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The power players, latest policy developments, and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing. | | | | |  | | By Lauren Egan, Myah Ward and Ben Johansen | Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from producer Raymond Rapada. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Eli | Email Lauren President JOE BIDEN wants you to see him eat. In the past few weeks alone, he’s visited a boba tea shop in Nevada, a soul food restaurant in South Carolina, a Cook Out chain in North Carolina, a bar and restaurant in Michigan, a coffee shop in Pennsylvania — and more. Biden staffers and Democrats close to the White House like to note how obviously clear it is that Biden is enjoying himself in these moments, and not just because of the caloric intake. While some politicians bemoan these smaller events — and some are wary of being awkwardly photographed scarfing down food — Biden, ahem, eats it up. “These retail stops allow the president to do what he excels at, connecting with people in a meaningful way on their own turf,” said a former Biden aide, who thinks the stops leave the president “energized.” Biden’s top aides have been openly skeptical of the value of splashy campaign rallies that have defined modern presidential campaigns and are favored by the likely GOP nominee, DONALD TRUMP. At a 2021 event with The Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School, BRUCE REED, one of Biden’s long-time advisers, stated plainly that future presidential candidates would be wise to replicate the “front-porch” style campaign that the 2020 Biden team was forced into because of the pandemic. He called it “an incredibly efficient” campaign technique. “I think future campaigns would be wise to do it. It’s much less toll on everyone concerned and you can reach a lot more people faster,” said Reed.
|  President Joe Biden eats a milkshake from Cook Out, a burger place in Raleigh, N.C., on Jan. 18, 2024. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP | Biden’s able to hit the trail more than he was in 2020. But the campaign so far has favored smaller events that put Biden face-to-face with voters over big rallies. Biden has only held three official campaign rallies since announcing his candidacy in April. And while more large-scale events will likely come as the general election gets closer, Democrats close to Biden say there’s a lot of value in keeping it small — for now. “It is something this president personally loves and makes him happy,” said JIM MESSINA, campaign manager for BARACK OBAMA's 2012 campaign. “It’s a sweet spot.” Unannounced stops at local joints also allow a candidate to be more nimble, said DAN PFEIFFER, a former senior adviser to Obama. They often don’t require the level of staffing and logistics of a large-scale campaign event. But they’re also largely doable because they can be easily amplified to broader audiences through social media — particularly TikTok videos and Instagram reels. When Obama was on the trail, the White House press pool may have captured a few still shots or a clip or two of the president meeting with voters. Now, Biden chowing down on fast food or snapping selfies with regular people will immediately make the rounds on the internet. “Before TikTok and Instagram reels, you could make an argument that that stuff wasn’t super efficient because you can’t shake enough hands to win a general election,” Pfeiffer said. “But now, those informal encounters have the ability to go viral on social media and go viral from the perspective of the people meeting with Biden.” It’s clear that the campaign plans to get a lot of mileage out of these events. On Wednesday, the campaign posted a 9-minute YouTube video of Biden — you guessed it — eating fries, burgers and chicken fingers from Cook Out with a North Carolina family. And that was weeks after one of the kids from the family posted a viral TikTok (it got more than 4 million views) of the president’s visit to his house. “In many ways, today’s social media environment is uniquely well suited for Joe Biden. It allows people to see him talking with a family at their kitchen table in a way that would be very difficult to replicate in the days before iPhone cameras,” said Biden deputy campaign manager ROB FLAHERTY. “It’s very hard to get that same feeling of authenticity and connection when you have a huge TV camera in the room.”
|  President Joe Biden, center, takes photos with patrons at They Say restaurant during a campaign stop on Feb. 1, 2024, in Harper Woods, Mich. | Evan Vucci/AP | MESSAGE US — Are you a VOTER WHO MET BIDEN AT ONE OF HIS FOOD STOPS? We want to hear from you. And we’ll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com. Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe here!
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes. | | | | | | | | | Which president and first lady met with WALTER WHITE, the executive secretary of the NAACP in 1934? Thanks to the White House Historical Association for this question! (Answer at bottom.)
