| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels and Ryan Lizza | Presented by ExxonMobil | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | |  President Joe Biden's reelection bid has now lost the confidence of Congress’ senior-most Democratic leaders, as well of party elders around the country. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images | For weeks, the Democratic Party has been paralyzed by uncertainty about whether President JOE BIDEN should stay atop the ticket or step aside. But over the last 24 hours, that uncertainty has given way to a growing clarity about the reality facing the president: The walls are closing in, and his position leading the Democratic ticket appears increasingly unsustainable. The president’s reelection bid has now lost the confidence of Congress’ senior-most Democratic leaders, as well of party elders around the country. Yesterday alone …
- Rep. ADAM SCHIFF (D-Calif.), Pelosi’s longtime protégé, became the latest Hill Democrat to publicly call on Biden to step aside, arguing that he has “serious concerns about whether the President can defeat DONALD TRUMP,” and that it’s “time for him to pass the torch.”
- Biden’s confidant and campaign adviser JEFFREY KATZENBERG confronted the president about new financial woes, telling him that big donors — skeptical that he can win — have all but stopped writing checks, Semafor’s Liz Hoffman and Ben Smith scooped.
- Senior Democrats started privately circulating jarring numbers from Blue Rose Research, which found that “just 18 percent of voters and only 36 percent of people who voted for Mr. Biden in 2020 believe he is mentally fit and up to the job of being president,” according to the NYT. Other super PAC polling shows “Biden’s deficit growing to 5 percentage points or more in the must-win states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.”
- And DNC officials were pressured by their own party into pushing back a virtual roll call nominating Biden after an attempt to move it up was seen as a way of assuring Biden could run out the clock on the Dump Biden crowd.
|  Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has coordinated with senior Democrats to try to push Biden out. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | This flurry of stories yesterday is no accident. Senior Democrats had hoped to address this matter privately — Pelosi herself certainly advised members to try to do so, at least for a time. But Biden and his inner circle have refused to listen. So now, Democrats are leaking tidbits of private conversations with the president himself, using the news media as a microphone to send a message: We’re no longer with you — and we will force you off the ticket, if needed. “The speaker does not want to call on him to resign [as the Democratic nominee], but she will do everything in her power to make sure it happens,” one Pelosi ally we spoke with said. The developments underscore a new, more public phase of the Dump Biden movement. It’s also an astonishing turn of events that puts Biden’s presidential bid on life support: With Democratic leaders like Pelosi, Schumer and Jeffries against him, how can he possibly continue? There is, in effect, no mistaking what party leaders are thinking now. Schumer could have denied the exchange. He did not. Jeffries could have corrected it. He did not. And all week, as news about Pelosi working behind the scenes against Biden trickled out, the former speaker could have taken to TV to firmly defend her longtime ally and friend. She did not. There are signs that maybe — just maybe — Biden is starting to get the picture.
- CNN’s Jeff Zeleny reported that Biden is more “receptive” to stepping aside than before, asking advisors if VP KAMALA HARRIS could win the general election.
- The NYT also reported that Biden has grown “more receptive” to talk of stepping aside.
- And with Biden now diagnosed with Covid and forced from public events for a few days, it’s quite possible that he’ll take the time to pause, reflect on the feedback he’s getting and decide whether to change course.
