|
Presented by Walmart: | | | | |  | | By Alex Thompson and Eli Stokols | Presented by Walmart | 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 Eli GEORGETOWN, Del. — President JOE BIDEN has loved the earnest Delaware tradition known as “Return Day” since he participated in it in 1972 after his first Senate election. For over two hundred years, the state’s political class gathers in the small town of Georgetown to display bipartisan goodwill and hear the “town crier” announce local Election Day results. The winners and losers ride together in cars or horse-drawn chariots to town hall, where they bury an actual hatchet.
| 
The Town Crier announcing the results of the 2022 election in Delaware. | Alex Thompson | The event exemplifies the type of politics Biden has long preached: that comity can exist even amidst fierce political disagreements. In the background are a wholesome variety of funnel cake and kettle corn stands, people dressed in Revolutionary-era garb, high school dance numbers, and a roast pit of an ox eventually carved up for free sandwiches. One former Biden aide explained that “it’s not only about the day but his whole reverence for Delaware and its political culture of being able to disagree without being disagreeable.” So West Wing Playbook attended this year. But Return Day has been increasingly been torn apart by the same polarizing debates taking place throughout the country, particularly around race and the legacy of slavery. In the lead up to this year’s event, held Thursday, the state’s Democratic Party urged its candidates against sitting in the carriages with Republicans for the tradition because the vehicles are loaned out from the town’s historical society — which runs a local museum that flies a large Confederate flag at a Civil War memorial for soldiers and civilians who died on the Confederate side. Republicans accused Democrats of undermining the spirit of the event, while Democrats said Republicans dismissing concerns over the flag were actually the ones undermining the event. Ultimately, the differences were irreconcilable. On Thursday, Republicans rode in the carriages alone and Democratic lawmakers walked the route behind them — or rode in separate cars. Members of the state NAACP arrived with a bullhorn and protest signs. The Delaware Grays Sons of Confederate Veterans, the group behind the memorial, marched through town carrying a Confederate flag in the parade behind the lawmakers. They were met with both boos and cheers. The county’s GOP chair, MARILYN BOOKER, called the Democrats’ move “unfortunate” and said, “I don't see any racism in this town in this state. I think we need to be spending more time on teaching everybody to be tolerant and to be respectful.” Asked what the Confederate flag represents to her, she admitted: “I never really gave it a whole lot of thought.” She added that, “I don't know that you can judge what happened back then based on what's happening today. The standards today are different and they need to be.” The party representatives did eventually bury an actual hatchet, but the divisions were evident in further interviews with the crowd, many of whom were buzzing and debating about the controversy. SHERRENA WILLIAMS , a 68-year-old Black Democrat from the nearby town of Millville, said she was glad her party took a stand over prominently displaying a divisive symbol. “You’re asking an abused people to get over being abused. There’s still pain there,” she said. “Usually, you don’t celebrate something that was lost,” she noted of the Confederacy.
| 
A sandwich of Ox meat handed out to the crowd. | Alex Thompson | NANCY SIMPSON, a 58-year-old white woman from Georgetown who is on the committee that organizes Return Day, called it “sad” Democrats couldn’t put aside their concerns. “That flag has been there forever and it never bothered anyone and then all of the sudden they object,” she said. “It’s part of our town, it’s part of who we were, who we are.” Simpson is right that Democrats didn’t used to raise such strong objections to the flag or the Civil War memorial. In fact, former Democratic Gov. RUTH ANN MINNER, who Biden eulogized at her memorial last year, spoke at the 2007 memorial dedication ceremony Hundreds of people sang “Dixie” and Minner declared a "Confederate History and Heritage Week" that year. The flag has been flying since then but the fight over the flag re-emerged this past year when the Georgetown Town Council voted this summer to give thousands of dollars to the historical society for repairs, as WMDT’s ROB PETREE reported. Despite Delaware’s legacy, many white Democratic leaders in the state now believe no middle ground remains when it comes to such issues. Democratic Gov. JOHN CARNEY told West Wing Playbook that he sees the other side undermining the tradition of cordiality. “The whole idea of Return Day is to bring people together as one Delaware. And that's frankly, what [the flag] doesn't really represent.”
| 
The carriages that politicians ride on Return Day at the Georgetown Historical Society. | Alex Thompson | MESSAGE US — Are you ADAM RAVIV, senior ethics counsel for the personnel office? We want to hear from you! And we’ll keep you anonymous. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com .
| | A message from Walmart: Walmart is strengthening their commitment to American jobs and communities by investing an additional $350 billion in products made, grown or assembled in America. Last year, the company sourced over $1 billion in goods from veteran-owned businesses, like Grind Goods.
Learn more about Walmart’s commitment to U.S. manufacturing. | | | | | | This one is from Allie. Which president changed today’s holiday name from “Armistice Day” to “Veteran’s Day” and what year did the name change occur? (Answer at the bottom.)
| | | | 
Cartoon by Ed Hall | Courtesy | It’s Friday and you know what that means — time to feature a cartoon! This one’s by ED HALL. Our very own MATT WUERKER also publishes a selection of cartoons from all over the country. View the cartoon carousel here .
