| | | | |  | | By Ben Johansen, Eli Stokols and Lauren Egan | 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 MILWAUKEE — The Republican convention kicked off on Monday, and vibes among Republicans here couldn’t be better. But it’s a different story for local Democrats who are stuck watching the jubilation from the sidelines — with a sense of fatalism hanging over their heads. The attempted assassination of former President DONALD TRUMP over the weekend paired with the internal party struggle over whether JOE BIDEN should drop out of the race has left liberal Wisconsinites down in the dumps. At the Canary Coffee Bar just 450 feet from the perimeter of the convention, NORA LEONARD, a Milwaukee resident working at the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, said she’s trying to stay optimistic about Biden’s prospects, but is worried if Democrats slow down on the Trump attacks, it could come back to bite them. “I don’t want to be all ‘kumbaya,’ but if one side is laying off the attacks and the other side isn’t, it’s going to cause more problems,” Leonard said, as “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” played in the background. Reporting over the last few days has shown that, at least privately, some party leaders are resigning themselves to the reality of a second Trump presidency in the midst of the shooting. “It feels really nihilistic,” Leonard argued when asked about the response from some senior Democrats. “If you’re throwing in the towel and saying, ‘It’s done,’ then people who are watching and listening are going to say, ‘OK, it’s done.’” JIM and JULIE ANDERSON, two Milwaukee locals who were gathered for a Democratic-led protest throughout the non-barricaded streets of the city on Monday, said that the Biden campaign shouldn’t let up its attacks. But they also suggested that Democrats “refresh the campaign” with someone like Vice President KAMALA HARRIS or Kentucky Gov. ANDY BESHEAR taking over as the lead on the ticket. EMILY WENDELL, a med-school student in the city, says the attempted assassination combined with the uncertainty around the future of Biden has created a conversation that “isn’t productive.” She worried it’s lit a “fire under the Republicans’ belly” that will likely damage Democrats’ prospects. More importantly, Wendell emphasized that commuting to work during the convention, when she knows Republicans down the street are having a blast, doesn’t feel great. “It’s more bothersome when you’re sitting in traffic, and it’s for the RNC,” Wendell said at Interval Coffee, an artisanal coffee shop on the East Side of Milwaukee. “Vibes aren’t great.” One Democratic resident, who preferred to withhold her name, was walking out of her apartment to observe the scene, which she described as “creepy” due to the heightened security presence. Since the 2016 election, she’s voted blue down the ticket, and is frustrated over the calls for Biden to suspend his campaign. “The whole ‘Joe Biden needs to drop out’ narrative is ridiculous. So he had one bad night? I don’t see why the mainstream media and George Clooney are saying he needs to drop out.” There was also a notable sense of frustration among multiple Democratic residents, who felt the city had been cheated out of hosting the Democratic convention in 2020. “I find it depressing because we were supposed to have this in 2020. It would have been a giant party down here,” the same resident said. “We got screwed in 2020,” Jim Anderson told West Wing Playbook. “That was just a shame. They should have come back here in 2024.” ERICA ERICKSON, another Milwaukee resident who also said she’s not enthused by Biden as the nominee, had a melancholic look over her when asked about the state of the race. “I’m just tired, honestly. I’m fucking exhausted. I’d like to go back to when elections were less historic.” “The Democratic Party is very stuck in the past, trying to repeat what they’ve found success before — just unnecessary sequels,” she responded when asked if the party should continue forward with Biden instead of choosing a fresh face. Still, Erickson, who lives directly across from one of the main entrances to the convention, is looking on the bright side. “It could be a lot worse,” she said. “Nothing’s on fire.” MESSAGE US — Are you RON KLAIN? Do you still think J.D. VANCE is a “GREAT” candidate? 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!
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | | Some Wisconsin trivia in honor of this week’s RNC: Where in the state did President CALVIN COOLIDGE set up a “Summer White House” one season for a change of scenery and to escape the Washington humidity? (Answer at bottom.)
