Gone to Carolina

Jan 18, 2024

By Elena Schneider, 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 spent today in North Carolina, a state that’s eluded Democrats nationally for nearly two decades. But Gov. ROY COOPER, a Democrat who won the state twice with former President DONALD TRUMP on the ticket, thinks it’s now full-blown battleground territory.

Four years ago, some of Biden’s top advisers pushed to spend more resources there, according to people familiar with his 2020 campaign. But at the moment, most Democrats believe North Carolina and its 16 Electoral College votes are still a serious reach. West Wing Playbook called up Cooper to talk about his state and how the president can make real inroads.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Why aren’t voters giving Biden credit on the economy?

There’s no question that they will. Most people are tuned out of politics right now. The fact that the president is on the ground, talking to people — I think this is the [sixth] time that he’s been to North Carolina. I know Vice President Harris has been here at least eight times. We've had countless numbers of Cabinet secretaries to come. This message is going to get through because it is so strong.

The Biden campaign spent a record amount of money trying to get out that message — $25 million on positive TV ads, including in North Carolina — but it didn’t change the numbers. Does that concern you?

It doesn’t because I think that everything you do builds on itself. These investments that he’s making here are generational investments. These are not quick fixes that the president has decided to tackle. The more that we can educate the people on why these were done, and the fact that Joe Biden was the force behind it, the more that they're going to understand that he's the right choice against Donald Trump.

What concrete signs have you gotten that makes you believe that they agree the president’s reelection runs through North Carolina?

The president has told me that North Carolina is going to be very important. The people running his campaign have been talking with us, asking our advice.

Look, this is Joe Biden’s closest loss in 2020. The Biden campaign is responding here with the investments in ads, with putting staff on the ground, with trips to our state. There’s a lot happening here. We’ve got the most important governor’s race in the country, and there will be a lot invested in that. The clear front runner for the Republican nomination [Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson] is much like Trump, so I think the campaigns will be very similar and can come together to get out the vote.

Do you think North Carolina could draw more spending than Georgia?

Yes, absolutely.

Josh Stein, the leading Democratic gubernatorial candidate, was not with the president today. Are there times when campaigning with the national leader of your party just isn’t helpful?

Well, first, he’s got his own race to run. Second, this trip came up, like, two days ago, so this is something that has happened really quickly, and I don’t know what he has on his schedule. I know that he believes that it’s important for the president to get reelected and I think he wants me to — and I’m planning to — carry the ball a lot because he’s got to pay attention to his race.

Another challenge for Biden is with third party candidates. Is enough being done on the part of Democrats to head off those third party threats?

I think, at the end of the day, people know that those third party candidates can throw the race toward Donald Trump. I believe that will be enough to stop them.

What do you see as the weakest constituency for Biden in N.C. right now?

This is not just a North Carolina thing, but it’s a national thing — obviously, our rural counties are redder. But look at what President Biden is doing for rural North Carolina. The majority of the new jobs in North Carolina that we’ve been announcing are in rural areas. Medicaid expansion is helping rural hospitals and providing health insurance to so many rural North Carolinians. We’re actually going to be able to connect every family and every business in this state to high speed internet. I believe that that’s going to help him, at the end of the day, shave off the percentage points and get the number of people that he needs to win.

You’re a term-limited governor. Are you interested in running for elected office again in the future?

I like public service. I do not know what lies ahead after this term as governor. But what I do know, in the next 11 and a half months, I’m going to be working hard every single day to make sure that we move North Carolina forward. At the end of those 11 and a half months. I’ll make a decision as to what I’m gonna do next, but nothing’s off the table.

Well, just make sure to call me right after you talk to Chuck Schumer.

[Laughs.]

MESSAGE US — Are you SAM SCHMIR, digital rapid response coordinator? 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.

POTUS PUZZLER

Which president liked to have his head rubbed with petroleum jelly?

(Answer at bottom.)

The Oval

MORE ON THAT TAR HEEL STATE VISIT: While Biden was in Raleigh, he announced $82 billion in funding — pulled from the American Rescue Plan — to connect thousands of North Carolinians to high-speed internet, AP’s JOSH BOAK reports.

The president also used the visit to ding Donald Trump’s “trickle-down” economic policy, and recycle his “he’s already [Herbert] Hoover” line in response to his predecessor’s prediction — and hope — that an economic crash happens in the next 12 months.

On his way out of town, Biden made an unscheduled stop at the southern fast-food chain Cook Out (the die-hard Cook Out fanatics who write this newsletter would take issue with pooler ANNIE LINSKEY’s description of it as a “small eatery”). Biden, not one to stray far from his culinary comfort zone, said he ordered a triple-thick black and white shake.

