Another shocking close call

The unofficial guide to official Washington.

Sep 16, 2024 View in browser   By Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels and Ryan Lizza With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine Listen to today's Daily Briefing DRIVING THE DAY TICK TOCK — There are 50 days until Election Day. Law enforcement said the apparent assassination attempt against Donald Trump was foiled around 1:30 p.m. at Trump International Golf Club yesterday, | Evan Vucci/AP TRUMP TARGETED — Barely two months after DONALD TRUMP narrowly escaped assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, the former president yesterday survived a second attempt on his life. For those who were tuned out yesterday: Federal and local law enforcement said the apparent assassination attempt was foiled around 1:30 p.m. at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Secret Service agents spotted the muzzle of an AK-47-type rifle poking out of the brush lining the course — between 300 and 500 yards from where the former president was golfing at the time The agents opened fire, causing the would-be shooter to flee — leaving behind the rifle and scope, as well as two backpacks and a GoPro camera. An eyewitness snapped a photo of the escaping assailant’s vehicle; he was apprehended about 40 miles north on Interstate 95 and identified by multiple media outlets as 58-year-old RYAN WESLEY ROUTH. (More on him in a moment.) Trump, who was on the links with donor and friend STEVE WITKOFF, was unharmed. According to an account relayed by Fox News host SEAN HANNITY, who spoke to Trump and Witkoff, Secret Service agents “pounced on the president” within seconds of the shots being fired and “whisked the president away” in an armored vehicle. Trump joked about wanting to stay on the course, Hannity quoted him saying: “I really wanted to finish the hole. I was even [par], and I had a birdie putt.” Late last night, he thanked law enforcement on Truth Social for an “ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING” job. More from POLITICO … NYT … WP … AP Needless to say, there’s no further joking to be done about another potentially catastrophic near-miss as we move closer and closer to Election Day. Political leaders across the aisle, from President JOE BIDEN and VP KAMALA HARRIS to top congressional leaders all immediately condemned this incident and political violence generally. Here’s what’s on our minds this morning as we sort through the fallout of another major scare: THE SECRET SERVICE: In some ways, yesterday’s incident is a success story for the U.S. Secret Service, which has been under intense scrutiny since its undeniable failures on July 13 in Butler. Its agents identified the threat and protected Trump before his would-be assassin could fire a shot. But what’s also true is that 500 yards is too close for any would-be assassin to come with an assault rifle, and lawmakers are already asking how Routh managed to do it — especially after the Secret Service said it had enhanced its protections for Trump over the past two months. Palm Beach County Sheriff RIC BRADSHAW, a Democrat who held the job throughout Trump’s presidency, noted one factor yesterday: While praising agents for a “fantastic job,” he also noted that the Secret Service measures to protect Trump are not as expansive now as they were when he was president. “If he was, we would have had the entire higher golf course surrounded,” Bradshaw said. “But because he’s not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible.” As our colleagues Meridith McGraw and Natalie Allison report, “prior to this incident, people close to the former president have privately expressed concern about his safety while he is on the golf course,” with their expansive and porous perimeters. The calls for additional security are now bipartisan: Last night, Rep. NICK LANGWORTHY (R-N.Y.) called for Trump to have “the same security levels afforded to a sitting president to ensure his safety.” Added Rep. RO KHANNA (D-Calif.): “The Secret Service must come to Congress tomorrow, tell us what resources are needed to expand the protective perimeter, & lets allocate it in a bipartisan vote the same day.” THE INVESTIGATIONS: The House task force that was set up to probe the failures in Butler has already signaling its interest in what happened in West Palm Beach. Panel leaders MIKE KELLY (R-Pa.) and JASON CROW (D-Colo.) — who just days ago met with acting Secret Service Director RONALD ROWE JR. — have asked for a Secret Service briefing, our colleague Jordain Carney reports That could be a prelude to expanding the task force’s ambit to formally include yesterday’s incident. One panel member, Rep. MICHAEL WALTZ (R-Fla.), linked yesterday’s assassination attempt to a larger picture, saying it was “not an isolated incident that we can take our time investigating as domestic and foreign threats are ongoing.” Another subplot to keep an eye on: Some are baselessly suggesting the FBI and other federal agencies can’t be trusted to investigate. A suggestion from right-wing businessman ERIK PRINCE that the “Feds have dropped the ball thoroughly on Butler” was quickly reposted by Sen. MIKE LEE (R-Utah), who added, “Don’t trust the feds. Florida should investigate.” A few hours later, Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS announced that the state “will be conducting its own investigation” of the assassination attempt: “The people deserve the truth about the would be assassin and how he was able to get within 500 yards of the former president and current GOP nominee.” THE RHETORIC: As we mentioned, America’s most senior elected officials reacted responsibly and condemned any suggestion that political violence might ever be justified. That, predictably and unfortunately, was not true everywhere. We’ve been struck, even before yesterday’s incident, just how loose people across the ideological spectrum have been with their offhand discussion, or