The Capitol and Washington Monument are seen during an Independence Day fireworks display along the National Mall in Washington, D.C, on July 4, 2022. | STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images
DRIVING THE DAY
Happy Fourth of July! Writing about American politics every day for the brilliant Playbook audience is a unique privilege. We’ve now been doing it for two and half years — 1% of the country’s history! — and Independence Day is as good as any to say that we are enormously grateful for your loyalty, and we’re crackling with excitement to cover the coming 18 months of American democracy with you.
As is our custom, we present this special fireworks edition of Playbook. Enjoy!
MARK ZUCKERBERG VS. ELON MUSK — Forget about the cage match: Zuck plans to force Musk into submission with a new Twitter rival called “Threads” that just appeared in Apple’s app store and is set for release this Thursday.
Threads will add Twitter-like functionality to your Instagram account, and Meta (Facebook and Instagram’s parent company) is seizing on the continued chaos and dysfunction at Twitter to boost the product. A top Meta executive recently declared that Threads will be a “sanely run” competitor. The debut of the app has already gotten under Musk’s skin.
Most Twitter alternatives have struggled to take off, but this one looks more promising for several reasons: (1) Instagram can leverage its 2 billion monthly users (Twitter has some 264 million), (2) Instagram has a history of copying key features from rivals that quickly become addictive (its “Stories” feature was ripped off from Snapchat), and (3) with the ongoing failure of Zuck’s bet on the metaverse, he is hungry for a win.
THE SEC VS. TRUTH SOCIAL —WaPo: “The top financial partner of former President DONALD TRUMP’s media company has offered to pay $18 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle an investigation into its initial merger talks in hopes it could accelerate its long-delayed merger, the company said in an SEC filing Monday.”
THE GOP VS. SECTION 702 — NYT: “G.O.P. Threatens Spy Agencies’ Surveillance Tool:
With hard-right Republicans attacking federal law enforcement agencies and unwilling to extend their broad powers, a major warrantless surveillance program targeting foreigners overseas may face new limits from Congress.”
REPUBLICANS VS. IMPEACHMENT —NYT: “Republicans Are Divided on Impeaching Biden as Panel Begins New Inquiry”
J.D. VANCE AND RAND PAUL VS. BIDEN NOMINEES — WSJ: “Covid-19, ‘Woke’ Complaints Hold Up Biden’s Ambassador Picks”
Augmented reality will help neighborhoods recover from power outages.
Augmented reality will help electrical lineworkers spot and repair problems in the power grid more quickly, helping communities get their lights back on faster after power outages.
The metaverse may be virtual, but the impact will be real.
DeSANTIS VS. GRAVITY — Meredith McGraw: “A top spokesperson for RON DeSANTIS’ super PAC is sounding a decidedly dour note on the Florida governor’s presidential prospects, saying his campaign is facing an ‘uphill battle’ and is trailing badly in the key nominating states. STEVE CORTES, who previously supported Donald Trump, also heaped praise on the former president, calling him a ‘runaway frontrunner’ and ‘maestro’ of the debate.”
TRUMP VS. PARADES — NYT: “It’s the final Fourth of July before the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary — still more than six months away, yes. But all the same, the Republicans vying for their party’s presidential nomination will be on the trail, waving to supporters from parades, shaking hands with voters and taking selfies.
“But not the front-runner: Donald J. Trump will be conspicuously absent on the 247th anniversary of the nation’s independence….
In parades in Iowa today:MIKE PENCE. … In parades in New Hampshire: RON DeSANTIS, TIM SCOTT, WILL HURD, DOUG BURGUM, VIVEK RAMASWAMY.
FERGUS CULLEN, former chair of the N.H. GOP: “Can you imagine Trump walking in the Wolfeboro Fourth of July parade? I don’t think so.”
TRUMP VS. BIDEN —Mediaite: “Trump Starts Independence Day By Sharing ‘F*CK BIDEN’ Meme on Social Media at 2AM”
PUTIN VS. COUP PLOTTERS — NYT: “After Armed Rebellion, Putin Tries to Reinforce His Defenses”
RED AMERICA VS. BLUE AMERICA —
AP: “In a polarized US, how to define a patriot increasingly depends on who’s being asked”
NYT: “Will America Be Ready for Its 250th Birthday?”
VERY RELATABLE — “The world’s 500 richest people added $852 billion to their fortunes in the first half of 2023,” report Bloomberg’s Annie Massa and Jack Witzig. “Each member of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index made an average of $14 million per day over the past six months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.”
