| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza and Rachael Bade | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  | DRIVING THE DAY | | TAIWAN’S BIG DECISION — LAI CHING-TE of the incumbent Democratic Progressive Party won today’s presidential election in Taiwan, as the island’s voters snubbed the more China-friendly party despite fears of an invasion from Beijing, per CNN. President JOE BIDEN reacting this morning … “We do not support independence.”
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Iowa is getting bowled over by a blizzard, but that doesn’t mean that campaigns are letting up in the final days. | Jamie Kelter Davis for POLITICO | GRAND AVENUE FREEZE-OUT — With the caucuses just two days away, the typical final-weekend scramble has been overtaken by another Iowa storyline: the brutal Arctic weather that forced campaigns to cancel events, marooned candidates and reporters in Des Moines-area hotels and threatens to badly dampen turnout on caucus night. The POLITICO team on the ground captures the scene amid the snowdrifts, including a stranded KARI LAKE roaming the lobby of the Hotel Fort Des Moines with NIKKI HALEY holding court upstairs with New Hampshire press (yes, you read that correctly). “It was, in some ways, a fitting beginning to the end of a caucus campaign that, with [DONALD] TRUMP’s dominance, had never truly felt like one to begin with,” write Ryan, Adam Wren, Natalie Allison and Steve Shepard. That doesn’t mean that campaigns are letting up in the final days. Meridith McGraw and Alex Isenstadt go inside the Trump campaign’s blizzard pivot, canceling three of four planned rallies and substituting old-school door-knocking and phone calls to make sure supporters show up amid 20-below wind chills Monday. (Notably: “They’ve begun signing up drivers with 4-wheel-drive cars in key areas to shuttle supporters to caucus sites.”) Said Trump adviser CHRIS LaCIVITA, “Iowans are used to this kind of weather … D.C.-based reporters, not so much.” Coming tonight … “Everyone’s waiting for Ann Selzer to release the most important Iowa caucus poll,” by Steve Shepard Related reads: “How the Pros Think the Iowa Caucuses Will Shake Out,” by Charlie Mahtesian … “On the Ballot in Iowa: Fear. Anxiety. Hopelessness,” by NYT’s Lisa Lerer … “Ron DeSantis’s Big Bet on Iowa Risks Not Paying Off,” by WSJ’s Eliza Collins and Alex Leary … “As Iowa Republicans get ready to caucus, Democrats are feeling ‘abandoned’ and written off,” by the Boston Globe’s Lissandra Villa de Petrzelka Good Saturday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Instagram: More than 75% of parents want to approve the apps teens under 16 download.
According to a new poll from Morning Consult, more than 75% of parents agree: Teens under 16 shouldn’t be able to download apps from app stores without parental permission.1
Instagram wants to work with Congress to pass federal legislation that gets it done.
Learn more. | | | IT’S HER TURN — If you want to understand the minds of Biden’s political operation as they roll into 2024 facing legions of critics and doubters, you need to talk to SYMONE SANDERS-TOWNSEND. Four years ago, Sanders-Townsend was part of a shoestring, money-crunched Biden campaign that was hoping to survive tough contests in Iowa and New Hampshire and hold out until more diverse voters in Nevada and South Carolina got a chance to weigh in. Eugene caught up with Symone (everyone knows it’s just “Symone”) at NBC’s Washington studios after a rehearsal for “The Weekend,” her brand new MSNBC show with ALICIA MENENDEZ and MICHAEL STEELE: The show, airing Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., premieres this weekend with interviews from Rep. JIM CLYBURN (D-S.C.), Maryland Gov. WES MOORE, Rep. JAMIE RASKIN (D-Md.) and QUENTIN FULKS, Biden 2024’s principal deputy campaign manager. Here’s what she had to say about the Biden camp’s perceived bravado, what the campaign needs to have Biden doing differently and possible Black voter apathy in 2024 … On the Biden camp’s self-assured approach: “Back in 2019 when he announced he was running for president … they said he was old, they said he was out of touch. A lot of the same things that people are saying now, they said he couldn’t win. … I think that there is a little, ‘Oh, these people trying to tell us how to do it. And we ran our race and our strategy worked,’ which, touché, because they’re right. It did. “That being said … it is important to have the voices of people who are not insulated in the bubble. People who talk to real people, people who are out there across the country, who are hearing from folks in the barbershops, beauty shops, the Bible studies.” On the stage management of Biden’s campaign: “You haven’t seen him do what he can do [best]. He’s been on prompter, he’s been standing on stages looking very presidential with the flags behind him. He gives his speech and he gets out. When was the last time you saw Joe Biden do a rope line? When’s the last time you saw Joe Biden in a town hall taking questions from the American people? “Joe Biden needs to campaign like Joe Biden knows how to campaign. When people see him in a more intimate setting, they stop thinking about how, oh, he’s old, and they start listening to what he has to say.” On possible Black voter apathy: “Donald Trump is not getting 10% of the black vote. But that doesn’t mean that the Biden campaign shouldn’t be concerned. I think some people are that work over there. … [That’s why] they’ve made record investments in African American and Latino media. “Black men, Latino men, Black women, base voters in the Democratic Party should also be treated as persuadable voters. … It means organizing events, it means a surrogate operation, and those are things that have not yet been stood up. Now, one could argue, they are hiring up.” On the Biden administration’s messaging struggles: “They talked a lot about acronyms in the beginning and not enough about the plain things. You ain’t even got to name the legislation. Just just tell the people what has happened. And I think that there was maybe too much of a focus on trying to message it tightly up in a nice bow and not enough focus on just, well, how can we make it plain for the people that we want to understand it? “They are not going to get ‘Bidenenomics.’ Let it go. How about you just make sure they know what you’re going to do and what you did? … You can give folks all the numbers about GDP and all these other things, but the data doesn’t move people. Stories move people.”
