| | | | |  | | By Ryan Lizza, Eugene Daniels and Rachael Bade | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | WORTH YOUR TIME THIS MORNING — “What’s Really Happening on College Campuses, According to Student Journalists,” by Catherine Kim
|  South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's new book releases next week and is already proving to be an interesting rollout. | Scott Olson/Getty Images | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: NOEM’S MESSY TOME — South Dakota Gov. KRISTI NOEM’s new book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward” ($30), goes on sale Tuesday. She has a big rollout planned. Noem is scheduled to do her first big live interview on Sunday with Margaret Brennan on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” She has national and cable news interviews lined up for Monday and Tuesday in New York. She’ll be making the rounds in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday. Despite the rather negative reaction to Noem’s tale of shooting her 14-month old wirehaired pointer, CRICKET, for being bad at pheasant hunting, eating chickens and trying to bite Noem, the South Dakota governor has apparently decided there’s, um, no going back. (A non-hunter’s naive question: Couldn’t eating the chickens be seen as a sign of Cricket’s progress at bird hunting? Just asking …) It’s not just Cricket: This promises to be an interesting book tour. Just as the dog-killing news cycle was cresting, a South Dakota publication, The Dakota Scout, reported on an anecdote in “No Going Back” that on its face is highly improbable: Noem’s claim that she met with North Korean dictator KIM JONG UN when she served in Congress. “Through my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee,” she wrote, “I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders. I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor, after all).” In fact, the only part of this that checks out is Kim “having no clue about” Noem — because they never met. Last night, Noem’s spokesman, IAN FURY, seemed to concede that the Kim story was false, telling Playbook, somewhat cryptically, “We’ve been made aware that the publisher will be addressing conflated world leaders’ names in the book before it is released.” NEW THIS MORNING: We managed to get our hands on an excerpt from the Noem book that includes an unusual allegation about NIKKI HALEY. The way Noem tells the story, in the summer of 2021 she “was hauling a trailer full of horses” — before you get any ideas, they were headed out for shoeing, not to the glue factory — when Noem got word that Haley wanted to talk. Here’s how Noem recounts the conversation: “‘Hi, Governor, this is Ambassador Nikki Haley, and I just wanted to introduce myself and have a conversation. I just wanted to let you know that I follow you quite a bit. I have heard quite a bit about you, and you are doing a good job there in South Dakota. I was thinking that maybe you might like a mentor, and maybe I could be someone who could do that for you. Because you’re a governor, you’ve gone through some challenging things that I did as well. I would be more than willing to be a mentor, because you’ve never been in this type of role before.’ “She went on to tell me about her life story, her résumé, and some of the challenges she faced in her legislature as governor and as ambassador to the United Nations reading daily talking points from the State Department. Once again, I recall, she offered to mentor me, as she was sure I was facing some decisions and situations I’d never seen before. … “After what seemed to me a bit of an awkward pause, she added, ‘I … just … also want you to know one more thing … I’ve heard a lot of really good things about you. But I also want you to know that if I hear something bad … I will be sure to let you know.’ “There was a long pause. “‘Um, well, thanks for that, Ambassador.’ “‘Let me be clear,’ she added. ‘I’ve heard many good things about you. But when I do hear bad things, I will make sure that you know. I’ve enjoyed talking to you. We will visit soon. Goodbye.’ Click.” Was that a threat? Here’s where things get strange. After she “took a few minutes to process the experience,” Noem called her assistant. She recounts their conversation: “‘I think I was just threatened by Nikki Haley?’ “‘What?!’ “‘Yeah, I’m pretty sure I was just threatened by Nikki Haley. It was clear that she wanted me to know that there was only room for one Republican woman in the spotlight. It was weird.’ “Unsurprisingly, I never received any calls or ‘mentoring’ from her, but the message was clear. I’m the alpha female here, and you should know your place. I actually felt a little sad for her.” We have read this excerpt over and over and we are hard-pressed to see the threat, but we are certainly open to alternative views. THE HALEY RESPONSE: We asked Haley’s spokeswoman, CHANEY DENTON, about the exchange and she was befuddled. She said the two women did talk, but — looking back at Haley’s calendar — found that it was in 2020, not 2021. “Nikki has long called and written notes supporting other women when they go through challenging times,” Denton told Playbook. “She called Governor Noem in 2020 to encourage her when she was criticized for keeping her state open during Covid. How she would twist that into a threat is just plain weird.” Finally, there is one other criticism that Noem levels against Haley, whom she calls a “lone wolf,” that is worth highlighting: their very different responses to Jan. 6. “The day after January 6, 2021, I did have a brief conversation with Nikki at the RNC meeting,” Noem writes. “In my speech I talked about the importance of continuing to support DONALD J. TRUMP, regardless of the fact that what unfolded on January 6 was undeniably ugly. She used the podium to criticize and distance herself from the former president.” Read the full excerpt here Happy Friday. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line and tell us about your favorite memoir by a politician: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from the Small Business Payments Alliance: SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS: ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SYSTEM IS WORKING AND SECURITY IS VITAL: According to a new survey, nearly two-thirds of small business owners say the existing electronic payment system is very important to them, 71% say it's helped their profitability grow, and more than 80% trust their current payment system to protect consumer security. The electronic payment system is working - don't let Durbin-Marshall break it. Read full survey here. | | | THE PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: JERRY NADLER — On Playbook’s “Deep Dive” podcast this week, we spent some time with the dean of the New York delegation on the day after he led the opposition to the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which passed the House by an overwhelming majority of 320 to 91. (Its fate in the Senate is uncertain.) Given Nadler’s long interest in Middle East policy and the fact that he was a student at Columbia University in 1968 when police cleared Hamilton Hall of anti-Vietnam War protesters, he had a lot to say about the swirl of events in recent days concerning the antisemitism bill, campus protests and the tantalizingly close cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas. He also told us about the one vote he most regrets in his three-plus decades in the House. You can listen to the show on Apple, Spotify, Google or Audible
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| TALK OF THIS TOWN — Michael Schaffer’s latest column: “Is Hollywood Deep-Sixing January 6?”
| | | | A message from the Small Business Payments Alliance:   | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The Senate and the House are out. 3 things to watch …
- Congress has a week left to finish the FAA reauthorization, and the universe of potential add-ons is expanding, not contracting, in the Senate. Among the amendments filed are two big online regulation packages: the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act and the Kids Online Safety Act. D.C. officials, meanwhile, are hoping a bill allowing for the redevelopment of RFK Stadium gets tacked on, per Axios’ Cuneyt Dil. What remains to be seen is what package of amendments can get unanimous consent — and what, if anything, the House is willing to swallow.
- A vote on Speaker MIKE JOHNSON’s tenure is less than a week away, if you believe Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.). And while the outcome is not in doubt thanks to Democrats, any vote tally is going to be closely scrutinized for what it says about Johnson’s viability as a GOP leader beyond this Congress. The Inside Congress crew surveyed some perennial leadership critics and found a possibility that the final tally of malcontents could well outstrip the eight Republicans who voted to oust KEVIN McCARTHY last year. And, as Jordain Carney and Nick Wu explain, there’s little chance the rules will be changed this year to prevent even more challenges to Johnson.
- Who is trying to hack America’s senators? That’s what the FBI and Senate sergeant at arms are investigating following a spate of phishing attempts, Katherine Tully-McManus and Anthony Adragna report — including one described yesterday by Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.): “I get a message, I think, from [CHUCK] SCHUMER, it ain’t from Schumer, and next thing you know, my phone’s, I don’t know what. Anything you can create apparently can be hacked.” Note to the hackers: Chuck’s not much of a texter.
At the White House Biden and VP KAMALA HARRIS will receive the President’s Daily Brief together, after which they’ll have a ceremony for Biden to bestow the Presidential Medal of Freedom on 19 people. Biden will head to Wilmington, Delaware, in the evening. The latest batch of Americans receiving the nation’s highest civilian honor are MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, Father GREG BOYLE, Reps. JIM CLYBURN (D-S.C.) and NANCY PELOSI (D-Calif.), ELIZABETH DOLE, PHIL DONAHUE, AL GORE, CLARENCE B. JONES, JOHN KERRY, KATIE LEDECKY, OPAL LEE, ELLEN OCHOA, JANE RIGBY, TERESA ROMERO, JUDY SHEPARD, MICHELLE YEOH and, posthumously, MEDGAR EVERS, FRANK LAUTENBERG and JIM THORPE.
