Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Eli | Email Lauren In the months leading up to the 2022 midterms, then-White House chief of staff RON KLAIN heard a torrent of criticism that President JOE BIDEN was talking too much about his legislative achievements and not enough about inflation. In defiance, Klain would tweet out updates on gas prices as they ticked down. And when Democrats did far better than anyone expected that November, Klain led the victory lap. So it raised a few eyebrows inside the West Wing and around Washington when Klain, at a private event on Tuesday, said Biden should be focusing more on the economic concerns of voters. “I think the president is out there too much talking about bridges,” Klain said in response to a person who suggested Biden highlight the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law more. “You go to the grocery store and, you know, eggs and milk are expensive, the fact that there’s a fucking bridge is not [inaudible].” As Biden aides sought to downplay any daylight between Klain’s comments and their own approach, some mild irritation was still apparent about the former chief of staff, one of the president’s most vocal and persistent defenders, popping off in a private meeting. “It’s not surprising,” one former administration official said. “Everyone wants to be relevant.” Inside the West Wing, aides brushed off Klain’s comment given his broad praise for Biden’s post-State of the Union messaging. The president, some noted, has been doing exactly what his former chief of staff prescribed: drawing sharp contrasts with DONALD TRUMP and Republicans, while balancing talk of his administration’s achievements with a vision for the future. Over the last month, Biden’s official events have focused mainly on efforts to address economic pressures: actions lowering the costs of housing and healthcare, creating jobs, easing student loan debt and reinvesting in the nation’s care economy. And Klain, in a text to West Wing Playbook, said that he’s been won over. "I am fully aligned with the White House as the president's economic messaging has been more middle class oriented — and less infrastructure-centric — since the State of the Union," Klain wrote. As for those events focused on the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, White House aides noted that the most recent bridge-focused visit was entirely appropriate — and would have led to intense criticism had it not been scheduled. “We did a big bridge event last Friday,” said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity to West Wing Playbook. “A big bridge collapsed in Baltimore. We’re going to keep talking about it.” But Klain’s broader point about whether Biden is doing enough to address concerns about high costs and to offer a forward-facing appeal to voters is one that continues to preoccupy Democratic strategists who remain nervous about November. That, in part, is because pocketbook issues don’t fit as neatly as, say, abortion rights within the Biden team’s chosen campaign frame of defending freedom. “Inflation is a political killer,” said KEN BAER, a Democratic operative and former Obama administration official. “People up and down the income scale can tell you of the price shock they see in their daily lives — from the price of cereal at the Food Lion to the $9 Pret sandwich!" Baer’s argument, reinforced by the new consumer price index report Wednesday showing the cost of living rising faster than expected in March, is the latest salvo in a decades-long internal Democratic Party debate on the effectiveness of its economic messaging. Nearly every cycle, party operatives warn that rosy chatter risks alienating voters who feel left behind, especially amid a recovery. The Biden White House, Klain included, heard these warnings, too, in the run-up to the 2022 midterms. And then Democrats maintained control of the Senate while barely losing the House largely by contrasting their accomplishments with “MAGA Republican” extremism. Despite that recent history, the Democratic pundit class largely agreed with Klain’s Tuesday night critique. On MSNBC’s Morning Joe, former Missouri Sen. CLAIRE MCCASKILL pointed to a focus group to show that economic concerns remain a top issue. On CNN, Democratic commentator BAKARI SELLERS mentioned how his father has become incensed after going to the grocery store. “We have to focus more on those bread-and-butter issues. But I don’t think it’s an either/or,” Sellers said. Asked about the disappointing inflation report during a Rose Garden press conference alongside Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA FUMIO, Biden noted that inflation is far below where it was when he took office. “We have dramatically reduced inflation,” he said, pivoting to a campaign contrast with Republicans. “And we have a plan to deal with it, whereas my opposition talks about two things: They just want to cut taxes for the wealthy and raise taxes on other people.” Sam Stein contributed reporting. MESSAGE US — Are you KEVIN BARSTOW, special assistant to the president and senior counsel? 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!
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