| | HEY, I’M WALKING HERE!!! President Biden on Wednesday attended three New York fundraisers hosted by doctors and financiers, as the campaign builds up its cash arsenal against Republican opponent Donald Trump. The first climate-focused event was hosted by former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. managing director LAWRENCE LINDEN, alongside his wife DANA LINDEN, a journalist and philanthropist who works on Israeli issues, Bloomberg’s JUSTIN SINK and JENNIFER JACOBS report. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by NYT’s CATIE EDMONDSON, who chronicles the series of embarrassing blows Republicans received on Tuesday. As Senate Republicans tanked a border security bill they initially demanded, their House counterparts’ attempt to impeach Homeland Security Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS failed in a surprising vote. And, moments after, House Republicans defeated legislation that would send $17.6 billion in military assistance to Israel. “Taken together, the events that unfolded on Capitol Hill on Tuesday offered a vivid portrait of congressional disarray instigated by Republicans, who are bent on opposing President Biden at every turn but lack a large enough majority or the unity to work their will,” Edmondson writes. Deputy press secretary ANDREW BATES shared the piece on X. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This analysis by CNN’s HARRY ENTEN, who writes that Democrats should be worried about the president’s lagging poll numbers. Incumbent presidential candidates historically have not trailed their likely opponent at this point in the campaign, Enten writes. That should concern Dems, he says, because “we’re getting to the point where current approval ratings have some correlation with approval ratings by election time.” ABOUT THOSE POLLS … MAINLY, FIXING THEM: A group of senior Biden administration officials are meeting Thursday with members of the Arab American and Muslim community in Michigan, CNN reports. The meeting comes amid growing dissent within the Democratic party over the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. The group will discuss the conflict, as well as other pressing issues facing the community. The group of officials include U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator SAMANTHA POWER, principal deputy national security adviser JON FINER, Office of Public Engagement director STEVE BENJAMIN and Office of Intergovernmental Affairs director TOM PEREZ.
| | ANOTHER NOVA TRIP: President Biden will travel Thursday to Loudoun County, Virginia, to headline a closed-door conference of House Democrats as they plan their strategy to take back the chamber this November, the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s MICHAEL MARTZ reports. The theme of the three-day Dem retreat, which was reported last week: “Finish the Job.” Vice President KAMALA HARRIS joined the conference Wednesday at the Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg.
| | AI MOVES: ELIZABETH KELLY, an economic policy adviser to the president, has been tapped to lead the AI Safety Institute at the National Institute for Standards and Technology, AP’s JOSH BOAK reports. National Economic Council director LAEL BRAINARD said Kelly “shaped the president’s agenda on tech and financial regulation.” MORE PERSONNEL MOVES: KIRSTEN ALLEN, special assistant and press secretary to the vice president, will now serve as the VP’s communications director. — MARC AIDINOFF has been named a professor at Harvard, where he will be an assistant professor of history, our DANIEL LIPPMAN has learned. He most recently was a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Advanced Study and the chief of staff for the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House.
| | THE ACTUAL DETAILS: Yesterday, our JENNIFER HABERKORN and SAM STEIN noted that Democrats don’t just want to see Biden try and hammer Republicans and Trump for turning down a bipartisan border deal. They also want him to take executive actions to deal with the crisis. Later, TODD SHULTE, the president of the pro-immigration reform group Fwd.us, offered some ideas how. "President Biden should take clear actions within his power to provide work authorization and protections for undocumented families who have lived in the US for many years, build more pathways for people to come legally without coming to the border, and to build the capacity and incentives for people at the border to go to ports of entry — and reduce unauthorized crossings." ’CAUSE I’M THE TAXMAN: The IRS is gearing up to rake in billions of dollars more in overdue and unpaid taxes than initially expected, AP’s FATIMA HUSSEIN reports. Tax revenues are expected to rise to $534 billion in the next decade, made possible by the stepped up enforcement from the Inflation Reduction Act. MIDDLE EAST TALKS: Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN was in Israel on Wednesday meeting with senior Israeli government officials — including Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU — in an attempt to broker an end to the conflict, Axios’ BARAK RAVID reports. Netanyahu appeared unpersuaded. He rejected Hamas’ terms for a cease-fire and hostage agreement, vowing that the war would continue until “absolute victory,” AP reports. COMBATING SOOT: The Biden administration on Wednesday announced new air quality standards that the Environmental Protection Agency called a major step in improving the health of Americans, AP’s MATTHEW DALY reports. The EPA’s new rule tightens restrictions on soot pollution often produced by tailpipes, smokestacks and other industrial sources. EPA Director MICHAEL REGAN says the rule will have $46 billion in net health benefits by 2032 — the year states will have to meet the standards by — which Regan says will help prevent up to 800,000 asthma attacks and 4,500 premature deaths.
| | Georges Bergès Introduced Hunter Biden to the Art World. It Hasn’t Worked Out Well. (WSJ’s Annie Linskey) Biden’s pro-Israel stance boosts his standing in Pennsylvania (Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch) ‘An arms race forever’: AI debuts in 2024 elections with no easy solution (POLITICO’s Mohar Chatterjee and Madison Fernandez)
| | President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT and first lady ELEANOR ROOSEVELT met with White at the White House to discuss a proposed anti-lynching bill. While Roosevelt expressed his “abhorrence of the evil,” he did not support the bill, according to the White House Historical Association. A CALL OUT! Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents, with a citation or sourcing, and we may feature it! Edited by Eun Kyung Kim and Sam Stein.
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