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| By Eli Okun | ||||
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JUST ANNOUNCED — ANDREA MITCHELL is leaving her MSNBC anchor role after the inauguration. She’ll instead focus on reporting more broadly across NBC News and MSNBC as she remains chief Washington correspondent and chief foreign affairs correspondent. “After 16 years of being in the anchor chair every day, I want time to do more of what I love the most: more connecting, listening and reporting in the field,” Mitchell said on air.
Memo from NBCU News Group leadership | ||||
VP Kamala Harris is getting some major super PAC backing down the stretch. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | ||||
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The pro-KAMALA HARRIS super PAC Future Forward is launching another huge $100 million flight of ads to broadcast her closing message to voters across every major platform in the campaign’s final week. The record-breaking messaging deluge leans heavily into voters’ economic concerns and Harris’ effort to contrast her plans to improve people’s lives with those of DONALD TRUMP. The two national spots are focused on helping Americans get ahead:
Across the swing states, Future Forward’s other ads seek to shore up the various parts of the coalition Democrats need, from Spanish speakers to football fans to pro-abortion-rights women, with a heavy dose of economic populism. “Kay” slams Trump over Social Security and Medicare. … “Jackie” shows a former Trump voter drawing an economic contrast between the candidates. … “Steven - Elon” highlights a steelworker who criticizes Trump for palling around with billionaires like ELON MUSK. … “Who You Trust” pairs a tax-cut message with an abortion focus in an overall freedom message. … “Backs” inverts one of Trump’s most famous ads by concluding, “She’s with us, not with them.” (This time, “them” is Trump and Musk, instead of people who are transgender or non-binary.) … “Right” emphasizes no new taxes for the vast majority of Americans under Harris. On Spanish-language radio, the musical “Puro Engaño” spot ties Trump to Project 2025 and health care cuts. On English-language radio, “Sales Tax of Doom” warns specifically that Trump’s tariffs would cost people $4,000 to $5,000 annually. And Future Forward also has a slate of digital ads focused on the economy: “Always,” “Tax Hikes,” “Beyond - Taxes,” “Beyond - Social Security,” “Amanda” and “Fight.” NOT GOING THERE — The big question ahead of Trump’s remarks to reporters today was how he’d talk about the viral fallout from his Madison Square Garden rally this weekend. The answer: He didn’t. “The love in that room was breathtaking,” Trump said, per Kimberly Leonard. Unaddressed was the wave of condemnations for racist jokes by TONY HINCHCLIFFE and others, especially toward Puerto Ricans. Before the presser, Trump distanced himself a bit, telling ABC’s Rachel Scott that he didn’t know Hinchcliffe. Though Democrats, including Minnesota Gov. TIM WALZ, continued to denounce the comments, Trump’s focus was elsewhere: He slammed MICHELLE OBAMA as “very nasty” and said Harris was “running on a campaign of immoralization.” Behind the scenes, Trump world has grown very bullish on his chances next week, Axios’ Zachary Basu reports . “We’ve never had data that looks this good,” says one person close to him. The campaign sees Georgia and North Carolina slipping away from Harris, the N.Y. Post’s A.G. Gancarski reports. From 30,000 feet: “An Ethical Minefield Awaits a Possible Second Trump Presidency,” by NYT’s Ben Protess, Maggie Haberman and Eric Lipton: “With business ties to foreign governments and holdings in industries overseen by federal regulators, Donald Trump would likely be the most conflicted president in U.S. history.” BIG PLATFORM — Sen. JD VANCE (R-Ohio) is going on JOE ROGAN’s podcast tomorrow, per Meridith McGraw, with the episode coming out later in the week. SURVEY SAYS — New CNN polls show Harris +1 in Arizona and Trump +1 in Nevada. … Elon and WRAL both find Trump and Harris tied in North Carolina. … Susquehanna has Harris +5 in Michigan but Rep. ELISSA SLOTKIN only +0.6 in the Senate race. … Emerson has better news for Trump in Michigan, finding him ahead by 1, and some decent results for House Democrats: Rep. JAHANA HAYES leads by 4 in Connecticut, and RUDY SALAS is up by 2 in California. Good Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at eokun@politico.com. | ||||