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|  There are some optimistic signs that a cease-fire and hostage release deal might be struck in the Israel-Hamas war. | Hatem Ali, File/AP Photo | MIDDLE EAST LATEST — A Hamas leader said yesterday that the militant group will imminently send negotiators to Egypt and that the talks now have a “positive spirit,” WaPo’s Heba Farouk Mahfouz, Cate Brown and Lior Soroka report. Those are some of the more optimistic signs that a cease-fire and hostage release deal might be struck in the Israel-Hamas war. But the aperture is narrow, as the two combatant leaders — Israeli PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU and Hamas leader YAHYA SINWAR — are both relative hard-liners reluctant to cede much, WSJ’s Jared Malsin, Anat Peled and Summer Said report. And the State Department slammed Hamas for commandeering an aid shipment, per The Times of Israel. In the U.S., as Biden made his first significant public comments about the spate of pro-Palestinian protests upending college campuses, demonstrations continued at many schools, Reuters’ Lisa Richwine and Arlene Washington round up. Most significantly, police forcibly destroyed the encampment at UCLA, with hundreds arrested there and at Portland State, Dartmouth and the University of New Hampshire. Some young voters told the S.F. Chronicle’s Shira Stein they were frustrated with Biden’s comments and worried that he didn’t condemn police brutality. In Washington, Schumer is joining Johnson in inviting Netanyahu to address Congress, The Hill’s Mychael Schnell reports. Senators from both parties talked with International Criminal Court officials Wednesday to raise concerns about potential arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, per Axios’ Barak Ravid and Stephen Neukam. Also on Wednesday, NEERA TANDEN convened a meeting of an administration antisemitism task force to talk about protecting Jewish students, Axios’ Hans Nichols and Ravid report. Unexpected political fallout: Despite the overwhelming public and media attention, the war can sometimes cleave American debate in surprising ways. NYT’s Annie Karni captures the far-right backlash to the House GOP’s antisemitism bill: Christians who believe Jews killed JESUS. And NBC’s Ben Kamisar finds in focus groups with young Wisconsin progressives that despite their anger over Gaza, they’re not necessarily abandoning Biden in November — and they’re not voting Trump. (Sitting out the election is the greater threat to Biden.) More top reads:
TRUMP CARDS
|  Donald Trump was back in the courtroom yesterday for the criminal hush money trial. | Doug Mills/Pool/AFP via Getty Images | THE TRUMP TRIAL — Here’s what you missed yesterday afternoon in Trump’s criminal hush money trial in Manhattan:
- Jurors heard one of the juiciest pieces of audio in the case, though it’s not new to the public: Trump discussing the National Enquirer buying KAREN McDOUGAL’s story of an affair to bury it during the 2016 election, with the future president asking, “What do we got to pay for this?”
- They also learned about messages between lawyer KEITH DAVIDSON and the Enquirer’s DYLAN HOWARD as Trump won the election: “What have we done?” “Oh my god.” Davidson on the stand called this “gallows humor.”
- Prosecutors also played a tape of Cohen saying that Trump hated “the fact that we did” the hush money payments.
- Trump’s defense lawyers also grilled Davidson, who was STORMY DANIELS’ attorney, seeking to undercut his credibility and to present Trump as removed from shenanigans they said MICHAEL COHEN really orchestrated.