| | | BIDEN PRESSER FALLOUT: Folks in the West Wing and the press corps were irked at the midterm postmortem news conference Wednesday because some White House reporters asked three to four questions each. That meant Biden only got through nine of the 10 reporters on his list and didn’t have time for additional outlets to ask questions, which he has done in the past. Biden isn’t blameless, however, as he doesn’t do many interviews or press conferences. Still, the questioning didn’t strike many other journalists as collegial. Based on where reporters were seated, the Wall Street Journal would have been the last outlet out of the 10, and it didn’t get a question. The Journal and the White House declined to comment. FOUR MORE YEARS!: North Carolina Gov. ROY COOPER told CBS’s MAJOR GARRETT that he expects Biden to run again. “I had a conversation with him just a couple of days ago. I support him. He's been a fantastic president. I've told him that I will try to win North Carolina. If he makes the decision, I'm for him 100 percent.” HI AND BYE: Biden, en route to Asia, spent three hours Friday in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, meeting with the country’s president before delivering a speech at the COP-27 global climate summit. A year after he showed up to the same confab empty-handed, Biden touted the $368 billion for climate in the Inflation Reduction Act as proof the U.S. is doing its part. "I can stand here as president of the United States of America and say with confidence: the United States of America will meet our emissions targets by 2030,” he said, while calling on other countries "in a position to help” to aid developing countries shore up climate defenses. Biden also said Russia’s weaponization of energy through its war in Ukraine, which has tested some nations’ climate commitments, “only enhances the urgency of the need to transition the world off its dependence on fossil fuels." TOLD YA SO, CONT.: We wrote Thursday about how Democrats’ focus on health care lifted the party in the midterm election. Biden was derided by numerous pundits and pollsters in his own party for not focusing enough on inflation and crime, but the NYT’s NATE COHN noted Friday that the president’s focus down the stretch on abortion and democracy — he gave speeches on both — kept the issues top of mind for voters. CHASER: Reuters headline from Nov. 7: “Some in White House worry abortion message bungled before midterms”
| | | | NEW AND IMPROVED POLITICO APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. With a fresh look and improved features, the sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. Already a POLITICO app user? Upgrade today! DOWNLOAD FOR iOS – DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID . | | | | | | | | SHOULD HE STAY OR SHOULD HE GO: Customs and Border Protection Commissioner CHRIS MAGNUS has been asked by Homeland Security Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS to resign or be fired, and so far, Magnus has refused to step down , our DANIEL LIPPMAN reports. Mayorkas has delegated Magnus’ job duties to his deputy secretary, JOHN TIEN, and deputy CBP commissioner TROY MILLER. The news comes after a POLITICO report from October about Magnus coming under internal fire, with some describing him as unengaged in his role. MAKING THE ROUNDS: LIZ SHERWOOD-RANDALL, assistant to the president for homeland security, met with Ghana’s President NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO on Friday at the U.N. The two touched on “ongoing efforts to counter the spread of terrorism across Africa … and deepening the U.S.-Ghana partnership,” according to the White House.
| | | | A message from Walmart:   | | | | | | SUSPENDED ’TIL FURTHER NOTICE: The Education Department stopped accepting new applications for its student debt relief program , taking the StudentAid.gov website down after a federal judge Thursday deemed the policy illegal, our MICHAEL STRATFORD reports. In a statement, the department said it is “seeking to overturn those orders. If you've already applied, we'll hold your application.” EYEING POST-WAR TRADE: U.S. and Ukrainian officials this week discussed trade agreements that could help rebuild Ukraine once the Russian invasion recedes, our DOUG PALMER reports for Pros. OKSANA MARKAROVA, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., said leaders are “already working. We are ready to expand our cooperation in all of the directions.” MESSAGE SENT: The flight of two U.S. B-52 bombers over the Middle East was a show-of-force message to Iran as the U.S. and Saudi officials monitor an imminent threat to Saudi Arabia, our LARA SELIGMAN reports. Officials believe Tehran is planning an attack on the Kingdom, likely on energy infrastructure.
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S 2nd ANNUAL DEFENSE SUMMIT ON 11/16: The United States is facing a defining moment in the future of its defense, national security and democratic ideals. The current conflicts and developments around the world are pushing Washington to reshape its defense strategy and how it cooperates with allies. Join POLITICO for our second annual defense summit, “At a Crossroads: America’s Defense Strategy” on November 16 in person at the Schuyler DC or join online to hear keynote interviews and panels discussing the road ahead for America’s national security. REGISTER HERE . | | | | | | | | The Vindication (for Now) of Joe Biden (New York Magazine’s Gabriel Debenedetti) With Biden and Xi to meet, China warns U.S. on Taiwan briefing (Reuters' Martin Quin Pollard and Eduardo Baptista) South Korea to Sell Arms to U.S. for Ukrainian Forces Fighting Russia (WSJ’s Michael R. Gordon and Gordon Lubold)
| | | ANITA DUNN, senior adviser to the president, on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday 9 a.m. EST.
| | | In 1954, President DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER formally changed the name’s holiday to honor all veterans. See more details of the holiday on the Department of Veterans Affairs website. A CALL OUT — Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents with a citation and we may feature it. Edited by Eun Kyung Kim and Sam Stein.
| | A message from Walmart: Walmart is strengthening their commitment to U.S. manufacturing by supporting products made, grown or assembled in America. According to Walmart’s 2021 Supplier Inclusion Impact Report, the company spent nearly $1 billion with veteran-owned businesses across the country, like Grind Goods, a natural oral care company that gives back to homeless veterans.
Back in 2021, Walmart announced they were committing an additional $350 billion to U.S. manufacturing over the next ten years. This investment is estimated to support the creation of 750,000 new American jobs based on data from Boston Consulting Group.
Learn more about Walmart’s commitment to U.S. manufacturing and veteran-owned businesses. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
|
