| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Ryan Lizza and Eugene Daniels | | Presented by |  | | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | 
Donald Trump campaign’s first $12 million ad flight targeting Kamala Harris goes live in six swing states this morning. | AP | THE BURDEN OF WHAT HAS BEEN — “How Kamala Harris Can Bury the Ghosts of 2020,” by Christopher Cadelago: “The KAMALA HARRIS of 2024 is light-years better than the Harris of 2019. But the searing experience remains an indelible stain on her image. … In short, there is no margin for the kind of errors that plagued her first presidential bid.” THE BURDEN OF WHAT IS — The DONALD TRUMP attack-ad onslaught begins today. After being knocked off-kilter for a week by President JOE BIDEN’s decision to end his re-election bid and the Democratic Party’s quick embrace of Harris, the former president’s campaign is ready to try and knock his new opponent down a few pegs. The Trump campaign’s first $12 million ad flight targeting Harris goes live in six swing states this morning, and it’s all about the border — tagging the VP as “failed, weak, dangerously liberal.” “Under Harris, over 10 million illegally here. A quarter of a million Americans dead from fentanyl. Brutal migrant crimes. And ISIS — now here,” the voiceover says, cutting to footage from Harris’widely panned 2021 interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, where she scoffs at a question about visiting the border. Watch the ad
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| The new offensive suggests that, after a week of scrambling to find the best message for attacking Trump’s new rival, his campaign admakers are sticking with the tried-and-true. What’s conspicuously not included are suggestions that she’s a “DEI hire,” allegations she covered up Biden’s mental state, clips of her laughing, mentions of Venn diagrams or any of the other attacks that have gone viral among the MAGA faithful but do little to move the needle among a broader audience. Trump won’t have the airwaves to himself this week, of course. We’re told the Harris campaign is expected to announce their own large media buy later this morning, coming on the heels of a $50 million commitment last week from the Future Forward super PAC. Expect to see upbeat, biographical efforts to reintroduce the VP as the new Democratic standard-bearer. But Trump insiders aren’t fretting. Far from it, according to our conversations last night with senior GOP officials, who remain confident that the sheen surrounding Harris will soon fade and their attacks on her record will sink in with critical swing voters. “So Harris has a good week because Democrats are in such disarray that they had to force the sitting president to no longer run for president?” one of those officials sarcastically asked. “Has the Democratic base coalesced? Yes. But what we have yet to see is a true Kamala Harris. The vanity and rah-rah homecoming that they’re having right now, it will wear off, and they’ll come back down to earth.” According to their theory of the case, Harris is actually a more tantalizing target than Biden ever was: In addition to targeting her record on the border, inflation and other policies as part of the Biden administration, Republicans are ready to exploit a trove of old clips from Harris’ days trying to outflank other progressives during the 2020 presidential primary. While Republicans always struggled to convince voters that the relatively moderate Biden was a liberal boogeyman, they argue that Harris has the makings of a NANCY PELOSI 2.0. — the former speaker whom Republicans relentlessly used in attack ads against all sorts of Democratic candidates over the years. So far it’s down-ballot Republicans who have seized most effectively on Harris’ five-year-old utterances — ranging from her vow to end private insurance (“Let’s move on”) to her dalliance with abolishing Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (“We need to probably think about starting from scratch”) to her anti-fossil-fuels stances (“There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking”) and her indulgence of the idea that incarcerated felons should be able to vote (“I think we should have that conversation”). We’re told to expect Trump’s campaign and the RNC to eventually follow suit. While those attacks aren’t on broadcast TV yet, they’ve already started to post clips online of old Harris interviews, while the former president has tweaked Harris for some of those old positions on the campaign trail. The Harris campaign is starting to rein in many of those old positions, starting with her erstwhile push to end fracking, which she first disavowed Friday in a campaign statement to The Hill’s Rachel Frazin. Yesterday she backed off of her past support for a single-payer health system and mandatory assault weapon buybacks while insisting she supports increased border enforcement, as NYT’s Reid J. Epstein reported — essentially aligning her agenda with Biden’s. “The Harris campaign will rebut most of Republicans’ attacks by arguing that they are exaggerating