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On Elon Musk's X, new accounts get steered to the right politically. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo |
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1. X MARKS THE FRAUGHT: Under Musk, X has steered its content to the right (along with its billionaire owner’s political evolution), transforming a critical source of news for tens of millions of American users. Musk has pitched the platform as politically neutral and a free-speech haven. But in fact, new accounts on the platform are quickly fed a stream of pro-Trump posts and misinformation, even if they don’t express interest in politics, WSJ’s Jack Gillum, Alexa Corse and Adrienne Tong scooped. And a new WaPo analysis from Drew Harwell and Jeremy Merrill reveals that Republican politicians’ posts have disproportionately gone viral and drawn views, though there’s no evidence that X is manipulating things to suppress Dems. “Musk is the October surprise of the 2024 election,” WaPo’s Michael Scherer and Josh Dawsey write , as the world’s richest person has worked publicly to bend the outcome to his will like no billionaire has before in the U.S. Dirty tricks: Building America’s Future, a PAC funded by Musk, is lying to conservative voters with “Project 2028” ads warning that Harris will implement policies she doesn’t actually support (like letting undocumented people vote), 404 Media’s Jason Koebler reports . The ads pretend to be from Democrats. Meanwhile, a mysterious new super PAC called the Progressive Century Project is trying to sway young voters against Rep. RUBEN GALLEGO and Sen. TAMMY BALDWIN over Gaza, per FWIW’s Kyle Tharp. Disinformation is running rampant far beyond X, too. NYT’s Neil Bedi, Lazaro Gamio, Ishaan Jhaveri, Devon Lum, Haley Willis and Karen Yourish break down how baseless conspiracy theories have taken over Truth Social, promoted by and influencing Trump many times a day. WaPo’s Sarah Ellison and Adriana Usero report from Miami that Spanish-language misinformation is flourishing for a mass audience, and corrected less quickly/often than lies in English. And CNN’s Daniel Dale breaks down serious dishonesty in just one recent Trump campaign ad misquoting headlines/articles: “Harris vows to keep Biden’s border crackdown” becomes “Harris vows to keep Biden’s border,” and more in that vein. 2. RUNNING OUT OF TIME: “Biden’s Justice Dept has yet to reach accords in police misconduct cases,” by Reuters’ Sarah Lynch and Andrew Goudsward: “The U.S. Justice Department has opened 12 investigations into possible civil rights abuses by police departments since Democratic President Joe Biden took office, but has not secured even one binding settlement to implement reforms … If Republican Donald Trump wins the Nov. 5 election before the department reaches court-approved resolutions known as ‘consent decrees,’ those probes and others could end.” 3. IN THE CROSSHAIRS: A number of federal agencies and programs could be targeted for big changes or cuts if Trump wins the election. EPA: Having largely built back up from cuts in Trump’s first term, the agency has started to flex policy muscle on a new level lately, but it could be in for huge new reversals on fighting climate change and enforcing environmental rules in his second. Potential administrator MANDY GUNASEKARA tells NYT’s Lisa Friedman that Republicans will “tear down and rebuild” its structure. CDC: GOP policy thinkers want to ax dozens of programs and lots of funding from the public health agency, refocusing on its core mission of infectious disease, WaPo’s Lena Sun reports. That could spell trouble for everything from local overdose tracking to cancer screenings, as Republicans want the CDC to double down on pandemic prevention and move other issues to other agencies.