“The governor was bragging about your place,” Biden told Cook Out employees. “He said you have the best shakes in North Carolina.” Too bad POTUS didn’t order a tray. Missed opportunity.

ANOTHER SHUTDOWN AVERTED: The House approved the Senate’s short-term spending patch Thursday afternoon, sending the bill to the president’s desk, our CAITLIN EMMA reports. That moves the next shutdown deadline to March 1.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This memo sent to “interested parties” on Thursday from White House spokesperson IAN SAMS, who rails at House Republicans for trying to impeach Homeland Security Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS.

“Instead of working across the aisle to find bipartisan solutions to strengthen border security… House Republicans are choosing to play extreme, far right politics,” Sams said of their efforts. He cited multiple legal experts from across the political spectrum who argue the impeachment claims are baseless.

RELATED: The House Homeland Security Committee is planning to hold a vote on an impeachment resolution of Mayorkas on Jan. 31, CNN’s MANU RAJU and HALEY TALBOT report.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by WSJ’s DAVIS S. CLOUD, WILLIAM MAULDIN and VIVIAN SALAMA, who write that the Biden administration’s plan for a postwar Middle East is not gaining traction. BENJAMIN NETANYAHU’s government has largely scoffed at the administration’s calls for a “closer alignment on postwar planning,” which the White House will need to attain its goals of securing and rebuilding Gaza.

The continuing attacks by Houthi rebels, the trio says, “are pulling the U.S. into a wider conflict and threaten to worsen regional tensions.”

HIGHLIGHTING ROE: The Biden campaign is preparing an aggressive effort to spotlight abortion rights in the lead-up to the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision. It will focus particularly on the impact Trump and “MAGA Republicans” have had on reproductive rights.

The campaign is releasing an onslaught of paid media advertisements targeting women and swing voters in battleground states such as Michigan, Arizona and North Carolina. The president, Vice President KAMALA HARRIS, first lady JILL BIDEN and second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF will hold a campaign rally on Tuesday in Northern Virginia.

THE BUREAUCRATS

PERSONNEL MOVES: MIKE PYLE, deputy national security adviser for international economics will step down from his post, our GAVIN BADE reports. Pyle’s last day is unclear, but Bade notes that it could come as soon as next week. No successor has been named.

GIFFORDS GETS A NEW LEADER: Top gun safety group Giffords announced today that EMMA BROWN is joining the organization as its new executive director. Brown managed MARK KELLY’s successful 2022 Senate reelect and was the 2020 coordinated campaign director for Biden and the Arizona Democratic Party. She also was a top contender for a 2024 Biden campaign gig.

Agenda Setting

A LONG AWAITED REPORT: On Thursday, the Department of Justice released a 600-page report that identified “cascading failures” in how police responded to the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 students and two teachers dead. Among other things, the investigation found that the officers who responded to the shooting “demonstrated no urgency.”

“The victims and survivors of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School deserved better,” Attorney General MERRICK GARLAND said in a statement. “The law enforcement response… and the response by officials in the hours and days after — was a failure.”

BUZZKILL ALERT: Federal officials are cracking down America’s real epidemic: funny highway warnings, NYT’s MICHAEL LEVENSON reports. Officials warn that messages with “obscure or secondary meanings, such as those with popular culture references” or those that are “intended to be humorous,” should not be used because they might distract drivers.

What We're Reading

‘Please guys, wake up’: European leaders push Biden, Congress on Ukraine (POLITICO’s Paul McLeary)

The Culture War Tearing American Environmentalism Apart (The Atlantic’s Jerusalem Demsas)

Biden World Hopes Voters Are Waking Up to Trump (NYMag’s Gabriel Debenedetti)

The Oppo Book

KRISTIN LYNCH, chief speechwriter for the first lady, is a team player. While at Princeton University from 2001 to 2005, Lynch served as manager of the women’s basketball squad for three years before earning a starting spot on the team during her senior year. Quite the impressive jump, Kristin.

In her senior year, she received the “women's basketball coaches association’s Robin Roberts/WBCA broadcasting scholarship award,” dedicated to a female collegiate basketball player who planned to pursue a career in sports communications/journalism. “Her loyalty to our program has been tremendous,” former Princeton head coach RICHARD BARRON said at the time.

POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER

CALVIN COOLIDGE liked to have petroleum jelly rubbed on his head during breakfast, believing it was good for his health.

We will not be trying that.

But thanks to Jaclyn Marie for this question!

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.

YOUR GUIDE TO EMPIRE STATE POLITICS: From the newsroom that doesn’t sleep, POLITICO's New York Playbook is the ultimate guide for power players navigating the intricate landscape of Empire State politics. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest and most important stories from Albany, New York City and around the state, with in-depth, original reporting to stay ahead of policy trends and political developments. Subscribe now to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle of NY politics.