| | | | |  | | 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 and Harris campaign. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Eli | Email Lauren As D.C. Democrats get ready to flee Washington this weekend and head to Chicago for their national convention, there is already plenty of buzz about which cocktail receptions and late-night concerts they should prioritize in the four-day socializing blitz. Reporters, Democratic staffers, delegates and convention volunteers are gaming out where to spend their time, especially now that there’s significantly more interest from Hollywood celebrities with Vice President KAMALA HARRIS at the top of the ticket, as was evidenced by invites that went out late last week from Illinois Gov. JB PRITZKER for a concert at The Salt Shed with musician JOHN LEGEND. (The Salt Shed, fwiw, is turning out to be the sceney spot. As one Dem insider put it to us, the former Morton Salt factory is “Chicago’s version of The Anthem but Midwestern, industrial, chic.”) West Wing Playbook compiled a list of some of the more anticipated events going on next week outside of the convention hall. River cruises? Lots of those to be had. Hitting on the field at Wrigley? That’s also possible, but it’s going to cost you a large check to the Harris campaign (there’s always Sluggers across the street for the rest of us). If you’re on the hunt for all the free drinks and networking your sad little D.C. heart can handle, organizers request that you do your sucking up and begging for invites this week, as many of these events will not be letting folks just show up uninvited next week. And if your party isn’t on the list… well, then, send us an invite next time? SUNDAY, AUG. 18: 9:00pm: The Future is Blue!
- The event honoring Future Forum at the House of Blues will feature (in very millennial fashion) singer NATASHA BEDINGFIELD.
MONDAY, AUG. 19: 8:00pm: MWxSW: A Party for the Tipping Point States
- Democrats are putting on a “Midwest by Southwest” concert hosted by comedian ROY WOOD JR. at House of Blues. The event will feature artists from Wisconsin and Arizona, including JIMMY EAT WORLD and DJ SHAWNA.
9:00pm: E&C Live 2024
- A celebration of members of the House Energy & Commerce Committee with a special guest performance by DJ D-NICE (West Wing Playbook readers may recall that D-Nice also performed at a party that chief of staff JEFF ZIENTS threw for White House officials early this year).
9:30pm: Equality PAC Late Night Party
- Special performances by “RuPaul’s Drag Race” stars CHAD MICHAELS, SILKY NUTMEG GANACHE and JACKIE COX.
10:30pm: Southern Soul Party
- Georgia’s state Democratic Party is hosting a post-gavel party at PRYSM nightclub featuring a DJ set from Georgia’s very own LIL JON.
10:30pm: United Party
- United Airlines’ JOSH EARNEST is hosting an after-hours party at the top of the company’s headquarters in the Willis Tower. United CEO SCOTT KIRBY and board member WALTER ISAACSON are among those expected to attend.
TBD time: Biden 2020 reunion
- There’s a Biden 2020 campaign reunion in the works for Monday night since they did not get to celebrate their convention in-person four years ago due to Covid (it just so happens that POTUS is also expected to speak that night).
TUESDAY, AUG. 20: 9:00am: Brunch at the Ballpark
- Sens. DICK DURBIN and TAMMY DUCKWORTH and Reps. JAN SCHAKOWSKY and MIKE QUIGLEY are hosting a brunch at Wrigley Field.
11:30am: Latino Leaders Network Luncheon
- Over at the Navy Pier, over 700 guests are expected to gather to honor JULIE CHÁVEZ RODRÍGUEZ and MARIA TERESA KUMAR.
1:00pm: Alabama Democrats’ Yacht Party
- How do we get invited to this one?
3:00pm: Climate Voters Go All In Pre-Gavel Reception
- Climate Power, the League of Conservation Voters, and NRDC Action Fund are sponsoring an event at an undisclosed location in the West Loop to celebrate the Biden-Harris administration’s progress on climate.
9:00pm: Bully Pulpit International presents The Party Line
- With a performance by FITZ AND THE TANTRUMS.
9:00pm: Gov. Pritzker’s concert with John Legend at The Salt Shed 9:30pm: “Shining Bright”
- An event celebrating the women in Congressional Black Caucus featuring a performance by the artist TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE at Venue West.