Refugee resettlement: Trump would likely decimate refugee admissions like he did during his first term — a prospect that’s unsettling refugees already here, Reuters’ Kristina Cooke and Ted Hesson report from Appleton, Wisconsin. As with other agencies, the Biden administration had to work for years to rebuild the program’s infrastructure. | ||||
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4. CLIMATE/INFRASTRUCTURE FILES: “In a visit to Baltimore, Biden will announce $3 billion to reduce carbon emissions at US ports,” by AP’s Matthew Daly: “[O]fficials say [the grants] will improve and electrify port infrastructure at 55 sites nationwide while supporting an estimated 40,000 union jobs, reducing pollution and combating the climate crisis.” 5. THE DECIDERS: Huge population growth in North Carolina’s suburbs since 2020 could give Democrats an opening to make inroads with new arrivals, Bloomberg’s Shawn Donnan, Anna Edgerton, Christopher Cannon, and Andre Tartar report. But party leaders caution that they can’t assume that will be the case. … Pennsylvania Catholics have lost their connection to the Democratic ticket with Biden’s exit from the race, AP’s Peter Smith reports from Pittsburgh. Both campaigns are working hard to sway the swingy demographic. … Trump is the only form of conservatism many college-aged men have known, though it isn’t totally clear how much the bros will turn out for him, NOTUS’ Katherine Swartz reports from Penn State. 6. LONG IN THE BOOTH: “Arizona’s ballot is so long it could create Election Day problems,” by WaPo’s Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Blair Guild in Phoenix:: “In a state plagued with deep distrust of elections, officials worry that the lengthy ballots will lead to long lines and inspire fresh disinformation. … In Maricopa County, home to a majority of voters, there are two pages — each measuring 17 inches long by 8½ inches wide when fully unfurled — that are covered front and back in fine print with races, full lists of the presidential electors from four parties, judges seeking to retain their seats and 13 statewide ballot questions on abortion, taxes, illegal immigration and a host of other issues.” 7. 2025 DREAMING: A Harris administration could elevate Africa as a U.S. foreign-policy priority, and her team has already brought together 25 people to work on an overarching policy for the continent, Semafor’s Yinka Adegoke reports. Regularizing the US-Africa Leaders Summit and making prominent/early visits to African countries could be in the offing. 8. IRA IMPACT, PART I: “How American Tax Breaks Brought a Chinese Solar Energy Giant to Ohio,” Bloomberg: “American manufacturers are crying foul, saying these factories undermine their quest to build a domestic solar supply chain. Although other countries have taken advantage of the [Inflation Reduction Act’s] subsidies, political objections have focused on Chinese investment. … Illuminate and its American and Chinese parent companies see it differently. They point to an influx of well-paying jobs and to a resurrection of manufacturing.” 9. IRA IMPACT, PART II:
In Nevada, the IRA’s investments in solar, lithium extraction and the green energy transition are scrambling the usual partisan lines, Benjamin Storrow reports from Tonopah. Conservatives are excited about lithium mining, but they pooh-pooh the electric vehicles for which the lithium will create batteries. Liberals welcome the fight against climate change but worry about excessive development. And for many Nevada voters, climate change isn’t a top priority either way. | ||||
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Barbara Bush is campaigning for Kamala Harris. Mike Crapo could be a big Hill player in 2025. David Austin has raised $18 million for his Democratic super PAC at age 20. 50 Cent rejected $3 million to perform at Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally. Martin Sheen sang “America the Beautiful” on the campaign trail. IN MEMORIAM — “Tom Jarriel, Globetrotting ABC News Reporter, Is Dead at 89,” by NYT’s Richard Sandomir: “In his 37 years at the network, he was a White House correspondent, weekend anchor and correspondent for ‘20/20.’ He won 19 Emmy Awards.” WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Helen Beaudreau is now executive director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. She most recently was senior adviser for the Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs at HHS. TRANSITIONS — Jonathan Cannon is joining Meta as a public policy manager. He previously was policy counsel for technology and innovation at the R Street Institute. … Lee Carosi Dunn is now chief counsel to Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Douglas Dziak. She previously was at Google, and is a John McCain alum. … Maura Seikaly is now VP of comms at the Natural Gas Supply Association, as Daphne Magnuson retires. Seikaly previously worked at Clear Strategy Partners. … … Layla Brooks is now legislative director for Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.). She most recently was senior legislative assistant for Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.). … Misha Rafiq is now a confidential assistant for general government programs at OMB. She previously was a legislative intern for Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.). ENGAGED — Anthony LaBruna, executive director of the American Principles Project and a Trump Commerce Department alum, proposed to Julia McLaughlin, an event manager at Hewell Events Group, on Thursday at Mar-a-Lago. They met while working together at the APP Christmas ball in 2022. Pic … Another pic Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@politico.com or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath. Correction: The Oct. 22 Playbook PM misstated the wedding venue for Nahiomy Alvarez and Bret Watson. They got married at the Palacio Sans Souci in Buenos Aires. | ||||
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