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
Climate activists rally in front of the White House to demand that President Biden declare a climate emergency and move the country away from fossil fuels, on Tuesday, July 4. | Yuri Gripas/AP Photo
PLAYBOOK READS
9 THINGS WE READ THAT STUCK WITH US
1. THE NEW GOP:NIKKI HALEY and Ramaswamy are Indian American. Hurd is biracial. Scott and LARRY ELDER are Black. FRANCIS SUAREZ is Cuban American. It all adds up to this: “The GOP has its most diverse presidential field in modern history,” writes Brakkton Booker.
So why don’t they talk about that fact?
“The Republican Party is now up to a half dozen candidates of color seeking the GOP nomination, surpassing the previous record of four set during the 2016 cycle,” Brakkton writes. “But in the modern GOP — a party supercharged by anti-'woke' culture wars and whose presidential candidates lean heavily on white voters — it’s better left unsaid.”
2. RFK JR. GETS POLITICAL BOOSTER SHOT: “Pro-Kennedy Super PAC Says It Has Raised $10 Million,” by NYT’s Rebecca Davis O’Brien: “The precise level of fund-raising by the super PAC, American Values 2024, will not be known until later this month, when political action committees file midyear reports with the Federal Election Commission. But TONY LYONS, [ROBERT F.] KENNEDY’s publisher and the super PAC’s co-chair, said that the $10.25 million included two ‘very large’ donations that each exceed $1 million, and that the contributions came from a ‘right down the middle’ mix of Republicans and Democrats.”
3. MEET THE NEW BOSS, SAME AS THE OLD BOSS: “JENS STOLTENBERG will serve another year as NATO secretary general after member states agreed to extend his term as the military alliance continues to confront Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” write Bloomberg’s Kevin Whitelaw and Natalia Drozdiak. “Stoltenberg’s tenure, which has been extended until October next year, has already been prolonged three times. He had previously made clear he intended to step down from the role this year. Several countries were eager to pick a woman to head the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but the bloc’s members were unable to agree on a successor.”
4. A NAME YOU SHOULD LEARN: Delaware state Sen. SARAH McBRIDE is the first transgender person to hold that office — and as LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER leaves the House to run for U.S. Senate, McBride could soon become the first trans member of Congress.
But she’s already a quiet but powerful force in Biden world, someone the president has repeatedly leaned on as GOP-led states pass laws restricting access to medical care for trans minors, Myah Ward writes. “Over time, she has helped turn one of the most devout Catholic presidents in U.S. history into an unlikely champion of LGBTQ causes.”
McBride, who worked on BEAU BIDEN’s Delaware AG campaign while in high school, told Myah that the president’s commitment to LGBTQ issues owes partly to his late son.
“I truly think that part of this is this president feeling closer to his son, and his son’s legacy,” McBride tells POLITICO.
6. POST-DOBBS AMERICA: A year after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which eliminated the guaranteed right to abortion, some adoption agencies have seen an increase in the number of infants placed for adoption, while others say it’s too early to feel Dobbs’ impact, writes NBC News’ Mary Pflum.
In Texas: “MARK MELSON, the president and CEO of the Texas-based Gladney Center for Adoption, which facilitates adoptions nationwide, said the center has seen a 30% increase in infant domestic adoptions in the past year. Inquiries from pregnant women who call to learn about their adoption options, meanwhile, are up 55%, he said.”
In Florida:ROBERT LAMARCHE, director of Florida-based ACF Adoptions, “said his agency hasn’t seen a significant uptick in adoption placements,” Pflum writes.
“‘We used to typically get calls from women in their second trimester,’ Lamarche said. ‘Now we get calls from women when they’re four weeks pregnant, five weeks pregnant, calling to figure out their options.’”
7. COMING ATTRACTIONS: “Federal agency powers in the crosshairs at the U.S. Supreme Court,” by Reuters’ Andrew Chung and John Kruzel: “The issue will figure prominently during the court's next term, which begins in October.” Among those cases are ones “challenging the constitutionality of the funding structure for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the in-house enforcement regime at the Securities and Exchange Commission. It also could overturn a decades-old precedent that helps federal agencies defend their regulatory actions in court.”
8. OWNING THE LIBS, OR CATFISHING THE CONS?: “A viral left-wing Twitter account may have been fake all along,” by WaPo’s Drew Harwell: “In eight months, Erica Marsh has become one of the most consistently viral left-wing voices on Twitter, gaining more than 130,000 followers for her hyper-liberal, often melodramatic opinions on the biggest flash points in American news. She’s been especially popular with conservatives, who promoted her as a perfect symbol of how overly theatrical and inane progressives can be … There’s just one problem: She’s probably a fake.”