- Lawyer EMIL BOVE also tried to suggest that the hush money payments might have actually amounted to extortion of Trump, painting him as a victim. More from the NYT
Related read: “Emails Reveal Top Trump Accountant Had Secret Campaign Role,” The Daily Beast’s Roger Sollenberger scoops about ALLEN WEISSELBERG WHAT EMBASSIES IN D.C. ARE READING — “How to get Trump to agree to foreign aid: A loan, with a country’s natural resources as collateral,” by Peter Nicholas
| | | | A message from the Small Business Payments Alliance:   | | | 2024 WATCH
|  Anti-abortion and abortion-rights groups fear Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will peel off voters disillusioned with Trump and Biden. | Jose Juarez/AP Photo | THE SPOILER CIPHER — The shapeshifting nature of ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.’s place in the presidential race isn’t just because his policy positions scramble the usual two-party axis. It’s also because he isn’t being clear about many of his policy positions. Both abortion-rights and anti-abortion groups are worried that he could damage Biden and Trump, respectively, Alice Miranda Ollstein reports this morning. The left, especially, thinks that Kennedy’s hedges and vagueness on abortion could harm Biden’s attempt to present a binary choice with Trump. And the right is hearing from anti-abortion voters who are fed up with Trump’s insufficient conservatism on abortion and might flock to Kennedy due to other policies instead. “It’s not easy to know what Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would actually do if he is elected president,” NOTUS’ Alex Roarty reports. “His top campaign advisers can’t explain the policy agenda, either, at least not in detail.” CHARLES EISENSTEIN presents many of Kennedy’s ideas as first drafts of a sort, which they’re making public to test the electorate’s reaction. More top reads:
- Veepstakes: Trump will host multiple VP contenders at a donor retreat in Palm Beach this weekend, and Bloomberg’s Nancy Cook and Stephanie Lai report that the top tier has essentially narrowed to North Dakota Gov. DOUG BURGUM and Sens. MARCO RUBIO (R-Fla.), TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.) and J.D. VANCE (R-Ohio). (CHRIS LaCIVITA sharply objected.)
BEYOND THE BELTWAY BACK TO THE FUTURE — Arizona Gov. KATIE HOBBS signed into law the repeal of an 1864 abortion ban, which came together this week as a handful of Republicans banded with Democrats to undo the controversial law. More from the Arizona Republic LOOK WHO’S BACK — “Extremist Militias Are Coordinating in More Than 100 Facebook Groups,” by Wired’s Tess Owen NIGHTMARE FUEL — “Hospitals ‘just not ready’ for an avian flu outbreak,” by Daniel Payne NOT AGAIN — “I-95 in Norwalk could be closed until Monday after fiery crash,” NBC Connecticut SUNDAY SO FAR … CBS “Face the Nation”: Queen Rania of Jordan … Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) … Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) … South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. NBC “Meet the Press”: Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) … Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) … Cindy McCain. Panel: Maria Teresa Kumar, Sara Fagen and Vaughn Hillyard. FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). Sunday special: Susan Page. Panel: Horace Cooper, Marie Harf, Jeff Mason and Katie Pavlich. ABC “This Week”: FTC Chair Lina Khan. Panel: Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Alyssa Farah Griffin, Asma Khalid and David Ignatius. MSNBC “The Sunday Show”: Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) … Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.). CNN “State of the Union”: Ben Sasse. Panel: Marc Lotter, Jonah Goldberg, Kate Bedingfield and Ashley Allison.