or lying about her record,” Epstein continued, later quoting Harris campaign spokesman BRIAN FALLON arguing that Harris’ “years spent in law enforcement and her record in the Biden-Harris administration defy Trump’s attempts to define her through lies.” But the Republicans we spoke to believe the mountain of video clips they have at the ready will speak louder than any campaign spokesperson’s statement. And echoing what campaign insiders told the Daily Caller’s Henry Rodgers, they don’t believe Harris will be able to remain so disciplined once she finds herself in unscripted scenarios, such as sit-down interviews or the debate(s) that Trump is now acknowledging they’ll “probably” have. In short, the Harris bubble is deflating, they believe. Trump’s favorability numbers are as high as they’ve ever been, insiders say, while the combination of Biden’s sudden exit and running mate JD VANCE’s rocky rollout combined to give Harris an undeniable early boost (one, they gripe, that got a big mainstream-media assist). “It will come back down to earth,” the senior GOP official said, “when she is defined as the radical that she is.” Related reads: “Kamala Harris’ call for ‘reproductive freedom’ means restoring Roe,” by Megan Messerly and Alice Miranda Ollstein … “Vance tells donors Harris change was a ‘sucker punch,’ at odds with campaign,” by WaPo’s Isaac Arnsdorf … “Vance had a bad week. But Trump is still counting on him to court donors,” by Alex Isenstadt, Meridith McGraw and Natalie Allison Good Tuesday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from Wells Fargo: Wells Fargo seeks broad impact in our communities. As a company, we are focused on building a sustainable, inclusive future for all by supporting housing affordability, small business growth and financial health. We have donated nearly $2 billion to strengthen local communities over the last five years. What we say, we do. See how. | | | A CHAPTER CLOSES — “William Calley, Army officer and face of My Lai Massacre, is dead at 80,” by Harrison Smith, Emily Langer, Brian Murphy and Adam Bernstein: “Although he was once the country’s most notorious Army officer, a symbol of military misconduct in a war that many considered immoral and unwinnable, Mr. Calley had lived in obscurity for decades, declining interviews while working as a jeweler in Columbus, Ga., not far from the military base where he was court-martialed and convicted in 1971.”
| | | | A message from Wells Fargo:   We seek broad impact in our communities. What we say, we do. See how. | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The Senate will meet at 10 a.m. and later will hold votes on a judicial nomination and the Kids Online Safety Act/Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. The House is out. 3 things to watch …
- FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: With tensions running as high as ever between Israel and Hezbollah after this weekend’s deadly rocket attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Reps. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-N.J.) and BRIAN MAST (R-Fla.) are unveiling legislation today that would authorize the president to provide Israel with the Massive Ordnance Penetrator — a “bunker buster” thought to be capable of destroying Iran’s underground nuclear facilities. “While Iran and its terrorist proxies continue to wreak havoc and chaos around the world, we must ensure they can never threaten the U.S. or our allies with a nuclear weapon,” Gottheimer said in a statement.
- Congressional efforts to get to the bottom of the July 13 assassination attempt against Trump are taking shape: Speaker MIKE JOHNSON yesterday stood up a new House task force by naming its 13 members, led by Reps. MIKE KELLY (R-Pa.) and JASON CROW (D-Colo.); it will have until mid-December to file a final report. Meanwhile the Senate Homeland Security and Judiciary panels will hear later this morning from acting Secret Service Director RONALD ROWE JR. and Deputy FBI Director PAUL ABBATE as they press to understand what went wrong in Butler, Pennsylvania, that day.
- The Senate’s six-month tax saga is set to sputter to a close this week: Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER announced yesterday he’s finally calling a vote on the House-passed bipartisan tax bill that would expand the child tax credit and extend some business tax breaks. But the legislation never got buy-in from Finance Committee Republicans, and Thursday’s procedural vote is widely expected to fail. Schumer is hoping, though, to create some electoral discomfort for the GOP just before summer recess begins — including potentially for the CTC-backing Vance, if he shows up to vote.
At the White House Biden will participate in a call with Brazilian President LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA and receive the President’s Daily Brief in the afternoon. Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will brief at 1:30 p.m. On the trail Harris will be in Atlanta for a campaign rally in the evening. Vance will be in Nevada for campaign events in Henderson and Reno.
