| | | | |  | | By Lauren Egan, Eli Stokols and Ben Johansen | 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 President JOE BIDEN launched about 1,000 “Dark Brandon” memes on Friday afternoon as he gave the slyest of smirks when a reporter asked his reaction to DONALD TRUMP’s claim of being a “political prisoner.” The mischievous, prolonged grin was treated by Trump supporters as a let-your-guard-down acknowledgement that the president was quietly engineering the jailing of his rival. But if the past 24 hours have revealed anything, that Cheshire cat beam was likely a sign of the discomfort that Biden has had with this whole mishegoss.
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President Biden pauses while leaving after delivering remarks on Friday. | AP/Evan Vucci | That’s because the White House, so far, has gone to some lengths to create an aura of distance between itself and the Trump verdict. Texts from reporters to Biden aides seeking their personal reactions to the verdict went unanswered. In conversations over the past 24 hours, Biden aides and allies have insisted that they see no reason to radically revamp their approach to Trump's legal woes, even after a guilty verdict was announced. Even the public statements that have been issued — including Biden’s remarks — have left the actual substance of the verdict (an historic finding of guilt on 34 counts related to falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to a porn star) untouched. It’s a political gamble to leave such fodder on the floor. And not every Democrat is thrilled by it. But Biden aides are betting that they don’t actually need to talk about, let alone remind, the electorate about Trump’s personal drama and legal problems. If they do, the thinking is it just bogs Biden down with an issue that they fundamentally do not think moves voters. Everything about Biden’s past 24 hours was choreographed to project that line of thinking. He did not reshape his Thursday afternoon as the verdict came down. When he did speak about Trump at the White House on Friday afternoon, he did so only briefly. To the dismay of some, he actively chose to give comments on the situation in Gaza — the very topic that is ripping apart the Democratic coalition — rather than address the substance of Trump’s guilt (he did accuse Trump of recklessly attacking the justice system). Biden aides say that the president’s approach today is the one they will adopt going forward. They’re not foreclosing the possibility that they incorporate the verdict into some of their political pitch. But no one in Wilmington is currently reshaping their 2024 playbook around this. They have a preternatural belief that a steady, sober approach — while maybe not satisfying for the more blood-thirsty partisans — can and will work. They point to 2020. One Biden campaign official raised recent polling that found a majority of Americans believe Trump committed a crime. “Labeling him a ‘convicted felon’ again and again doesn’t advance the ball,” the official said. Instead, “you use it as another piece of evidence in a larger pattern of behavior,” so the guilty verdict is “the proof point, not the message.” There were plenty of Democratic operatives frustrated with the Biden team’s initial cautiousness. But others argue that while a little nod (and perhaps a grin) towards the verdict is fine, it is best to go with moderation. “While this is not a moment for Democrats to gloat, Donald Trump is now a convicted felon, and folks should call him that at every turn. The president should lean into this moment by focusing on his efforts to improve the lives and future of everyday Americans,” ANTHONY COLEY, a former Department of Justice spokesperson, told West Wing Playbook. “‘Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow,’ Bill Clinton once advised. That’s a powerful contrast when his opponent is surrounded by chaos and focused on his own campaign of vengeance and retribution.” Elena Schneider and Myah Ward contributed to this report. MESSAGE US — Are you JUSTIN VAIL, special assistant to the president for democracy and civil participation? 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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President Biden wears a Chiefs helmet as he speaks during an event with the Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs on the South Lawn of the White House on Friday. | AP/Evan Vucci | | | | BIDEN SPEAKS ON THE TRUMP VERDICT: As noted above, Biden did address the Trump verdict, right before that grin. Here is what he actually had to say: “The American principle that no one is above the law was reaffirmed … Now he’ll be given the opportunity, as he should, to appeal the decision. That’s how the American system of justice works. And it’s reckless, dangerous and irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict. The justice system should be respected, and we should never allow anyone to tear it down. It’s as simple as that.” THE OTHER BIG NEWS FROM THOSE REMARKS: The verdict comments served as a topper for Biden’s prepared remarks on a possible deal to end some of the bloodshed in Gaza. As our MATT BERG and ALEXANDER WARD report, Biden said that Israel has degraded Hamas’ military capabilities so significantly that the group no longer poses a threat to Israel. He gave that analysis while also outlining a three-phase ceasefire plan Israel proposed to Hamas, which would lead to a release of all hostages and a permanent end to fighting. “The people of Israel should know they can make this offer without any further risk to their own security, because they’ve devastated Hamas forces over the past eight months,” Biden said. “At this point, Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another Oct. 7.” Notably, BARACK OBAMA — who has been more openly critical of Israel than Biden — put out a statement later in the afternoon calling it a “a clear, realistic and just plan.” ‘WAR HAS FOUND THEM’: As he pushes a peace deal in Gaza, President Biden is plunging the U.S. deeper into the fight in Ukraine, Ward, NAHAL TOOSI and JONATHAN LEMIRE report. Soon, Ukraine will be using U.S.-provided weapons to strike inside Russia — a risky move that could further intensify the conflict. “All the veils are getting pulled off, exposing where we’ve been for a very long period of time,” said FIONA HILL, a prominent Russia expert who led that portfolio in Donald Trump’s White House. “War has found them.” DE CROO LET THE DOGS OUT (yes, we cringed too): Biden also met with Belgian Prime Minister ALEXANDER DE CROO at the White House on Friday afternoon, the first such visit by a Belgian leader since 2006. The two talked about how NATO allies can continue to help support Ukraine, including whether to redirect interest from billions of dollars in seized Russian assets to Kyiv. De Croo told reporters earlier that Belgium, the biggest supplier of F-16 jets to Ukraine, would not follow the U.S. in authorizing its military to use its equipment and weapons outside of its borders, according to pooler SONIA DRIDI. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: You know, it’s funny. A lot of the more, uh, prolific tweeters posters at the White House were pretty quiet on Friday. We honestly have no idea what they were reading.