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Mick Jagger has thoughts on Louisiana politics. (And Jeff Landry has thoughts on Jagger.) Troy Nehls’ claim of receiving two Bronze Star medals for his military service is contradicted by military documents. Shri Thanedar’s reelection bid may get much smoother thanks to some questions about the validity of his Democratic opponent’s petition signatures. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will host a Nashville event with Russell Brand, Jim Breuer, Rob Schneider, John Carter Cash and more. Halle Berry advocated for menopause research funding on the Hill. Donald Payne Jr. was remembered for his soft-spoken public service and personal style. Mitch McConnell picked Catching Freedom to win the Kentucky Derby at his annual pre-Derby luncheon yesterday. IN MEMORIAM — “Peter Schey, relentless advocate for migrant rights, dies at 77,” by WaPo’s Harrison Smith BIG MILESTONE — NPR is celebrating Steve Inskeep’s 20th anniversary at “Morning Edition” with some surprise celebrations this morning, including an on-air tribute and a montage of some of his best stories and moments. Former co-host Renee Montange is making a guest appearance to mark the occasion. Inskeep has been with NPR since 1996. PLAYBOOK REAL ESTATE SECTION — “‘Done’ With New York, Fox News Star Sean Hannity Lists Long Island Estate for $13.75 Million,” by WSJ’s Katherine Clarke OUT AND ABOUT — The James W. Foley Foundation held its 10th anniversary awards dinner at the National Press Club on Wednesday evening, honoring those who work to free Americans held captive abroad and to promote journalist safety. Winners included Chris Costa, Charles Sennott, Paul Abbate, Colum McCann and Lisa Consiglio. The event was moderated by PBS Newshour’s Amna Nawaz and featured a special performance by Sting. SPOTTED: Diane Foley, John Foley, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.), Jennifer Griffin, Adrienne Arsht, Ellen Shearer, Rana Altenburg, Benjamin Gray and Amy Coyne. — SPOTTED at a Democratic Women Communicators’ Network event on the rooftop at Global Strategy Group last night, co-hosted by Cornerstone and organized by Kirsten West and Marneé Banks: Kristen Orthman, Sarah Feldman, Kerry Arndt, Mairéad Lynn, Margaret Mulkerrin, Rachel Huxley-Cohen, Valeria Ojeda, Laura Epstein, Katelynn Thorpe, Annie Howell, Caroline Ciccone, Jessica Gail, Kemi Giwa, Lida Masoudpour and Samara Sheff. WHITE HOUSE ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Marcela Escobari is joining the NSC as coordinator for the Los Angeles Declaration, leading the efforts to tackle migration in the Americas, Axios’ Alex Thompson and Stef Kight report. She most recently was assistant administrator of USAID’s Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean. NEW NOMINEES — The White House announced that Biden is nominating Tonya Wilkerson as undersecretary of Defense for intelligence and security, Abigail Dressel as ambassador to Angola and Sao Tome and Principe and James Holtsnider as ambassador to Samoa. MEDIA MOVE — Nolan McCaskill is joining The Dallas Morning News’ Austin bureau to cover state politics. He most recently was a congressional reporter at The Messenger and is a POLITICO alum. TRANSITION — Blake Johnson is now comms director for the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. He previously was senior media relations manager at the Bipartisan Policy Center. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sens. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) … NBC/MSNBC’s Willie Geist … Caroline Critchfield Hunter of Stand Together … Ben Ginsberg … Scott Kamins of Kamins Consulting … former Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) … POLITICO’s Matt Friedman, Anna Foxwell and David Nicks … Chip Rogers … Tim Mulvey … Alex Loehr … SKDK’s Stephen Krupin … Greg Clugston … White House’s Chris Evans … Linda Kenyon … Vic Goetz of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s (D-N.H.) office … NBC’s Stephen Labaton … Chelsea Thomas of ACT | The App Association … Ella Yates … Invariant’s Kenny Roberts … Julia Convertini … Lindsey Kolb … Caitlin Peruccio … Sam Azzarelli of Firehouse Strategies … Democratic strategist Max Burns … Seth Flaxman of Flaxman Strategies … former national climate adviser Gina McCarthy (7-0) … Syensqo’s Michael Blume … Charter’s Catherine Bohigian … Carolyn Davis of CJD Strategies … Paul Kangas … Claudia Russo … Chris Bodenner … Jason Killian Meath … Avi Weinryb … Gregory FCA’s Eleanor Donohue 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 and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
| | | | A message from the Small Business Payments Alliance: SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS OPPOSE DURBIN-MARSHALL MANDATES: According to a new survey, most small business owners oppose new government regulation for payment networks and have reservations about the Credit Card Competition Act or other forced adoption of processing networks. When asked how much government regulation there should be on payment processing fees, most (83%) small business decision makers say government regulation should stay the same (48%) or decrease (35%). Two-thirds (64%) believe that the Credit Card Competition Act would benefit large retailers more than small businesses and a similar two-thirds (64%) say that forced adoption of new/updated processing networks will place an unfair cost burden on business owners. The survey also found that the existing electronic payments system is critical for small businesses, with most (88%) saying digital transactions are very important and nearly all (99%) placing a high priority on keeping customer payments secure. Learn more. | | | | | | | 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 | | | | |