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North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper withdrew his name from contention as a potential VP pick for Kamala Harris yesterday. | Chris Seward/AP | THE VEEPSTAKES — You can cross at least one name off the list of potential Harris running mates: North Carolina Gov. ROY COOPER withdrew his name from contention yesterday. “Two Democrats close to Cooper cited three factors: His desire to potentially run for Senate, his age and fears that North Carolina’s divisive Republican lieutenant governor would take over each time Cooper traveled out of state,” Christopher Cadelago, Holly Otterbein, Meridith McGraw and Elena Schneider report. As for a name that seems to gain more traction by the day? Look no further than Minnesota Gov. TIM WALZ, who some Dems argue could provide the ideal balance for Harris. “Democrats running in rural, competitive districts this fall fear the former California senator and attorney general is poised to do even worse there than the president — especially in battleground states in the upper Midwest. The 60-year-old Walz, who served 12 years in Congress representing a red, mostly rural southern Minnesota district, could bring the ‘guy you would meet at a backyard barbecue in the Midwest’ vibes to the ticket, they argue, which could help hold off another Democratic free fall in rural regions,” Meredith Lee Hill and Elena Schneider report. Veep vetting: “How a sexual harassment scandal involving a Josh Shapiro aide could affect the Pa. governor’s VP chances,” by the Philly Inquirer’s Jeremy Roebuck and Gillian McGoldrick: “His silence [about the departure of top aide MIKE VEREB] has drawn criticism from female state lawmakers in both parties, who have called for a more transparent accounting of what Shapiro knew about his aide’s conduct and when.” Keep dreaming: “Organized labor is leading a quiet push for Vice President Kamala Harris to consider Sen. GARY PETERS (D-Mich.) as her running mate,” Axios’ Stephen Neukam, Andrew Solender and Samuel Robinson report. More top reads:
MORE POLITICS
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Kari Lake, who fell short in her 2022 gubernatorial campaign, is back in the mix, facing three other GOP opponents in the Senate primary. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | PRIMARY COLORS — Despite nearly all the attention turning to the presidential election, there are still a handful of high-profile primary races yet to be decided ahead of November. Today, Arizona heads to the polls with a handful of interesting contests to keep an eye on. The big name: KARI LAKE, who fell short in her 2022 gubernatorial campaign, is back in the mix, facing three other GOP opponents in the Senate primary. She is the overwhelming favorite to clinch the nomination, with Trump endorsing her and joining a campaign call last night. “Speaking to listeners on a telephone call Monday for Lake’s campaign, Trump called President Joe Biden’s departure from the race a ‘coup’ by Democrats, repeatedly mispronounced Vice President Kamala Harris’ name and said Lake would help him implement his plans for a second term,” the Arizona Republic’s Ronald Hansen reports. On the Democratic side, Rep. RUBEN GALLEGO is running unopposed in his primary. The big battle: In Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, there’s a big rivalry to watch between BLAKE MASTERS and ABE HAMADEH in the crowded and bitter GOP primary. Prior to this weekend, only Hamadeh carried the backing of Trump. But the former president also issued an endorsement for Masters (a close ally of JD VANCE and PETER THIEL). Both candidates had failed runs in 2022, with Masters falling short in his Senate bid and Hamadeh losing out on state AG. They face two other big-name opponents in state House Speaker BEN TOMA and former Rep. TRENT FRANKS. Dem showdowns: In Arizona’s 1st District, Democrats have a messy six-way primary to choose a candidate to take on GOP Rep. DAVID SCHWEIKERT. But the crowded race could leave the eventual nominee weakened for the general election against the vulnerable incumbent. And in the race to succeed Gallego in the deep-blue 3rd District, former state Sen. RAQUEL TERÁN holds the blessing of the incumbent and home-state Sen. MARK KELLY. But a crypto-linked super PAC has been spending in the race to boost a different candidate, Phoenix City Councilor YASSAMIN ANSARI. More top reads:
- “Is Brad Lander the Progressive to Beat Eric Adams?” by N.Y. Mag’s Ben Max: “As the city’s chief financial and accountability officer, [Comptroller BRAD LANDER] is tasked with auditing the mayoral administration … causing [NYC Mayor ERIC] ADAMS to at times lash out. Now, Lander will challenge Adams for mayor in next year’s Democratic primary.”
