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Presented by Facebook: | | | | |  | | By Alex Thompson and Max Tani | | | Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Allie Bice. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Max JOE BIDEN knew it must be getting under BARACK OBAMA’s skin. In the first few months of his presidency, as he was being hailed in the media as the next great progressive president alongside FDR and LBJ, Biden remarked to an adviser: “I am confident that Barack is not happy with the coverage of this administration as more transformative than his.” Speaker NANCY PELOSI (D-Calif.), who was in regular communication with the 44th president, echoed that assessment. “Obama is jealous of Biden,” she told a friend. The private remarks are reported in the upcoming book, “This Will Not Pass,” by New York Times reporters JONATHAN MARTIN and ALEXANDER BURNS , which has caused a stir among senior leaders of both parties ahead of the May 3 publishing date. For several weeks, White House officials have tried to get their hands on a copy of the book to find out the extent of potentially damaging revelations, according to two people familiar with the dynamic. As of late last week, they still hadn’t obtained a copy. Behind the scenes, current and former administration officials, along with Democrats on the Hill, are grumbling that the authors did not present some of their reporting to communications officials before it was in manuscript form, if at all. Deputy press secretary ANDREW BATES said in a statement: "We respect that there will be no shortage of books written about the administration containing a wide variety of claims. We don’t plan to engage in confirmations or denials when it comes to the specifics of those claims.” A source familiar with the pursuit of the book said it is common to try to obtain any book and said copies are often provided more in advance. Early excerpts of the book have chronicled the regular tensions between the president and vice president’s team, Biden calling Fox News’ founder RUPERT MURDOCH “the most dangerous man in the world,” and Pelosi’s dim assessment of the president’s chief of staff, RON KLAIN. The book also undermines the public narrative of Obama and Biden as BFF’s. “Obama and Biden spoke by phone occasionally, but not often,” the authors write. “Their conversations were friendly and supportive, but hardly the stuff of the tight brotherhood both men had sold to the country as a cheery political fable.” Obama was defensive of the unflattering comparisons between his administration and Biden’s. “The former president felt [Biden aides and congressional Democrats like Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER (D-N.Y.)] were unfairly disparaging his record,” the authors write. “Obama did not think he and his team had been played for fools by Republican senators, nor did he think the stimulus law he negotiated was such an obvious failure. You know, he told one former administration official, it was a different world in 2009.” Obama’s early frustrations were ultimately a snapshot in time, underscoring how much the narrative around Biden’s presidency has changed over the past year. Since those early comparisons to FDR and LBJ, Biden trimmed his legislative ambitions down dramatically amid congressional gridlock and sagging approval ratings. During his State of the Union address in March, he focused on his “Unity Agenda” with proposals that could potentially attract bipartisan support. The book — roughly split in half between Biden and DONALD TRUMP — also looks back on the 2020 presidential campaign. The journalists report that Obama “offered Biden a delicate word of advice” at the start of his search for a vice president. “If Biden were to pick a woman of color for the ticket, Obama told him privately, he should not underestimate the potential for a racist backlash that would harm him in November,” Martin and Burns write. “It was a word of warning that could not be taken lightly, coming from the first Black president—a man who had been forced to surrender the Oval Office to a demagogue who had propagated the racist 'birther' attack on him.” An Obama confidante familiar with those conversations pushed back on that portrayal. “He did not counsel Joe Biden against putting an African American on the ticket,” the person told West Wing Playbook. “On the contrary, he was very firm with Joe Biden that he needed to pick someone he was very comfortable with and didn’t put his finger on the scale. His role was to serve as a sounding board for Biden.” Another person familiar with the deliberations told us: "If this warning did occur, and I’m not familiar with this conversation, it would have been very much in the 'make sure your team is aware and ready to deal with it' context as opposed to the 'don’t do it' context." Though it has no shortage of explosive revelations, the Martin-Burns book is not the only one on the minds of Bidenworld. There is worry inside the White House about the upcoming memoir by HUNTER BIDEN’s ex-wife, KATHLEEN BUHLE, scheduled for release on June 14, according to a person familiar with the dynamic. The book’s title: “If We Break: A Memoir of Marriage, Addiction, and Healing.” TEXT US — ARE YOU ZACH BUTTERWORTH, the White House’s Director of Private Sector Engagement? We want to hear from you (we’ll keep you anonymous). Or if you think we missed something in today’s edition, let us know and we may include it tomorrow. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com or text/Signal/Wickr/WhatsApp Alex at 8183240098 or Max at 7143455427.