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | At the White House Biden is heading to Camp David. VP KAMALA HARRIS has nothing on her public schedule.
| | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | | |  President Joe Biden made the choice to go after the Houthis this week, triggering protests across Yemen, after following his typical decision-making process for the past couple of months. | AFP via Getty Images | 9 THINGS THAT STUCK WITH US 1. WAR REPORT: The U.S. and allies launched another round of strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen, escalating the widening Middle East conflict further even as the militia vowed to keep attacking Red Sea ships and other American/British targets, per the WSJ. The strikes were overseen by Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN from his room at Walter Reed, where he remains hospitalized; Biden told reporters yesterday that though Austin’s secrecy about his whereabouts had been a lapse in judgment, he retained confidence in the secretary. Biden made the choice to go after the Houthis this week after following his typical decision-making process for the past couple of months: acting only after a long period of deliberation, warning and getting allies on board, as reconstructed by Alex Ward and Jonathan Lemire. Of course, the one step he didn’t take was getting permission from Congress, enraging some on the left and the right who say he’s running afoul of the War Powers Act, Anthony Adragna, Joe Gould, Katherine Tully-McManus and Connor O’Brien report. Biden did finally send a formal notification of the strikes to Congress yesterday, per Andrew Howard. This could be a tough fight for the Western coalition to win. The Houthis are prepared after years of fighting the Saudis. Several analysts tell WaPo’s Kareem Fahim and Loveday Morris that the strikes “played directly into the hands of a battle-tested militant group whose standing in the region has only been enhanced.” And the Navy is already struggling to get sufficient replacement ships to the region, Paul McLeary reports. 2. SCOTUS WATCH: The Supreme Court said yesterday it would take up a case that could make for some strange bedfellows, as Democratic-led states and cities hope the conservative justices will rule that homeless people don’t have a right to camp on public property, Sarah Grace Taylor and Jeremy White report. Some Dem leaders in the West, where the Ninth Circuit blocked a local ordinance in Oregon, want greater abilities to clear homeless encampments. The high court also said it will wade into the Starbucks unionization debate, agreeing to hear an appeal of a decision that took Starbucks to task for firing pro-union workers, per Reuters’ Daniel Wiessner. 3. WHERE DeSANTIS HASN’T GONE: “The Story Ron DeSantis Does Not Tell Is His Own,” by NYT’s Nicholas Nehamas: “Those who know [Florida Gov. RON] DeSANTIS describe him as intensely private, averse to personal braggadocio and more comfortable with policy than with people. He believes deeply that Republican voters do — or should — care about his conservative bona fides and his accomplishments as governor more than his life story and personality. … Mr. DeSantis’s reluctance to tell his own story has allowed him to be defined by others, especially Mr. Trump, who has cast him as awkward and weak. And it has made him seem bloodless in comparison with Ms. Haley.” Where he is actually going: “DeSantis plans to go from Iowa to South Carolina, instead of New Hampshire, as he targets Haley,” by AP’s Meg Kinnard in Des Moines 4. BALLOT ACCESS ROUNDUP: The Oregon Supreme Court held off on taking up a 14th Amendment challenge to Trump’s place on the presidential ballot, saying it would defer to the national high court on the matter, per The Oregonian’s Carlos Fuentes. … Rep. DEAN PHILLIPS (D-Minn.) was dealt a setback in his effort to get on the Florida primary ballot, as a federal judge ruled he was unlikely to win on the merits, Gary Fineout reports. … ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.’s super PAC American Values 2024 is hiring contractors to start gathering signatures in Arizona, Georgia and Michigan, a big step toward landing on the ballot as an independent, NBC’s Vaughn Hillyard and Katherine Koretski report. 5. SMOKE ’EM IF YOU GOT ’EM: “Marijuana reclassification proposed over lower public health risk, documents show,” by WaPo’s Fenit Nirappil, David Ovalle and Dan Diamond: “Federal health officials determined marijuana poses a lower public health risk than other controlled substances and offers possible medical benefits before they proposed ending its designation as among the riskiest drugs … This is the first time the Department of Health and Human Services has publicly acknowledged marijuana’s medical use.” 6. FIRST AMENDMENT WATCH: A judge ruled yesterday that Trump has to cover roughly $393,000 in legal fees for the NYT and reporters SUSANNE CRAIG, DAVID BARSTOW and RUSSELL BUETTNER, stemming from his unsuccessful lawsuit over their big story about his taxes, AP’s Michael Sisak reports. Though Trump’s related legal claim against his niece MARY TRUMP is moving forward, his claims against the Times over their Pulitzer-winning investigation were dismissed. A Times spokesperson said the financial penalty “sent a message to those who want to misuse the judicial system to try to silence journalists.”