9. INTERESTING BATTLE LINES: “The Frequent Fliers of Congress Consider New Flights for Washington Airport,” by NYT’s Kate Kelly and Mark Walker: “In recent weeks, dozens of lawmakers have joined the push for 28 new round-trip flights per day at Reagan National. … [T]hey argue that these additional routes — which would require tweaking a decades-old law that prevents most flights from traveling more than 1,250 miles to or from Reagan National — would meet pent-up demand, reduce airfares and create new jobs.”
Among those in favor: Delta, Sens. JON TESTER (D-Mt.) and RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-Ga.), Reps. BURGESS OWENS (R-Utah) and CHIP ROY (R-Texas), Columbia Sportswear, Adidas and trade associations in Utah, Texas and Washington.
Among those opposed:United, American, Reps. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D-Va.) and DEBBIE LESKO (R-Ariz.) and a number of regional airports in the 1,250-mile perimeter.
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PLAYBOOKERS
Bill Burns, the director of the CIA, and David Cohen, his deputy, are extras in the new season of Amazon’s “Jack Ryan,” which premiered last Friday. Here they are standing in the CIA lobby as John Krasinski’s character walks by them (h/t to the eagle-eyed Daniel Lippman).
Joaquin Castroopened up about his fight with cancer.
Francis Suarez came in sixth place in a 5k race in Cedar Rapids this morning.
Dave Reichertfiled to run for Washington governor in 2024.
The UK embassy tried to be funny on Twitter. Judge for yourself if they succeeded.
OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED on Monday night at a July Fourth party hosted by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, where guests were served kosher McDonald’s burgers, 7-Eleven slurpees and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, and heard speeches from Nides, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog: Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Yair Lapid, Benny Gantz,Eli Cohen, Yossi Cohen, Amir Ohana, Moshe Lion, Israel Katz, Tzipi Livni, Virginia Moseley, Taylor Nides, Michael Oren, Malcolm Hoenlein, Jordana Cutler, Jessica Dean and Alex Katz.
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — CIA Director Bill Burns and Deputy Director David Cohen are extras in the new season of Amazon’s “Jack Ryan,” which premiered last Friday, notes Daniel Lippman. The two appear talking as they stand on the CIA seal in the agency's lobby as John Krasinski’s character walks past them. The show also did some filming for this season near the White House more than a year ago. Screengrab by POLITICO
TRANSITIONS —Andrew Schreyer is now interim chief operations officer with the Biden-Harris reelection campaign. He previously was deputy assistant administrator for management at the EPA. … Kelsey Gold is now director of operations and scheduling for Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.). She most recently was scheduler for Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.).
WEDDING — Fin Gómez, CBS News political director, married Sarah March, SVP at BAY Public Relations, on Thursday in a ceremony at sunset at the Son Marroig temple in Mallorca, Spain. The couple met in Miami more than 10 years ago while they were both living and working there. Their first dance was to “You’re All I Need to Get By” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and Gómez took a moment during his remarks at dinner to congratulate his colleague Weijia Jiang on being the first woman of color elected as president of the White House Correspondents’ Association. SPOTTED: Weijia Jiang, Mark Lima, Jim Acosta, Trey Yingst, Caitlin Huey-Burns, Zain Asher, Steve Peoples and Liz Landers.
BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY: The United States of America is 247 … Malia Obama … Geraldo Rivera (8-0) … Matt Katz … WSJ’s Natalie Andrews … Viveca Novak … former Reps. Dan Maffei (D-N.Y.) and Sam Farr (D-Calif.) … Ed Matricardi … Frank Donatelli … Lanhee Chen … Ripple’s Susan Hendrick … Ann Conant … Dustin Todd … Kathleen Kennedy Townsend … Brandon English … Luke Tomanelli … Terry Wade … Kevin McLaughlin … Ryan Williams … Will Ritter of Poolhouse … Catlin O’Neill … Sunshine Sachs’ Taylor Friedman … Lauren Ashburn … Matthew Gravatt … John Simonds
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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 producers Setota Hailemariam and Bethany Irvine.
Correction: Saturday’s Playbook misstated Bob Dinneen’s work affiliation. He is retired.
A message from Meta:
The metaverse will help students gain more hands-on experience.
Students will use augmented reality to look inside the circulatory system and see how it powers the human body—helping them gain a deeper understanding of how our bodies work.
The metaverse may be virtual, but the impact will be real.
