Biden goes long form

From: POLITICO West Wing Playbook - Thursday Jan 20,2022 12:14 am

Jan 19, 2022

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JOE BIDEN does solo press conferences so rarely that the build up to Wednesday’s session became a news story in its own right.

The networks and cable news outlets gave the news conference the primetime treatment. The four big broadcast networks carried much of the beginning of Biden’s remarks, while the cable news networks carried the entire two hour affair. CNN aired a scorecard of the administration’s wins and losses over the last 12 months, while Fox News ran a highlight reel of White House correspondent PETER DOOCY’s moments confronting the president over the past year on issues like Afghanistan and Covid-19.

In preparation for the event, the White House Correspondents Association told members last week that, at the White House’s instructions, they still had to “live under a 42-person cap” due to distancing requirements sparked by Omicron. The organization chose 30 reporters representing half of the press corps, attempting to ensure news organizations with the biggest reach were represented.

For the lucky few who got to attend, Biden’s presser was an event-filled two hours—one conducted with utter disregard to this newsletters’ typical early evening deadline. For those who missed the affair, here are the highlights:

Length of the press conference: 1 hour 51 minutes (and he started on time!)

Stamina! : That’s longer than the longest news conferences by Trump (1 hr 26 mins) and Obama (1 hr 27 mins), per veteran White house reporter MARK KNOLLER.

Biden’s Covid mea culpa: “Should we have done more testing earlier? Yes”

But actually: “I didn't overpromise, but I have probably outperformed what anyone thought would happen."

The queen of follow-ups: NBC’s KRISTEN WELKER, who managed to sneak in six (!!!) questions.

Biggest surprise: Biden specifically called on News Nation’s ALLISON HARRIS third, an unexpected move by a president whose White House tends to field questions from legacy news outlets first.

Biden on Republicans: “I did not anticipate that there would be such a stalwart effort to make sure that the most important thing was that President Biden didn’t get anything done.”

But what about Obama? “[Republicans] weren’t nearly as obstructionist as they are now.”

A top Republican Senate aide’s take: “This press conference was Ron Klain’s nightmare come true. The President got to speak his own mind without the White House staff interfering.”

Bookmark this quote : “Big nations can’t bluff.” (Was that, in a way, a bluff?)

Any staff shakeup?: "I'm satisfied with the team."

New Year’s resolutions: Paraphrasing Biden here, he said he’d get out of D.C. more often, receive more outside advice, and get more involved with Democrats’ midterm campaigns.

News on BBB: “It’s clear to me that we are going to have to break it up.”

On Afghanistan: “I make no apologies for what I did.”

What about Kamala?: “She’s gonna be my running mate” in 2024, if he runs.

The polls? “I don’t believe the polls.”

Post-presser chyrons:

CNN: “BIDEN: IT’S BEEN A YEAR OF CHALLENGES BUT ALSO A YEAR OF ENORMOUS PROGRESS”
MSNBC: “BIDEN LOOKS FOR RESET AFTER CHALLENGING FIRST YEAR”
FOX: “BIDEN GRILLED BY REPORTERS ON CRISIS-FILLED YEAR”

Funniest out-of-context quote: “It’s okay, I’m a big boy.”

POTUS plays pundit:

On voting rights — “I predict we’ll get something done on the electoral reform side.”

On Putin’s Ukraine invasion strategy — “My guess is he will move in, he has to do something."

On cable news (sort of) — “The cables are heading south, they’re losing viewership. Fox is doing okay for a while, but it’s not gaining. A lot of the rest are predicted to be not very much in the mix in the next four to five years. I don’t know if that’s true or not.”

Psaki clean-up: After Biden’s comments on Russia, press secretary JEN PSAKI sent a statement that led with, “President Biden has been clear with the Russian President: If any Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border, that's a renewed invasion, and it will be met with a swift, severe, and united response from the United States and our Allies.”

SEND YOUR HAWT TAKE — We want to incorporate more of your feedback. Is there something we missed in today’s edition? Do you have a tip to share or a thought on our coverage? Send us an email or text and we will try to include your feedback in the next day’s edition. Can be anonymous, on background, etc. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com or you can text/Signal Alex at 8183240098 or Max at 7143455427.

Yesterday, we wrote about how even some of Biden’s most vocal supporters among the pundit class have begun to cool on the president.

JENNIFER RUBIN, who didn’t respond to our email yesterday, tweeted: “I don’t say he is ‘in trouble’…typical.” JEFF HAUSER took issue with complaints about the president’s focus on voting rights: “the idea that Biden, who entered the race focused on civil rights issues in 2019, is undermining his campaign's logic by fighting for civil rights.,.. that's insane.”

A former senior Trump admin official chimed in to roll their eyes at Biden complaints about the press, pointing to the reaction to the new website that allowed people to order at home Covid tests for free. “Republicans find the Biden Administration's complaints about the way the media treats them laughable….If the last Administration had launched a website in the middle of record case counts that limited you to four tests and wouldn't get you the tests for at best two weeks…there would be a 24-7 news cycle about those facts and deeming this an absolute failure.”

Do you work in the Biden administration? Are you in touch with the White House? Are you Speaker NANCY PELOSI? We want to hear from you — and we’ll keep you anonymous. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com or you can text/Signal Alex at 8183240098.

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POTUS PUZZLER

From the White House Historical Association

Which first lady ensured the White House had a music room and three pianos?

(Answer at the bottom.)

The Oval

BIDEN FRIEND LOSES JOB — New York Times security guard JACQUELYN BRITTANY announced today that the Times laid her off. Brittany officially put in Biden’s name for the Democratic nomination at the DNC in 2020 and had a starring role in the NYT documentary about their editorial board endorsement.

