operations running amid social distancing requirements and contagion fears. Now the outbreak is ebbing in the United States, but the difficulty in hiring workers — at least at the wages that employers are used to paying — is providing new momentum for automation. “Technological investments that were made in response to the crisis may contribute to a post-pandemic productivity boom, allowing for higher wages and faster growth. But some economists say the latest wave of automation could eliminate jobs and erode bargaining power, particularly for the lowest-paid workers, in a lasting way.” MISCELLANY OLYMPICS WATCH — “AOC urges U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to end Sha'Carri Richardson's suspension,” Axios: “Reps. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-N.Y.) and JAMIE RASKIN (D-Md.) sent a letter to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency encouraging the group to rethink sprinter SHA'CARRI RICHARDSON'S one-month suspension for recreational marijuana use.” The letter — CBS’ Bo Erickson (@BoKnowsNews): “I asked @POTUS if he thought @itskerrii’s suspension was fair? Biden said ‘rules are the rules’ but questioned if they should remain that way. ‘I was really proud of the way she responded,’ he adds.” BATSH*T READ OF THE DAY — “How Three Women Exposed an Army Lt. Colonel’s Crazy Secret Life,” by the Daily Beast’s Emily Shugerman: “CHELSEA CURNUTT went looking for RICHARD KANE MANSIR the day before their baby was due. What she found is now the subject of an Army investigation.” | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY: The United States of America is 245 … Geraldo Rivera … Ryan Williams of Targeted Victory … Matt Katz … WSJ’s Natalie Andrews and Viveca Novak … Ed Matricardi … WNYC’s Frank Donatelli … Rich Neimand … Ripple’s Susan Hendrick … Ann Conant … Amazon’s Dustin Todd … Kathleen Kennedy Townsend … Brandon English … Luke Tomanelli … Terry Wade … Lanhee Chen of the Hoover Institution … Kevin McLaughlin … Will Ritter of Poolhouse … Catlin O’Neill … Sunshine Sachs’ Taylor Friedman … Lauren Ashburn … Matthew Gravatt … Martha Joynt Kumar … Albanian PM Edi Rama … Malia Obama … former Reps. Dan Maffei (D-N.Y.) and Sam Farr (D-Calif.) (8-0) … Al Madrigal (5-0) 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. | | | | Sponsored Survey WE VALUE YOUR OPINION: Please take a 1-minute survey about one of our advertising partners. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |  |