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|  U.S. officials yesterday noted their concern about the Venezuelan election results, but stopped short of demanding a recount. | Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images | UNREST IN VENEZUELA — The U.S. and several other countries yesterday raised doubts about Venezuelan President NICOLÁS MADURO’s reelection while the opposition leaders in the country claim that Maduro’s victory over EDMUNDO GONZÁLEZ was fraudulent, WaPo’s Samantha Schmidt, Leo Sands, Ana Vanessa Herrero and Marina Dias report from Caracas. The details: “The move by the electoral authority to declare victory but not release detailed voting results, which it had routinely done in past elections, intensified the sense among many Venezuelans and international observers that the election essentially had been stolen,” NYT’s Frances Robles, Jack Nicas and Alejandro Cegarra report. U.S. officials yesterday noted their “concern” about the election results, though they stopped short of demanding a recount or weighing sanctions. The reluctance from the U.S. “highlights Venezuela’s precarious conditions,” Eric Bazail-Eimil writes. “The disputed results could spark massive nationwide protests and intense government reprisals, which could further destabilize the country. Further chaos could also exacerbate migration pressures in the region.” More top reads:
- Middle East latest: Biden administration officials say that worries about a wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants breaking out are “exaggerated,” even as some Israeli officials signal that fierce retaliation could come soon, Matt Berg and Miles Herszenhorn report. “We still believe a diplomatic solution can work,” White House spox JOHN KIRBY said.
- Immigration files: “Walking the line,” by WaPo’s Cate Cadell, Nick Miroff and Li Qiang: “Chinese migrants are entering the United States in record numbers, part of a historic global surge across the Mexico border.”
TRUMP CARDS ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT FALLOUT — THOMAS CROOKS, the gunman who attempted to assassinate Trump earlier this month “began making dozens of gun-related purchases and stocking up on bomb-making materials more than a year ago,” WSJ’s Sadie Gurman and C. Ryan Barber report, “the strongest indication yet that he had been planning an attack well before he opened fire on the former president.” FLYING COLORS — “Trump would ‘absolutely’ scrap Biden’s Air Force One colors, adviser says,” by Lee Hudson, Daniel Lippman and Connor O’Brien: “If Donald Trump returns to the presidency, he’ll have another shot at achieving a goal that eluded him last time: Changing the colors of Air Force One to his beloved red, white and dark blue.” JUDICIARY SQUARE BEHIND THE ROBES — “The inside story of John Roberts and Trump’s immunity win at the Supreme Court,” by CNN’s Joan Biskupic: “Sources familiar with the negotiations told CNN there was an immediate and clear 6-3 split, as the justices met in private in the oak-paneled conference room that adjoins the chief justice’s chambers. [Chief Justice JOHN] ROBERTS made no serious effort to entice the three liberal justices for even a modicum of the cross-ideological agreement that distinguished such presidential-powers cases in the past. He believed he could persuade people to look beyond Trump.” Related read: “Democrats May Have a Real Chance to Reform the Supreme Court,” by POLITICO Magazine’s Ankush Khardori: “Based on interviews on and off the Hill, there is a rough consensus and strategy that could actually lead Democrats to embrace Biden’s stance and act on the court — if they can win in November.” UNDER THE GUN — “Judge Lets N.R.A. Keep Its Independence but Pushes for Reforms,” by NYT’s Danny Hakim and Kate Christobek POLICY CORNER WHAT BUDGET HAWKS ARE READING — “U.S. National Debt Tops $35 Trillion for First Time,” by NYT’s Alan Rappeport
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, our newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Kyrsten Sinema, we hope you had the time of your life at last night’s Green Day concert. Billie Joe Armstrong, meanwhile, had some Trump-inspired changes for “American Idiot.” He even came with props. Jeff Bridges really tied the room together on the “White Dudes for Harris” call. Megan Thee Stallion is joining Kamala Harris for her campaign rally in Atlanta today. Donald Trump is set to attend the National Association of Black Journalists Convention in Chicago this week. PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION — “D.C. region under drought watch as officials advise limiting water use,” by WaPo’s Kyle Swenson and Ian Livingston OUT AND ABOUT — The First Tee of Greater DC Area held a charity golf tournament at Belle Haven Country Club yesterday, raising more than $300,000 for the organization, which teaches critical life skills to kids through expanded access to the game of golf. Pros held a clinic for the kids of The First Tee of Greater DC, including Jonathan Byrd, James Hahn, Brooke Matthews, Justin Suh, Trace Crowe, Billy Hurley III, Marcus Byrd and Will Lowery. SPOTTED: Reps. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), William Timmons (R-S.C.) and Rob Menendez (D-N.J.), Terry McAuliffe, Lyndon Boozer, Baker Elmore, Pete Filon, Mike Johnson, Matt Perin, Tony Kavanagh, Peter Gordon, Isaac Reyes, Steve Ubl, Gerry Harrington, PC Koch, Clint Sanchez, Al Mottur and Jeff Carroll. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — The Texas Tribune Festival is announcing its full program today, including a slate of newly added speakers: Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Jen Psaki. The festival is set for Sept. 5-7 in Austin, Texas. More info — Karen Kornbluh is joining the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy as principal deputy U.S. Chief Technology Officer and OSTP deputy director for technology. She most recently was a distinguished fellow for technology and competitiveness at the German Marshall Fund and a senior adviser to the geo-economics initiative at the Milken Institute. Deirdre Mulligan, who most recently held the post, will resume her role as a professor in the School of Information at UC Berkeley and a faculty Director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology. MEDIA MOVE — Elana Schor is joining Semafor as senior Washington editor. She currently is deputy managing editor for Congress at POLITICO. TRANSITIONS — Former Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) is joining the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as head of government affairs. The announcement … Lance West is joining Comcast Corporation as EVP of federal government affairs and head of the D.C. office. He previously was VP of federal government relations at the American Petroleum Institute and is a Joe Manchin alum. … Tim Lambert has joined Relman Colfax, a civil rights law firm based in D.C. He most recently was fair lending programs lead and senior counsel at CFPB and is a HUD and DOJ alum. … … DOT alums Lynda Tran, Emily Schweninger and Bryson Hughes are launching Lincoln Room Strategies, a transportation and climate advisory services firm. Tran previously was DOT’s director of public engagement and senior adviser to Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Schweninger previously was senior policy adviser for transportation health and safety. Hughes previously was Buttigieg’s deputy director for advance. ENGAGED — Jason Calvetti, Southeast district manager for Samsung Electronics America, and Kat Maramba, VP for media engagement at public affairs firm Global Situation Room, got engaged on Saturday at the U.S. Botanical Garden after Kat’s sisters flew in from Ohio and hid throughout the Tropics House to take pics. The couple met on OkCupid. Pic WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Caitlin Harder, director of public affairs at CLYDE, and Daniel Harder, director of public policy and government affairs at Biogen, recently welcomed Merrick William Harder. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Ga.) … Arnold Schwarzenegger … Dave Kochel (6-0) … WaPo’s Shane Harris … NYT’s Jim Rutenberg … Michael Glassner … Mario Lopez of the Hispanic Leadership Fund … Rebecca Kutler … Michelle Bernard … POLITICO’s Teresa Wiltz, Tyler Weyant and Jeffrey Coltin … Jonathan Kanter … Education Week’s Lauraine Langreo … Brad Jenkins … Heidi Crebo-Rediker … Glen Chambers … Suzanne Nossel of PEN America … Mark Beatty of Google … Jonathan Spalter of USTelecom … Bob Bissen of the National Head Start Association … Candace Randle Person … Alex Parker of Capitol Counsel … Kana Smith … MSNBC’s Isaac-Davy Aronson … Emily Barson … Michael Short … Anita Hill … former CFTC Chair Tim Massad … Bill O’Leary of Heidrick & Struggles … former Reps. Quico Canseco (R-Texas), Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Wendell Bailey (R-Mo.) … Garry Malphrus … Ben Marter of The Forum Consulting … Sintia Radu … Eleanor Smeal … Herald Group’s Cameron Smith … Davey McKissick of Glen Echo Group … Micah Stockett … Nora Langan … Maggie Cutrell … Maryland GOP Vice Chair Dwight Patel 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.
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