| | A NEW PLAN FOR THE COURT: President Biden is “finalizing plans to endorse major changes to the Supreme Court in the coming weeks, including proposals for legislation to establish term limits for the justices and an enforceable ethics code, according to two people briefed on the plans,” WaPo’s TYLER PAGER and MICHAEL SCHERER scooped. Biden, they report, is also considering pushing for a constitutional amendment to eliminate broad immunity for presidents and other constitutional officeholders. “I’m going to need your help on the Supreme Court, because I’m about to come out — I don’t want to prematurely announce it — but I’m about to come out with a major initiative on limiting the court … I’ve been working with constitutional scholars for the last three months, and I need some help,” Biden said on a Saturday Zoom call with the Congressional Progressive Caucus, according to a transcript obtained by The Post. The plan would mark a significant shift for Biden, who has been wary of court reform favored by more progressive flanks of the party. But the changes would likely need congressional approval. IN VEGAS, THE SHOW GOES ON: Biden returned to the campaign trail on Tuesday in Nevada after a three-day pause. And although he has tried to lower the political temperature in the aftermath of Saturday’s assassination attempt, the president is still planning to prosecute his case against Trump aggressively and to continue to focus on the threat he poses to American democracy, Eli and JONATHAN LEMIRE report. Some rhetoric may be toned down in the short term, but campaign aides believe the president can condemn the attempt on Trump’s own life as well as the GOP nominee’s own words stoking division, sowing doubt in the democratic process and, at times, encouraging political violence. “The shooting was unacceptable. And so was what happened on January 6 and what happened to Paul Pelosi,” said one official. “The stakes are too high on too many issues, and the president is absolutely going to keep making that clear.” WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This AP story on arrests for illegal border crossings dropping 29 percent in June, the lowest month of Biden’s entire presidency. The seven-day average of daily arrests fell by more than half following Biden’s announcement on June 4 that asylum processing would be halted any day after 2,500 arrests have occurred. Acting Customs and Border Protection commissioner TROY MILLER said those measures “have made a meaningful impact on our ability to impose consequences for those crossing unlawfully.” Deputy press secretary ANDREW BATES posted the piece on X. WHAT WILMINGTON WANTS YOU TO WATCH: This clip of Biden turning the tables on LESTER HOLT in Monday’s interview with the NBC Nightly News anchor. After Holt asked Biden whether he watched the June 27 debate in full, the president responded with a question of his own: “Why don’t you guys talk about the 18 — the 28 lies he told? Where are you on this? Why doesn’t the press ever talk about that? 28 times — it’s confirmed — he lied in that debate.” When Holt follows up again, asking if he’s seen “what some of these other folks have seen,” Biden laughed in the anchor’s face. “I didn’t have to see, I was there. ... And by the way, seriously, you won’t answer the question but why doesn’t the press talk about all the lies he told?” Holt, clearly knocked off the spot, stammered back that “we have reported many of the issues that came up in that debate.” Smiling, Biden replied: “No you haven’t. God love you.” The campaign’s main account on X posted the full clip. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by our SARAH FERRIS, ELENA SCHNEIDER and JENNIFER HABERKORN on how Democrats remain divided about Biden’s nomination — and, in the case of a few dozen lawmakers, are trying to at least delay it. Those House members are considering a draft letter opposing the DNC’s move to conduct a virtual roll call vote that would cement Biden’s nomination by the end of July, as this newsletter has reported on extensively. Rep. JARED HUFFMAN (D-Calif.), who is circulating the letter, said in an interview that preempting a floor vote by delegates at the convention next month is “a really bad move” that he called “a clever way to lock down debate and I guess by dint of sheer force, achieve unity, but it doesn’t work that way.” The letter also argues that there is “no legal justification for this extraordinary and unprecedented action.” But DNC officials bristled at the suggestion they were trying to help Biden shut down a revolt against his candidacy, while asserting that the gambit isn’t going to work. “The train has left the station,” said DONNA BRAZILE, the former chair of the DNC. “So the only way you can express it is in an amendment to the [convention] rules [committee] on Friday. But you can’t do it through the press.” ALONG THOSE SAME LINES … CNN’s JOHN KING reports that longtime Democratic pollster STAN GREENBERG has sent several memos showing the president’s position is deteriorating, and that he’s on track to lose the election in a way that will deeply damage other Democrats. Several Democratic members of Congress have also been lobbying top Biden advisers to reconsider. SHIFTY SCHIFF! Rep. ADAM SCHIFF, the Democratic Senate nominee in California, expressed grave concerns about Biden’s candidacy to donors during a private fundraiser on Saturday — before the shooting at Trump’s rally, NYT’s MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and MARK MAZZETTI report. “I think if he is our nominee, I think we lose,” Schiff said during the meeting, according to a person with access to a transcription of a recording of the event. “And we may very, very well lose the Senate and lose our chance to take back the House.”