| | | | A message from Instagram:   | | | 7. GATHERING HUNTER: “Hunter Biden would be willing to testify with new House subpoena, lawyer says,” Reuters: “The subpoena was invalid because it was issued before the House held a full vote authorizing its impeachment inquiry, HUNTER BIDEN’s lawyer ABBE LOWELL argued in the letter. … JAMES COMER and JIM JORDAN, the chairs of the committees, said the House would continue to move forward with the contempt resolutions until the younger Biden confirmed a date to appear for a deposition. … They did not state if they would issue a new subpoena.” 8. HAPPENING TUESDAY: “US government employees plan walkout over Biden’s Gaza policies,” by Al-Monitor’s Joyce Karam and Elizabeth Hagedorn: “The group — calling itself Feds United for Peace — consists of dozens of government employees who will be observing a ‘Day of Mourning’ to mark 100 days of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. The organizers, who are choosing to remain anonymous, say they expect ‘easily hundreds’ of others to join in their walkout after securing commitments from individuals at 22 federal agencies.” 9. INTERESTING EXCHANGE: DeSantis yesterday unleashed on Fox News and other conservative media, accusing them of engaging in Trump boosterism and giving the frontrunner a pass. “[Trump’s] got basically a Praetorian Guard of the conservative media. Fox News, the websites, all this stuff,” DeSantis said in response to a question from CNN’s Kit Maher. “They just don’t — they don’t hold him accountable because they’re worried about losing viewers and they don’t want to have the ratings go down.” Fox responded by emphasizing how much coverage DeSantis has gotten on the network. More from Kimberly Leonard CLICKER — “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker — 15 funnies
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Jack Ohman - Tribune Content Agency | GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Ryan Lizza: — “Can Biden Convince Americans His Brand of Populism Is Better Than Trump’s?” by Bloomberg Businessweek’s Joshua Green: “Whichever version wins in November will have lasting effects on the country, according to an exclusive excerpt from The Rebels.” — “How Russian officials and their collaborators spirit away Ukraine’s children,” by Reuters’ Mari Saito, Maria Tsvetkova, Polina Nikolskaya and Anton Zverev — “A Second Life for My Beloved Dog,” by The Atlantic’s Charlie Warzel: “A simple iPhone feature unexpectedly changed how I grieved.” — “The Perfect Webpage,” by The Verge’s Mia Sato: “How the internet reshaped itself around Google’s search algorithms — and into a world where websites look the same.” — “Skipping School: America’s Hidden Education Crisis,” by Alec MacGillis for ProPublica and The New Yorker: “Absenteeism has nearly doubled since the pandemic. With state and federal governments largely abdicating any role in getting kids back into classrooms, some schools have turned to private companies for a reimagined version of the truant officer.” — “The All-Time-Great Coach Who Makes Football Fun,” by Michael Sokolove in the NYT Magazine: “Andy Reid’s diligence and sense of mischief have made him one of the game’s best-ever coaches. Can he get his struggling Chiefs back to the Super Bowl?” — “Adventures of a Teen-Age Wharf Rat,” by The New Yorker’s Jon Lee Anderson: “After a peripatetic childhood, a young traveller finds his way on an ambitious journey gone badly awry.” — “The Scientist Using Bugs to Help Solve Murders,” by Jordan Michael Smith in Smithsonian Magazine: “At crime scenes around the world, the forensic entomologist Paola Magni is taking her field into uncharted waters.” — “An Iowa paperboy disappeared 41 years ago. His mother is still on the case,” by CNN’s Thomas Lake in West Des Moines
| | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Mike Lee, August Pfluger and Darin LaHood all endorsed Donald Trump. Hal Rogers was taken to the hospital after a car accident but is in good condition. Ridge Alkonis was released from prison. Mike Lindell’s MyPillow ads were booted from Fox News over unpaid bills. Josh Shapiro said Benjamin Netanyahu is “one of the worst leaders of all time.” Ruben Gallego learned how to navigate power at Harvard. IN MEMORIAM — “Dan Turton, a Beloved Fixture in the U.S. House of Representatives, Dies at 56”: He was “known by many as one of the most effective and beloved Congressional aides in the U.S. House of Representatives, and … also served as the first Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs in the Obama White House … The cause was complications from Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes.” His memorial will be Wednesday. — “Edward Jay Epstein, investigative journalist