The flurry of leaks comes as Pelosi herself has coordinated with senior Democrats to try to push Biden out, cranking up the pressure on the president bit by bit in hopes that he’ll get the picture. (We’ve covered Pelosi for a long time now and can tell you her fingerprints are all over the knife.) Over the past couple weeks, Pelosi has been in contact with former President BARACK OBAMA as well as Jeffries and Schumer, though her office denies this. In addition to speaking to Biden himself, we hear she’s been in frequent communication with Biden adviser STEVE RICCHETTI, conveying her growing alarm. Meanwhile, Pelosi’s allies on the Hill — including California Democratic Reps. Schiff, MIKE LEVIN and JARED HUFFMAN — have coordinated with other members, organizing letters and advancing the conversation when needed. “There’s nothing subtle about Nancy,” another Pelosi ally told Playbook. “She starts with the question: ‘What's it take to win?’ Then works backwards.” And each time the Dump Biden movement seemed to stall, it was Pelosi who personally took pains to help revive it. First, with her alarming comments on “Morning Joe” after Biden appeared to temporarily quell the uprising. Then, with her ally Schiff, who rekindled the movement yesterday after it had gone quiet following the attempted assassination of Trump. While Pelosi’s office insists Schiff’s statement caught her by surprise and she didn’t have a heads up, everyone we’ve spoken to who knows her says that’s baloney — and we believe them. We’ve covered Pelosi for years and know how she operates. She and Schiff — both national security-minded members who served on Intel — are wired the same way and so close that other House Democrats refer to them as the “California mafia.” They rarely take a step without consulting each other — let alone one as significant as calling on the president to end his campaign. (During Trump’s first impeachment, for instance, Schiff called Pelosi to get her blessing before making his now-famous “we’ve crossed the Rubicon” line on the Sunday shows that pitched the caucus into an effort to oust Trump.) We’ll also note that Pelosi has denied having knowledge of a whole host of matters that she personally had a hand in shaping over the years — whether the time she carefully orchestrated then-Rep. JACK MURTHA’s (D-Pa.) surprising and high-profile decision to oppose the Iraq War (as Molly Ball wrote in her book, “Pelosi”) which triggered an anti-war movement in the party, or the time that freshmen Dems with national security backgrounds wrote a letter calling for Trump’s impeachment, providing critical momentum to that effort (as Rachael reported in her book, “Unchecked”). Pelosi, we’re told, sees it as her mission right now to help guide the party through this turbulent time — though she has sought to do it discreetly. There’s a reason her members often quip: “Don’t bet against Nancy Pelosi” and call her “the shark that never sleeps.” Democrats now see her as their last hope to get Biden out of the race — and she just might be able to do it. Related read: “Fiery private chats reveal how deeply Biden has divided Dem delegates,” by Christopher Cadelago Good Thursday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
| | | | A message from ExxonMobil: At ExxonMobil, we’ve captured more CO2 than any other company, so we have the expertise to help some of the most carbon-intensive sectors. With more than 30 years' experience, we’re a global leader in carbon capture and storage. Now, we’re advancing projects around the world, including in Louisiana and Texas, to help us and our customers reduce emissions. Let’s deliver. | | | |  Sen. J.D. Vance's (R-Ohio) acceptance speech wasn’t particularly memorable as an introduction to voters. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | THE TALK OF MILWAUKEE — Wednesday at the RNC was punctuated by the prime-time speech from Trump’s newly minted running mate Sen. J.D. VANCE (R-Ohio), who formally accepted the nomination. It was a significant moment amounting to an anointing of a MAGA heir apparent. But despite Vance’s moving personal story — which, of course, was the basis of a NYT mega-bestselling book, “Hillbilly Elegy” — the speech itself wasn’t particularly memorable as an introduction to voters. (Which, honestly, may have been the goal: Vance almost certainly didn’t want to upstage Trump, who bristles when ostensible underlings seem to get too much positive attention.) “Vance sought to portray himself as a calmer, lower-temperature frontman for the MAGA movement his running mate built,” write Lisa Kashinsky and Natalie Allison. “He leaned on his rural roots to portray himself as a champion of ‘the working man’ who would work to elevate the interests of blue-collar America over those of its allies abroad. … And he argued that Biden’s foreign and domestic policies over