“I do love The New York Times, but in that case I think I was more the voice for the people, ya know,” she told us last year. We asked her what happened and she wrote, “Such a long story but they felt like it’s the right thing to do. Wrong!! Can’t say too much just yet.” The Times confirmed to us that she was no longer with the company, but did not disclose the reasons why.

KLAIN BLITZ: Chief of staff RON KLAIN is doing a round of on-the-record media, with interviews in the Wall Street Journal and POLITICO. He’ll also be on Morning Joe tomorrow.

REED SPEAKS: The Washington Post had a rare, if boring, on-the-record comment from deputy chief of staff BRUCE REED in their story today: “The White House has done a very good job of helping the president carry out the agenda he ran on with the narrowest of margins in Congress and in the midst of enormous challenges at home and abroad. So I think that the strategy for the year ahead is the same formula we followed for the past year, which is keep working, keep getting things done, keep moving the ball downfield.”

TOUGH QUOTE FOR JOD: EDWARD ISAAC DOVERE’s latest CNN story has some tough words for the White House political team overseen by deputy chief of staff JEN O’MALLEY DILLON.

"It's hard for me to believe that the President knows how little his political shop is doing to support Democratic majorities in the Senate and the House. All of us believe that the President would be shocked to learn how little the White House political team is doing," said one senior Democratic elected official in Washington, voicing widespread worries about the midterms.

THE BUREAUCRATS

WALENSKY’S APOLOGY TOUR (SORTA) — Walenksy has given interviews to the Wall Street Journal , Time Magazine, and now the Boston Globe recently as she fights back against criticism of her stewardship over the CDC. While she acknowledged missteps to the Journal earlier this week, the Globe’s JESS BIDGOOD led her story today with this:

“Dr. Rochelle Walensky forcefully defended her bumpy CDC tenure in a Globe interview this week, describing her critics as ‘naysayers’ who have helped sow the public confusion she has been accused of creating and pointing out that many Americans are still not following her agency’s most basic guidance.”

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Agenda Setting

YOU’VE GOT TO AC-CENT-U-ATE THE POSITIVE — As Biden nears his one-year mark in office, his administration is urging Democrats nervous about losing Congress in November to talk up the party’s legislative accomplishments , SARAH FERRIS and NICHOLAS WU report.

While the Senate nears an ugly clash on election reform, key White House officials spent Tuesday on a pair of calls with rank-and-file House aides, stressing the party's victories on a bipartisan infrastructure law signed in November and a massive pandemic relief bill passed in March. Senior House Democrats picked up that focus on Wednesday, ticking off upbeat statistics on the economy and controlling the coronavirus.

Advise and Consent

TROUBLE BREWING FOR FDA NOM — ALICE MIRANDA OLLSTEIN and LAUREN GARDNER report that the FDA’s decision to ease access to abortion pills is fueling a new push by anti-abortion rights groups to derail the president’s nominee to lead the agency, ROBERT CALIFF, potentially endangering his confirmation.

The effort has already swung some previously undecided Republican senators, like TOMMY TUBERVILLE of Alabama and ROGER MARSHALL of Kansas. Both initially praised Califf during his confirmation hearing in the Senate health committee and appeared inclined to support him before voting against advancing the nomination in committee over “pro-life issues.”

Filling the Ranks

MORE TOP DIPLOMATS TAPPED — Biden announced plans on Wednesday to nominate four new ambassadors, moving to fill vacancies at U.S. embassies in Brazil, the United Kingdom, Chad and Denmark, reports SAMUEL BENSON .

Three of the nominees are former ambassadors, including JANE HARTLEY, an adviser and former ambassador to France and Monaco whom Biden will nominate as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom. Biden's pick for ambassador to Brazil is ELIZABETH BAGLEY, a longtime diplomat and attorney.

FOR PROS: The president also announced today he will nominate KATHRYN HUFF as the permanent head of the Energy Department's nuclear energy program, KELSEY TAMBORINO reports.

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What We're Reading

Biden administration defends Trump-era migrant expulsions, citing Covid-19 risk (CBS News’ Camilo Montoya-Galvez)

Power struggle among Biden appointees gets personal over race (WaPo’s Dan Lamothe)

What We're Watching

Klain on MSNBC’s Morning Joe tomorrow at 6 a.m. ET.

Where's Joe

He received the President’s Daily Brief in the morning. The president also held a press conference in the East Room.

Where's Kamala

She swore in MARK BRZEZINSKI to serve as the ambassador to Poland in the Vice President’s Ceremonial Office in the afternoon.

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The Oppo Book

Both senior adviser BRIAN DEESE and Attorney General MERRICK GARLAND are fans of pop star TAYLOR SWIFT.

Deese admitted his fandom — and simultaneously blew up Garland’s spot — during a POLITICO Playbook interview in 2016, when he was working in the Obama administration. At the time, President BARACK OBAMA had just nominated Garland to fill the late Justice ANTHONY SCALIA’s spot on the Supreme Court.

Deese said that after listening to Swift with his 4-year-old daughter, who played her music on repeat, he got “reasonably into” the pop star’s work too.

“I’ve felt a little more self-conscious about that until, in the last week or two, getting to know Judge Garland is also reasonably into Taylor Swift,” Deese said. “I feel like I’m in pretty good company in that respect.”

We asked the Justice Department and the NEC if Deese and Garland had thoughts about the recent scarf/JAKE GYLLENHAAL controversy. They did not respond.

POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER

A music aficionado, first lady ABIGAIL FILLMORE was known to play duets with her talented daughter, MARY ABIGAIL.

Got a better question? Send us your hardest trivia question on the presidents and we may feature it on Wednesdays.

Edited by Emily Cadei

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