10:30pm: Maryland Delegation Afterparty
- Hosted by Rep. JAMIE RASKIN at Harry Caray’s Tavern.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 21: 11:00am: Harris Victory Fund Wrigley Field Experience
- The Harris campaign finance committee is hosting a private event that will include “batting practice” on the field, as well as ballpark tours and concessions. No word back from campaign finance chair RUFUS GIFFORD on exactly who will be throwing batting practice (but it will almost certainly not be SHOTA IMANAGA).
8:00pm: California Bash
- Now that one of its own is at the top of the Democratic ticket, the California state party is going all out for its late-night event at the House of Blues.
THURSDAY, AUG. 22: 8:00pm: El Party
- VOTO Latino’s big bash at House of Blues.
TBD time: Pod Save America Fest
- Back at… you guessed it, The Salt Shed!
FRIDAY, AUG. 23:
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| | | | During unprecedented times, POLITICO Pro Analysis gives you the insights you need to focus your policy strategy. Live briefings, policy trackers, and and people intelligence secures your seat at the table. Learn more. | | | | | | | | | Which first lady was rumored to have poisoned her husband? (Answer at bottom.)
| | RIDIN’ SOLO: Minnesota Gov. TIM WALZ will make his first solo campaign stop in Los Angeles this week, addressing union members at the biennial convention of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, one of America's largest public-sector unions, with more than 1 million members. On Tuesday, Walz will speak about his time as a card-holding union member during his years as a public school teacher and contrast the vice president’s labor record to that of DONALD TRUMP's, WaPo’s LAUREN KAORI GURLEY reports. GOT BILLBOARDS? On Monday, the DNC announced its first paid ad campaign since Walz joined the ticket, targeting seven critical battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, AP’s MAKIYA SEMINERA reports. The ad blitz will feature more than 70 billboards across the states’ key urban areas, including Atlanta, Philadelphia and Detroit. It also comes as a pro-Trump super PAC launches a massive $100 million TV ad blitz in those same battlegrounds, our ALEX ISENSTADT reports. MAGA Inc, the principal Trump-aligned super PAC, will target the vice president’s immigration policies and record as a prosecutor in its commercials. THE JD VANCE SHOW…FLOPS: Voters in swing states have seen a lot more of JD VANCE than Donald Trump of late, and that does not seem to be helping the Republican ticket. According to new data from Democratic-aligned Blueprint, voters’ opinions of the Ohio senator have gotten worse as they’ve learned more about him — largely because his extreme stances toward women, abortion and parenthood are overshadowing the more neutral aspects of his biography. BUILDING OUT HER ECONOMIC TEAM: Former National Economic Council director BRIAN DEESE has begun advising Vice President Harris as she develops her economic policy plan, CNBC’s BRIAN SCHWARTZ and REBECCA PICCIOTTO report. Deese had served as the NEC director from the start of the Biden administration until March 2023, and has been an MIT fellow since. Harris is also working with MIKE PYLE, a former deputy National Security adviser for International Economics in the Biden administration. Another key figure who is back in the fold is DEANNE MILLISON, Harris’ chief economic adviser until 2023. Former senior Treasury official BRIAN NELSON, as well as longtime White House senior adviser GENE SPERLING are also advising Harris.
| | | A MESSAGE FOR TEHRAN: President Biden spoke with the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy on Monday to discuss the situation in the Middle East. Together, they delivered a stern message to Iran in anticipation of its likely retaliation over Israel’s recent assassination of a top Hamas leader: “Stand down.” The European leaders also endorsed a joint call from Biden, Egypt’s president and Qatar’s emir to renew ceasefire talks later this week. The discussion comes as the U.S. deploys several vessels to the Middle East in anticipation of Iran’s imminent attack on Israel, including a submarine and several destroyers, WaPo reports. National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY on Monday said that the U.S. believes Iran and its proxies could attack Israel as soon as this week. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by Axios’ RUSSELL CONTRERAS, who reports that new preliminary data from major U.S. cities shows a sharp decrease in violent crime in the first half of the year, with some communities seeing a more than 25 percent decline. An Axios analysis of data from the Major Cities Chiefs Association found an overall 6 percent drop in violent crime among 69 cities during the first six months of 2024 compared to the same period last year. Columbus, Ohio, saw the largest percentage decline in violent crime in the nation, with a 41 percent decrease so far this year. Omaha, Nebraska, was second with a 30 percent decrease. White House chief of staff Jeff Zients and communications director BEN LaBOLT re-posted the piece on X. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This op-ed from NYT’s FARAH STOCKMAN, who argues that if the Harris campaign doesn’t address the war in Gaza with substance, she risks alienating key voters Democrats will need to win in November. Take FLOYD MERWAN BEYDOUN in Michigan. He had been critical of Biden’s support of Israel and got his hopes up briefly when Harris — who has decried the loss of life in Gaza — began her campaign. But he was discouraged again after hearing the vice president say Israel had the right to defend itself and is now voting for Green Party candidate JILL STEIN. The founders of the “uncommitted” movement say they want to get Harris elected, but “unless she gives them a significant policy win, they will not be able to justify their support, nor will they be able to mobilize their communities to vote,” Stockman writes.