his decades in Washington have had ruinous consequences for the ‘forgotten communities’ of the Rust Belt states, where he grew up and where Trump put the first-term Ohio senator on the ticket in part to help win.” An insightful observation from The Atlantic’s McKay Coppins: “Vance has pretty dramatically evolved from the premises/arguments of the book that made him famous. … His book sharply criticizes the culture he was raised in and says his community deserves much of the blame for its problems. Tonight, he casts them purely as victims: ‘America’s ruling class wrote the checks, communities like mine paid the price.’” Related reads: “The Seven Intellectual Forces Behind J.D. Vance,” by Ian Ward for POLITICO Magazine … “‘A whole different world’: Inside Vance’s transition from senator to running mate,” by WaPo’s Marianne LeVine and Meryl Kornfield in Milwaukee … “JD Vance said in 2022 he ‘would like abortion to be illegal nationally,’” by CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck … “How J.D. Vance Trumped Up His Style,” by Derek Guy for POLITICO Magazine NOT THE TALK OF MILWAUKEE — “Trump doesn’t want to talk about abortion. Most GOP delegates are fine with that,” by Megan Messerly in Milwaukee CLICKER — “‘Everything I Do Is Trump’: Photos From Inside a MAGA Convention,” photo essay by Adam Wren and David Hume Kennerly
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Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during an interview that the U.S. could see a female president soon. | GRILL MARKS — Today is your last chance to hit the CNN-POLITICO Grill for more can’t-miss conversations with newsmakers. Here’s a roundup of the action yesterday:
- NRCC Chair RICHARD HUDSON (R-N.C.) told Ryan he sees an opportunity to expand the House map into districts that Biden won by low double-digits, specifically calling out the California seat held by Democratic Rep. JOSH HARDER, who is facing GOP nominee KEVIN LINCOLN, the mayor of Stockton. But Hudson doesn’t foresee a “red wave.” More video
- BEN CARSON told Eugene that members of both parties need to “engage in dialing it back” on their political rhetoric. He added that he was “pleased” to hear that Trump had rewritten his convention speech to “take a more conciliatory tone, a more inclusive tone.” As for his interest in serving in another Trump administration, Carson said he’s “open.” More video
- SPOTTED at the CNN-POLITICO Grill last night: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas), Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) and Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), Wolf Blitzer, Michael Bender, Amber Rose, Mark Thompson, David Leavy, Max Tani, Ben Smith, Alex Thompson, Jackie Kucinich, Molly Ball, Oliver Darcy, Tammy Haddad, Amy Walter, Astead Herndon, Leigh Ann Caldwell, John King, Rick Santorum, Margaret Talev, Brian Hughes, David Axelrod, Shawn McCreesh, Matt Gorman, Rodney Davis, David Urban, Carrie Budoff Brown, Jamie Wall, Karen Bronzo and Mick Mulvaney. Pic … Another pic
| | | | A message from ExxonMobil: The world needs ways to reduce carbon emissions. At ExxonMobil, we’re working on solutions in our own operations – like carbon capture and clean energy from hydrogen – that could also help in other industries like manufacturing, commercial transportation and power generation, too. Helping deliver heavy industry with low emissions. | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The House and the Senate are out. At the White House Biden has nothing on his public schedule. Harris will travel to Fayetteville, North Carolina, to deliver remarks at a campaign event before returning to D.C. On the trail What we’re watching … Tonight, the Republican National Convention draws to a close as Donald Trump takes the stage in Milwaukee to accept the party’s presidential nomination. Leading up to that, you can expect a full day of conversations at the CNN-POLITICO Grill. Among the interviews on tap for today: New Hampshire Gov. CHRIS SUNUNU (12 p.m. ET), CHRIS LaCIVITA (12:30 p.m. ET) and House Speaker MIKE JOHNSON (2:30 p.m. ET). Want to attend in person? Sign up for an invite. And be sure to follow along with the latest throughout the day at POLITICO.com/RNC
| | | | The CNN-POLITICO Grill has quickly become a key gathering place for policymakers and thought-leaders attending the RNC in Milwaukee.
On Tuesday, POLITICO and Bayer convened two conversations: a discussion with Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Rep. G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) and an executive conversation with Bayer’s Jessica Christiansen, senior vice president and head of crop science and sustainability communications.
The conversations focused on the news of the day in Milwaukee, including deeper discussion centered on the critical challenges faced by the agriculture sector.