| | CASH DASH: Biden has easily led his rival in fundraising for most of the cycle. But Trump was able to erase the president’s cash advantage in the second quarter, thanks to the outpouring of support after his guilty verdict, our JESSICA PIPER, ALLY MUTNICK, MADISON FERNANDEZ and Elena report. Trump’s primary digital fundraising committee raised $139 million over three months, including $69 million from donors giving less than $200. Another digital-first committee, Trump Save America, raised $28 million. Biden’s primary joint fundraising committee, Biden Victory Fund, raised $176 million, including $40 million from small donors. His direct campaign fundraising and spending for June won’t be reported until later this week. NEW CO-CHAIR JUST DROPPED: The Biden campaign added former Housing and Urban Development Secretary MARCIA FUDGE as a co-chair, NBC’s MONICA ALBA and MEGAN LEBOWITZ first reported. And notably, the announcement comes the same day the administration is pushing its new proposal to cap rental costs nationwide. "She knows first-hand the historic work President Biden and Vice President Harris have done for the American people, especially to build more affordable housing and lower the cost of rent,” campaign manager JULIE CHÁVEZ RODRÍGUEZ said in a statement. "And she’ll bring her deep knowledge and political prowess to our campaign as a co-chair.” TEAMSTERS MAY NOT PICK A TEAM: The 1.3 million-member Teamsters union is delivering hit after hit to Biden. Last night, President SEAN O’BRIEN spoke at the Republican National Convention (though he did not explicitly offer his support in an unabashedly pro-worker speech that received a somewhat tepid response in the room). But Trump, aware of the political implications, stood for all of it. On Tuesday, Reuters’ TREVOR HUNNICUTT and JARRETT RENSHAW reported that union leaders might not endorse either candidate in the 2024 presidential race. The decision hasn’t been finalized and is expected to be made in the coming weeks. But not choosing Biden, the most pro-union president in modern history, would be a significant blow for the campaign, who had viewed the Teamsters endorsement as all but inevitable following the union’s support in 2020. | | | | FIRST IN WEST WING PLAYBOOK: JOE COSTELLO has joined the Biden campaign as Rapid Response National Spokesperson. He most recently served as press secretary for House Oversight Committee Democrats and before that, for Michigan Gov. GRETCHEN WHITMER’s 2022 campaign and former House Speaker NANCY PELOSI. We’re sure Joe is great, but the campaign may also want to bring on TRAE CROWDER, a comedian and self-described “liberal redneck,” to join its vaunted influencer program based solely on this video response to Vance’s joining the GOP ticket. PERSONNEL MOVES: JULISSA REYNOSO is joining Winston & Strawn as a partner in the firm's New York office, our DANIEL LIPPMAN writes in from Wisconsin. She was the first female U.S. ambassador to Spain and Andorra, and is also the former chief of staff to the first lady. SEE YA, TURKEY: Ambassador to Turkey JEFF FLAKE will leave his post in early September, Axios’ HANS NICHOLS reports. Flake, a former Republican senator from Arizona, has been one of the most prominent Republicans in the Biden administration. Flake, reposting the story on X, wrote: “It has been an honor to serve.” GET WELL SOON, MAN: HHS Secretary XAVIER BECERRA tested positive for Covid-19 this morning, our CHELSEA CIRRUZZO reports for Pro subscribers. He has mild symptoms and will continue to work remotely, a spokesperson said.
| | COUNTING ON CUTS: Traders are now 100 percent certain the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by September, CNBC’s JOHN MELLOY reports — news that will be very much welcomed by Biden’s campaign team as it tries to boost consumer confidence ahead of the November election. Although there’s still a chance that the Fed does not cut interest rates when it meets on July 31 and again on Sept 18 (it doesn’t meet on rates in August), no traders are willing to bet against a cut. EVERYTHING IS FINEEEE: The CDC has confirmed four cases of avian influenza in workers at a northeast Colorado poultry egg-laying facility, our DAVID LIM and MARCIA BROWN report for Pro subscribers. They write that the “outbreak of multiple bird flu cases at the same facility marks the first time since 2022 that infections have been detected in U.S. poultry workers. But the CDC is not changing its assessment that the risk to the general public remains low.” A CDC official said Colorado’s extreme heat may have contributed to the outbreak since large fans were used to keep the poultry barns cool, potentially spreading bird feathers (a known vector for disease) around the facility.
| | J. D. Vance Changes the Subject (n+1’s Gabriel Winant) Biden allies worry he is not getting complete information about race (WaPo’s Michael Scherer, Tyler Pager, Leigh Ann Caldwell and Toluse Olorunnipa) Trump’s VP pick spells ‘disaster’ for Europe and Ukraine (POLITICO Europe’s Suzanne Lynch) Stop Pretending You Know How This Will End (The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson) ‘They Don’t Want to Let It Go’: A Reagan Aide on Biden’s Inner Circle (POLITICO’s Charlie Mahtesian)
| | In the summer of 1928, President Coolidge set up camp in Cedar Island Lodge in Brule, on the Brule River in Douglas County. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote that the “4,160-acre estate, owned by a millionaire oilman, was known as a prime fishing spot, but Coolidge also held a lot of meetings on the site — including with his Republican successor, HERBERT HOOVER.” 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 Steve Shepard and Rishika Dugyala
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