| | | | BARACK IS BRAT? Clearly, President BARACK OBAMA has had some free time on his hands because his 2024 summer playlist is lengthy. Some of the notable picks: CHARLI XCX’s “365,” SHABOOZEY’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” and TOMMY RICHMAN’s “Million Dollar Baby” (no way he’s actually listening to that). He also had to plug some classics, like ETTA JAMES’ “Don’t Cry Baby” and THE SUPREMES’ “Where Did Our Love Go.” As many have exclaimed online in the past hour, where’s the CHAPPELL ROAN love? Or the “Not Like Us” feature? C’mon man. PERSONNEL MOVES: NANCY SUNG is now assistant director for polar sciences at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, our DANIEL LIPPMAN has learned. She most recently was science policy adviser in the Office of Polar Programs of the National Science Foundation. — EMMA HUSSEY is now a policy assistant at the White House National Economic Council, Lippman has also learned. She most recently was legislative fellow for House Minority Leader HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-N.Y.).
| | THIS DEFINITELY DOES NOT APPLY TO THIS NEWSLETTER: U.S. federal agencies are looking to make it easier for consumers to hit that unsubscribe button on unwanted subscriptions and memberships, AP’s FATIMA HUSSEIN reports. A broad new government initiative, titled “Time Is Money,” includes a rollout of new regulations for industries spanning from health care and fitness to media. The Federal Communications Commission is considering whether to impose requirements on communications companies that would make it as easy to cancel subscriptions or services as it is to sign up for one. Heads of the departments of Labor and Health and Human Services are also asking health insurance companies and group health plans to make improvements to customer interactions with their health coverage. EYES ON SHANGHAI: A group of senior Biden administration officials departed for China on Monday for a round of high-level meetings to stabilize the economic relationship between the two nations, NYT’s ALAN RAPPEPORT reports. The talks, which will take place on Thursday and Friday and will be convened through the U.S.-China Financial Working Group, will focus on ways to maintain economic and financial stability, capital markets and efforts to curb the flow of fentanyl into the United States. The U.S. delegation is being led by BRENT NEIMAN, the Treasury’s assistant secretary for international finance. Unfortunately, we will not be getting any more JANET YELLEN food content this week.
| | | Trump Can’t Deal With Harris’s Success (The Atlantic’s Peter Wehner) Tim Walz’s former football players think back to the glory days: ‘We were so bad before his era’ (The Athletic’s Alec Lewis and Jon Krawczynski) Elections Officials Battle a Deluge of Disinformation (NYT’s Tiffany Hsu) The Charles Allen Recall is Dead, As Organizers Fail to Collect Enough Signatures for Ballot Access (Washington City Paper’s Alex Koma)
| | In a widely debunked theory, conspiracists argued that FLORENCE HARDING may have poisoned her husband, WARREN HARDING, after he died in August 1923. In a 1930 book, The Strange Death of President Harding, author GASTON MEANS, a former (and bitter) Harding administration staffer, suggested that the first lady had poisoned the 29th U.S. president, and that she had admitted as much to him. Conveniently for Means, the first lady had died six years prior to the book’s publishing and was unable to defend herself. But Means, who had served three years in prison for bootlegging and conspiring to bribe government officials, was widely seen as a con man. Journalist MARK SULLIVAN described Means as “the most monumental liar and facile criminal of his time,” while FBI chief J. EDGAR HOOVER called him “the greatest faker of all time.” 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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