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Learn about our efforts | | | | | | From the University of Virginia’s Miller Center Which president said in his inaugural address, “If our great corporations would more scrupulously observe their legal limitations and duties, they would have less cause to complain of the unlawful limitations of their rights or of violent interference with their operations.” (Answer at the bottom.)
| | | We noted in last week’s newsletter that CBS wants to have a major presence at this year's White House Correspondents’ Dinner. But lest the network be overshadowed by its older, occasionally sleepier competitor, NBC News is also planning on rolling deep this weekend for the WHCD. An NBC network source told us the company plans on bringing 160 staff and guests to the dinner, and nabbed a number of top administration officials for its tables, including:
- Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN
- CIA Director BILL BURNS and his deputy director, DAVID COHEN
- Homeland Security Secretary MIGUEL CARDONA
- Director of the Domestic Policy Council SUSAN RICE
- Principal Deputy White House Press Secretary (for now) KARINE JEAN-PIERRE
Most of the top brass will be in attendance, including MSNBC President RASHIDA JONES, who is hosting a small private dinner at Seven Reasons in celebration of the launch of former KAMALA HARRIS Press Secretary SYMONE SANDERS' new show, ‘Symone’, which premieres early next month. As part of the festivities, MSNBC is hosting its annual afterparty (which has become the de facto big-ticket afterparty in the years since Vanity Fair decided its event wasn’t worth the cost), as well as a reception to officially open the news organization's new bureau. And NBCU News Group Chairman CESAR CONDE is also hosting a private toast and reception this week for members of the network’s bureau. As for some of the others:
- McClatchy is hosting top climate advisor GINA McCARTHY.
- Harris’ communications director JAMAL SIMMONS, White House deputy press secretary CHRIS MEAGHER, and Biden special adviser JOSH GELTZER will be at the LA Times table, a spokesperson for the paper confirmed.
- Secretary of the Interior DEB HAALAND is going with USA Today.
- MICHAEL REGAN, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, will be at McClatchy’s table.
- The Guardian US is bringing PATRICK GASPARD, president of the Center for American Progress and LaTOSHA BROWN, Co-Founder of Black Voters Matter.
- And in a move that will save the paper of record some money and dignity, The New York Times told West Wing Playbook it is maintaining its posture of not buying tables at the dinner and inviting guests, but sending reporters to cover the event instead.
WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This opinion piece published by CNN, from new White House Covid-19 Response Coordinator ASHISH JHA, breaking down why more funding is needed to combat the next phase of the pandemic. Jha writes that new vaccines “will likely be ready this fall, but we cannot guarantee they will be available unless Congress steps up and provides the resources. … And if we don't purchase these vaccines and therapies for the American people, other countries will, and we could find ourselves at the back of the line.” WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This NYT write-up about economists questioning the wisdom of the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Package given the high inflation the country is facing. Longtime Biden economic adviser JARED BERNSTEIN talked to the reporters and argued that some inflation “showed up in every advanced economy, and we wouldn’t trade that back for the historic recovery we helped to generate.” The piece notes, however, that “inflation has picked up around the world, but price increases have been quicker in America than in many other wealthy nations.” NO PEEKING: When White House Press Secretary JEN PSAKI offered reporters copies of a 385-page binder that detailed how the administration allocated coronavirus funds, STAT News’ RACHEL COHRS took her up on it — or at least tried to. Cohrs found that officials weren’t actually willing to provide copies, or even allow photographs of the pages to be taken. Instead, officials offered STAT News’ a look at the binder for one hour with a budget office employee present. Cohrs provides a brief rundown of the binder contents here.