CATCH UP HERE | | | | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | TRUMP CARDS
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Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle told lawmakers in two classified briefings that her agency made mistakes related to Saturday's shooting. | Morry Gash/AP | ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT FALLOUT — The pieces are still being picked up following Saturday’s failed assassination attempt against Trump as officials in D.C. and beyond try to make sense of how and why THOMAS MATTHEW CROOKS tried to kill the former president. Secret Service Director KIMBERLY CHEATLE told lawmakers in two classified briefings that her agency made mistakes — but the wave of bipartisan criticism is still growing, Jordain Carney and Betsy Woodruff Swan report. Cheatle acknowledged the “failure” to secure Trump’s rally, but “the details shared on the call did little to quash the laundry list of questions that lawmakers, including Democrats, have about the shooting.” A handful of major Hill leaders added their names to those calling for Cheatle to step down, including Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL and Sens. JOHN THUNE (R-S.D.) and JOHN BARRASSO (R-Wyo.). Democratic Sen. CHRIS COONS, meanwhile, said he wants more information before making a call. At the convention in Milwaukee last night, Cheatle was confronted by Sens. Barrasso, MARSHA BLACKBURN (R-Tenn.), JAMES LANKFORD (R-Okla.) and KEVIN CRAMER (R-N.D.), who demanded answers about the swirling security questions, Adam Wren and Natalie Allison report. Watch the encounter, via Blackburn’s X account … More in a video from Blackburn and Barrasso Mark your calendar: Cheatle agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Monday, July 22. More from Reuters As investigators continue searching for a potential motive behind the attempt on Trump’s life, the FBI shared information with Congress yesterday indicating that Crooks searched for images of both Trump and Biden on his cellphone as well as “dates of Mr. Trump’s appearances and the Democratic National Convention,” NYT’s Glenn Thrush reports. Rep. RONNY JACKSON (R-Texas), who was Trump’s White House doctor and examined him following Saturday’s attack, has been seen by Trump’s side over the past few days at the RNC, NBC’s Dasha Burns and Dareh Gregorian write. VP Kamala Harris called the assassination attempt a “heinous, horrible and cowardly” act in her first public remarks on the shooting, per Isabella Ramírez. How it’s landing: “At Aspen conference, worries about what comes after attack on Trump,” by Nahal Toosi in Aspen, Colorado … “Trump was shot. Republicans still say guns aren’t the problem,” by Megan Messerly in Milwaukee … “‘Our Nation Is Not Well’: Voters Fear What Could Happen Next,” by NYT’s Emily Cochrane, Shawn Hubler, Rick Rojas, Kurt Streeter and Amy Qin More top reads:
- A bad look for Biden: “Three former Trump administration officials who say they were warned that Iran had targeted them wrote a letter to the Justice Department 18 months ago asking for help protecting them, but never received a response,” NBC’s Carol Lee and Ken Dilanian report. “The officials are former deputy national security adviser MATTHEW POTTINGER, and two top officials who focused on the Middle East at the National Security Council, VICTORIA COATES and ROBERT GREENWAY.”
- RUDY GIULIANI has “drained roughly half of the money in a personal bank account in the last week to pay for personal expenses, a court proceeding revealed Wednesday … while being hounded from afar by people to whom he owes millions,” CNN’s Katelyn Polantz reports.
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Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) reportedly told allies that he will resign from Congress. | Seth Wenig/AP | READING THE TEA LEAVES — Following his federal corruption trial conviction, Sen. BOB MENENDEZ (D-N.J.) seems to read the writing on the wall as scores of his colleagues have called for him to step down. Menendez has “told allies that he will resign from Congress,” NBC’s Kate Santaliz, Carol Lee, Julie Tsirkin and Sahil Kapur reported yesterday, citing “two people directly familiar with the conversations.” But, but, but: Though Menendez did not provide comment for NBC’s report, he spurned it in comments to CBS New York: “I can tell you that I have not resigned nor have I spoken to any so-called allies,” he said. “Seems to me that there is an effort to try to force me into a statement. Anyone who knows me knows that's the worst way to achieve a goal with me.” Resigning could save the longtime New Jersey Democrat from a potentially even more ignominious end to his career: A dozen Senate Democrats have now signaled they are open to taking the drastic step of expelling Menendez if he won’t resign, Ursula Perano, Anthony Adragna and Jordain Carney report. “And that now includes a member of Democratic leadership. Sen. DEBBIE STABENOW, the No. 3 in the caucus, said she backed expulsion in a statement to POLITICO.” 