|  Photo of the White House press shop on Friday. | | WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by our JORDAIN CARNEY and ANTHONY ADRAGNA, who write that senior elected Republicans across the country are racing to Donald Trump’s defense — even those who have been openly defiant of him in the past. Sen. SUSAN COLLINS (R-Maine), who has been one of the more outspoken GOP critics of the former president, issued a stark critique of the verdict. “It is fundamental to our American system of justice that the government prosecutes cases because of alleged criminal conduct regardless of who the defendant happens to be,” the senator said. “In this case the opposite has happened.”
| | | THAT SHOULD COVER THE ADDITIONAL LEGAL FEES: The Trump campaign said Friday that it has raised nearly $35 million after a Manhattan jury found him guilty in his hush-money trial. The campaign said it raised the staggering amount from small-dollar donors in less than seven hours following the verdict — nearly doubling its single-day fundraising record. The Republican Party’s online donation platform, WinRed, also temporarily crashed due to the overwhelming amount of traffic to the website. The fundraising haul for the now-convicted former president also comes as Trump outpaced President Biden and the Democratic National Committee in April. BILLY BRAGG WOULD BE PROUD: Staffers at the Biden campaign’s Wilmington, Delaware headquarters finalized a union contract last week after completing collective bargaining negotiations, CNN’s KEVIN LIPTAK reports. It makes Biden the first incumbent president whose campaign staff is unionized — underscoring his pro-labor stance. Officials said the contract covers wages, time off and severance, among other issues. AFTER ALL THAT: The Ohio state legislature on Friday approved a bill that would allow Biden to get on the state’s ballot — just days after the DNC announced it would nominate Biden virtually in order to meet Ohio’s ballot deadline. The DNC plans to stick to the virtual nomination, but they were quick to criticize Ohio Republicans for politicizing the process. “Ohio Republicans have been playing partisan games and trying to chip away at our democracy, while Democrats have been defending Ohioans’ right to vote,” said HANNAH MULDAVIN, DNC senior spokesperson.
| | | FIRST IN WEST WING PLAYBOOK: The Treasury Department has a raft of new political appointees, our DANIEL LIPPMAN has learned. PABLO McCONNIE-SAAD and GENEVIEVE “GENNIE” DUNCAN are now policy advisers for Inflation Reduction Act implementation, DANIELLE SUH is now adviser to the assistant secretary for tax policy, EMERY REAL BIRD is policy adviser for the Office of the Treasurer, NICOLE GORE-HAYES is senior adviser for racial equity, ESHIKA KAUL and NOAH BALL-BURACK are special assistants in the Office of Tax Policy, VIRGINIA LO is special assistant in the Office of the Executive Secretary and JISSEL ACEVES is special assistant for the IRA Implementation Office. — Three Treasury appointees are leaving the department soon, Lippman also has learned. RON STORHAUG, deputy assistant secretary for tax and budget in the Office of Legislative Affairs, MARY LEWIS, special adviser for the Climate Hub and GABRIEL VOORHIS-ALLEN, who worked in the Office of Tax Policy, are all departing.
| | FACE TO FACE: Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN and Chinese Minister of Defense DONG JUN held their first in person talks in 18 months on Friday — exploring steps to manage military tensions between the two nations, NYT’s CHRIS BUCKLEY and DAMIEN CAVE report. The 75-minute meeting in Singapore came after a string of other Biden administration officials traveled to Beijing to discuss trade, technology and Chinese support for Russia’s war against Ukraine. During the conversation, Austin “emphasized the importance of maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication between the United States and the P.R.C.,” the Pentagon said. REMAINING ONLINE: More than a dozen internet providers agreed to continue offering discounted internet plans to lower-income households through the end of the year, as the federal program subsidizing the discounts comes to an end, The Hill’s JULIA SHAPERO reports. The Biden administration announced on Friday that AT&T, Comcast, Cox, Spectrum, Verizon and nine other providers will continue offering their $30 or less plans to those enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program — which currently provides broadband discounts to more than 23 million households.
| | Guilt Complex: Trump’s Felony Convictions Are a Big Political Problem (POLITICO’s John F. Harris) How a Mysterious Tip Led to a Criminal Complaint Against Trump (WSJ’s Rebecca Ballhaus and Joe Palazzolo)
| | | McKinley was quite close with Washington Post, so much so that he gave it the official position as the “White House greeter” … Ohh, you thought we were talking about THE Washington Post. Common misconception. McKinley actually had a pet parrot that shared the name of the publication. “Washington Post took this quite seriously, and did his best to make all feel welcome – especially women,” the Presidential Pet Museum wrote of the bird. “Whenever a woman would walk by his cage, Washington Post would pipe up: ‘Look at all the pretty girls!’” If you think that is weird, just note that a D.C. couple once named their dog CHUCK TODD. 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 Sam Stein and Emily Cadei.
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