| | | | DON'T MISS ANYTHING FROM THE 2022 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is excited to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage and insights from the 25th annual Global Conference. This year's event, May 1-4, brings together more than 3,000 of the world’s most influential leaders, including 700+ speakers representing more than 80 countries. "Celebrating the Power of Connection" is this year's theme, setting the stage to connect influencers with the resources to change the world with leading experts and thinkers whose insight and creativity can implement that change. Whether you're attending in person or following along from somewhere else in the world, keep up with this year's conference with POLITICO’s special edition “Global Insider” so you don't miss a beat. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | | SECRET UKRAINE MEETING DEETS: Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN and Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN met with Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY in Kyiv on Sunday night, reaffirming the U.S.’s security assistance to the country and offering additional military training as the Russia invasion drags on, QUINT FORGEY reports. The administration also announced the nomination of BRIDGET BRINK , currently the U.S. ambassador to Slovakia, to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine after the post remained vacant for three years. RETURN TO OFFICE: DON GRAVES, the Commerce Department’s deputy secretary, snapped some pictures of the return-to-office treats agency employees were met with Monday — some of which included a musical performance by acapella group, Potomac Fever, and The Roaming Coyote food truck. As a person familiar explained to West Wing Playbook, Graves is an acapella geek.
| SO LONG, FAREWELL: Adviser to the president and Director of the Office of Public Engagement CEDRIC RICHMOND is leaving his role next month, NYT’s Jonathan Martin scooped. He is expected to join the private sector but could also be a consultant for the DNC. And CHANDLER WEST, who served as the White House deputy director of photography, announced in an Instagram post that April 22nd was his last day in the role. West Wing Playbook profiled West, who had a heart transplant at 18, back in June 2021.
| | | | A message from Facebook:   | | | | | | BACK AT IT: CYNTHIA GILES, a former Obama administration EPA official, is returning to the agency as a senior adviser in the Office of Air and Radiation, our ALEX GUILLÉN reports for Pro s. Giles is set to help EPA Administrator Regan in establishing regulations to reduce greenhouse gas pollution that's driving climate change.
| | | A crystal-clear issue: The White House is in desperate need of new glassware (CNN’s Kate Bennett) White House seeks more power to counter use of drones in U.S. (AP’s Aamer Madhani) The $67 Billion Tariff Dodge That’s Undermining U.S. Trade Policy (WSJ’s Josh Zumbrun) VA adds 9 respiratory cancers to list of illnesses caused by burn pits (Stars and Stripes’ Nikki Wentling)
| | | | JOIN US ON 4/29 FOR A WOMEN RULE DISCUSSION ON WOMEN IN TECH : Women, particularly women of color and women from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, have historically been locked out of the tech world. But this new tech revolution could be an opportunity for women to get in on the ground floor of a new chapter. Join POLITICO for an in-depth panel discussion on the future of women in tech and how to make sure women are both participating in this fast-moving era and have access to all it offers. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | | Ashish Jha makes his briefing room debut Tuesday as head of the White House Covid-19 team.
| | | Busy day for the president. Biden arrived back in Washington this morning after spending the weekend in Delaware and received the President’s Daily Brief. Biden spoke to French President EMMANUEL MACRON, following his reelection. Biden also spoke on the phone with King ABDULLAH II of Jordan, where the pair discussed efforts to reduce violence in Israel and the West Bank, according to a readout of the call. The president also met with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and, following that, hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning on the South Lawn to celebrate their two recent Stanley Cups.
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President Joe Biden and Tampa Bay Lightning team | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo | | | | She travels from Los Angeles back to Washington, D.C. today.
| | | We previously noted that LIZ ALLEN, the State Department’s acting undersecretary of State for public diplomacy and public affairs, would take on redesigning menus if she didn't already have a ton on her plate. Well, Allen wrote to West Wing Playbook that there were "no major offenders in D.C. that need a [menu] redesign," but she did detail how she would go about designing menus, if she were to take it on. “These would be my guiding principles:
- The perfect number of appetizer choices is 6-8.
- Offering drink pairings is encouraged.
- Always offer a noodle dish — noodles of some sort, whether a nice pasta, drunken noodle, mac ‘n cheese or ramen.”
Sounds like a great plan, but we must insist, the correct number of appetizer options is five. | | | BENJAMIN HARRISON, who supported the landmark Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. Though the bill had several provisions struck down by the Supreme Court, presidents after Harrison (THEODORE ROOSEVELT, WOODROW WILSON, and FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT) strengthened and used the law with significant force, curbing the ability of giant corporations to set prices and restrain competition. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 remains an operational law to this day. For more on Harrison’s presidency, visit millercenter.org. AND, A CALL OUT — Do you have a more difficult trivia question? Send us your best question on the presidents with a citation and we may feature it. Edited by Eun Kyung Kim
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