2024 WATCH SPOILER ALERT — “Where’s Robert F. Kennedy Jr.?” by Brittany Gibson: “The independent candidate, who has sought to be the biggest threat to the two major parties in a generation, has canceled key campaign appearances in the last two weeks. He hasn’t sent a fundraising email since Saturday. And after trying repeatedly to counterprogram past events … Kennedy is doing little to shift the focus away from the Republican National Convention or to exploit a raft of questions from Democrats over whether Biden should still be the nominee.” JUDICIARY SQUARE SCOTUS WATCH — The Biden administration “asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to let it continue cutting monthly student loan payments for roughly three million borrowers enrolled in a student loan repayment plan implemented last year,” CNN’s Katie Lobosco and Devan Cole report. AMERICA AND THE WORLD PIER REVIEW — The U.S.-helmed pier to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza will be “dismantled and brought home, ending a mission that has been fraught with repeated weather and security problems that limited how much food and other supplies could get to starving Palestinians,” AP’s Lolita Baldor and Tara Copp report. With the removal of the U.S. operation, “questions swirl about Israel’s new plan to use the port at Ashdod as a substitute.” THREAT ASSESSMENT — “Why the Pentagon Is Warning That ISIS Attacks Could Double This Year,” by NYT’s Eve Sampson
| | | | Understand 2024’s big impacts with Pro’s extensive Campaign Races Dashboard, exclusive insights, and key coverage of federal- and state-level debates. Focus on policy. Learn more. | | | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | Tucker Carlson tagged along to Donald Trump Jr.’s Fox News hit, making some staffers “clearly uncomfortable.” Mike Lawler and Kat Cammack did their best Laverne and Shirley. Rachel Maddow isn’t in Milwaukee … but it kinda looks like she is. Tiger Woods lost sleep over the assassination attempt on Trump. Madison Cawthorn is teasing the next installment of his political career. Selina Cheng says the WSJ fired her for advocating press freedoms in Hong Kong. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED Tuesday night at the RNC during the Conservative Climate Reception and American Energy CARES After Hours Convention Celebration: Reps. John Curtis (R-Utah), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), Blake Moore (R-Utah), Celeste Maloy (R-Utah), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.), Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), Anthony D'Esposito (R-N.Y.), Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) and Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), Reince Priebus, Heather Reams, Chris Barnard, Jeremy Harrell, Benji Backer, Jason Grumet, Maria Korsnick, Abigail Ross Hopper, Emily Domenech, Karalee Geis, Evan Dixon, Elizabeth Daniels, Andrew Wills and Darrell Henry. — SPOTTED at an RNC reception hosted by Polaris National Security yesterday afternoon at the Red Rock Saloon: Morgan Ortagus, Robert O’Brien, Gary Cohn, Robert Harward, Dina Powell McCormick and Dave McCormick, Sam Brown, Reps. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) and Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), David Malpass, Brad Smith, Brielle Appelbaum, Norah O’Donnell, British Ambassador Karen Pierce, Iraqi Ambassador Nazar Al Khirullah, Danish Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen, Korean Ambassador Hyundong Cho, Norwegian Ambassador Anniken Krutnes, Dutch Ambassador Birgitta Tazalaar, Canadian Ambassador Kirsten Hillman, Israeli Ambassador Isaac Herzog and Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova. TRANSITIONS — Former Education Secretary William Bennett is joining Job Creators Network as senior education policy adviser. He is host of “The Bill Bennett Show” podcast and a Fox News contributor. … Carrie Esko is joining SIA as director of global policy for trade and supply chain matters. She most recently was director for ICT services and digital trade at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. … Travis Horne is now marketing director for external relations at Spirit of America. He previously was comms director for Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.). BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Matthew McClellan of JMM Strategy Group HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Del. James Moylan (R-Guam) … White House’s Kate Balcerzak … Olivier Knox of U.S. News and World Report … Coinbase’s Julia Krieger … POLITICO’s Daniel Cusick … Carol Ross Joynt … NBC’s Gadi Schwartz … Chris Marroletti … David Vandivier … Suzanne Ruecker … Teddy Tanzer … John Sobel of Telegraph Advisors … Billy McBeath of American Crossroads and Senate Leadership Fund … Pepper Natonski … Evan Ross of This January … former Reps. T.J. Cox (D-Calif.) and Harry Mitchell (D-Ariz.) … former Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) … Matt Hite of GPA Midstream Association … Steve Forbes … Lizzie Ivry Cooper of EMILY’s List … Fox Business Network’s Jackie DeAngelis … David Kamin … Nathan Mick of the American Association of Orthodontists 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. Corrections: Yesterday’s Playbook misstated Jessica Cuellar’s workplace. She is now at Education Week. Yesterday’s newsletter also included an incorrectly transcribed quotation from Marc Short. It has been updated.
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