and skeptic, dies at 88,” by WaPo’s Emily Langer: “In a raft of books and articles, he punctured established narratives on topics from the JFK assassination to the massive intelligence leak by Edward Snowden.” OUT AND ABOUT — Symone Sanders-Townsend, Alicia Menendez and Michael Steele had a private dinner last night at an event celebrating the launch of their new show, “The Weekend,” at Via Sophia at The Hamilton Hotel. SPOTTED: second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Andrea Mitchell, Jen Psaki, Rebecca Kutler, Vincent Evans, Kirsten Allen, Stephanie Young, John McCarthy, Crystal Carson, Rohit Chopra, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Steve Clemons, Tammy Haddad, Kevin Young, Kim Sajet, Helen Milby, Shawn Townsend, Maude Okrah, Yamiche Alcindor Cline, April Ryan, Betsy Fischer Martin, Kyle Griffin, Brittany Ruff, Tara Setmayer, Joe Walsh, Helene Miller Walsh and Veronica Bautista. TRANSITIONS — Nahigian Strategies has added Kara Brooks as VP of comms and Andres Mancini as VP of brand and creative strategy. Brooks most recently was VP of comms and content at SHRM, and is a Trump White House alum. Mancini most recently was VP of brand strategy at Pinkston. … Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) has added John DiGravio as a legislative aide and Christy Charbonnet as a staff assistant. DiGravio previously was press assistant and policy aide to the Senate Banking Committee. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) … Nate Silver … U.S. Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards … Andrew Yang … Rod Rosenstein … Tim Noah … Marc Thiessen … Julia Tishman Elias … Natasha McKenzie … Andrew Riddaugh of Liberation Technology Services … Jason Chung … Time’s Mini Racker … Ali Tulbah … Fox News’ Christina Robbins … Kristina Schake … Britt Bepler of Monument Advocacy … Jessica Post … John Allen … Nora Walsh-DeVries of Katie Porter’s Senate campaign … Mollie Bowman of the Partnership for American Democracy … Rich Gold of Holland & Knight … Dave O’Brien … POLITICO’s Alexandra Velde, Corey Jaseph, Dana Beckman, Robin Bravender and Delianny Brammer … Ken Pollack … Jordan Bell … Will Baskin-Gerwitz … Allan Rivlin … Laurence Wildgoose … Liana Guerra of Rep. Darren Soto’s (D-Fla.) office … Katie Murtha … Microsoft’s Kristin (Strobel) Emery … Vincent Pan … Andrew Kossack … Ajwang Rading … Ingrid Duran of D&P Creative Strategies … Tali Stein … Julia Bartusek of the Democratic Women’s Caucus … Jason Berardo of Rep. Guy Reschenthaler’s (R-Pa.) office THE SHOWS (Full Sunday show listings here): FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Nikki Haley … Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis … Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) … Rachel Paine Caufield. Panel: Brit Hume, Dana Perino, Karl Rove and Juan Williams. CNN “State of the Union”: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis … Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Campaign strategy panel: David Axelrod and Larry Hogan. Panel: Bakari Sellers, David Urban, Kristen Soltis Anderson and Kate Bedingfield. ABC “This Week”: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis … Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Panel: Rick Klein, Asma Khalid, Donna Brazile and Reince Priebus. CBS “Face the Nation”: Asa Hutchinson … Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) … New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu … Amy Walter. Fox News “Sunday Morning Futures”: Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) … Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) … Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) … Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.). NBC “Meet the Press”: Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) … Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz … Chuck Todd … Steve Kornacki. Panel: Cornell Belcher, Garrett Haake, Brianne Pfannenstiel and Marc Short. MSNBC “Inside with Jen Psaki”: Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) … Dan Pfeiffer. 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, producer Andrew Howard and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
| | | | A message from Instagram: New federal legislation will give parents a say in teen app downloads.
According to a new poll by Morning Consult conducted in November 2023, more than 75% of parents believe teens under 16 shouldn’t be able to download apps without parental permission.1
Instagram wants to work with Congress to pass federal legislation that gets it done.
Learn more.
1"US Parents Study on Teen App Downloads" by Morning Consult (Meta-commissioned survey of 2,019 parents), Nov. 2023. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