even encouragement, of political violence. Early yesterday morning, for instance, the New Hampshire Libertarian Party wrote on X that “anyone who murders Kamala Harris would be an American hero.” (It later deleted the post, explaining that they did not want to be in violation of X’s terms of service, not that it regretted the sentiment.) On the left, the ugly takes ranged from bad jokes and suggestions that Trump reaped what he sowed to insinuations of an inside job. Together, they have helped field GOP outrage and finger-pointing, as Lisa Kashinsky and Mia McCarthy report. In one posting widely circulated by Trump campaign figures, progressive podcaster RACHEL VINDMAN (and wife of Trump impeachment witness ALEXANDER VINDMAN) downplayed the incident: “No ears were harmed. Carry on with your Sunday afternoon.” This is by no means an exhaustive recounting of the edgy and downright awful stuff out there. But it’s worth noting that the guy publishing much of it — ELON MUSK — saw fit to post this on his platform last night: “And no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala ��” THE SUSPECT: Immediately after Trump’s assailant was identified, reporters, operatives and provocateurs alike searched for clues to why Routh, a former construction worker with ties to North Carolina and Hawaii, would have sought to kill Trump. Two things to point out: Unlike Trump’s assailant in Butler, Routh is still around to tell his tale, and while it remains to be seen how he will be charged and potentially plead, he did not resist arrest yesterday in Martin County, Florida — or even question it: “He never asked, ‘what is this about?’” Sheriff WILLIAM SNYDER said, per AP. Secondly, there is already plenty coming out about Routh’s online history for partisans of any political persuasion to cherry-pick and spin a particular narrative. But a holistic look at life on the Internet and in the courts suggests this is a long-troubled man with wildly swinging political beliefs. — CNN counted as many as eight prior arrests for Routh — some of them minor, some of them not. In one 2002 incident in Greensboro, N.C., Routh — then 36 and armed — barricaded himself inside a business in a three-hour standoff with police after a traffic stop. (Expect lots of questions about whether he was entitled to own a gun.) — Puck’s Peter Hamby summarized Routh’s “wacky” political journey, via a scan of his X account: He said he voted for Trump in 2016, cheered for Gabbard in 2019, backed Biden in 2020 and pined at one point for a VIVEK RAMASWAMY-NIKKI HALEY ticket this cycle. — Routh has no party affiliation in either Hawaii or North Carolina, per Rob Pyers. But he also found that Routh donated mainly to Democrats, including TOM STEYER, ANDREW YANG, ELIZABETH WARREN, TULSI GABBARD and BETO O’ROURKE, per FEC records. — Routh was interviewed by the NYT and by Semafor for stories about Americans seeking to help Ukraine in their battle against Russian invasion. He told the Times he had traveled to Ukraine and discussed a far-fetched plan to recruit Afghan soldiers fleeing the Taliban to fight there. Semafor captured him on video standing in front of the Capitol — calling into question whether he ever had interactions with lawmakers or staff. Good Monday morning. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.   MEANWHILE IN OHIO — Republicans aren’t backing down from their baseless claims about Haitian migrants eating pets: Trump plans to go to Springfield, Ohio, soon as he doubles down on anti-immigrant messaging, NBC’s Jake Traylor and Alexandra Marquez scooped. But the fallout in the city is major. Clark State College is closing for the week, per ABC, and the FBI is investigating threats at Wittenberg University, per Reuters. Springfield remains riven and on edge, NBC’s Alicia Victoria Lozano and Corky Siemaszko capture — a difficult setback for a struggling city whose prospects had been brightening recently thanks to more manufacturing jobs. And though residents are split, at least some local Republicans are angry at how the national GOP has handled this. The mayor and two county commissioners, all Republicans upset by the smears, won’t commit to voting Trump, Adam Wren reports from Springfield. The stepback: After a week when Trump and Republicans following his lead embraced conspiracy theories about Haitians, conspiracy theories about a rigged debate and conspiracy theorist LAURA LOOMER, the GOP is putting once-fringe ideas and misinformation front and center in the election’s final months, WaPo’s Hannah Knowles and Sarah Ellison write. THE WEEK — Tomorrow: Harris is interviewed by members of the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia. Trump holds a campaign rally in Flint, Michigan. … Wednesday: Fed’s Open Market Committee meets on interest rates. Biden hosts a White House reception in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Harris addresses the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s annual leadership conference. Trump holds a campaign rally in Uniondale, New York. … Thursday: Biden delivers remarks at the Economic Club of Washington and at the CHCI’s annual awards gala. Harris holds a campaign event in the Detroit area. Wisconsin starts mailing general-election ballots. … Friday: In-person early voting begins in Minnesota, South Dakota and Virginia. Biden holds a Cabinet meeting at the White House. Harris campaigns in Wisconsin. … Saturday: Biden hosts the Quad leaders’ summit in Wilmington, Delaware. Sen. JD VANCE (R-Ohio) appears with TUCKER CARLSON in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Trump holds a campaign rally in Wilmington, North Carolina.   WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY On the Hill The Senate will meet at 3 p.m. to take up a judicial nomination, with a vote at 5:30 p.m. The House is out. 3 things to watch … With the shutdown clock ticking, the House isn’t back to continue working on a CR plan until tomorrow. Even then, there is no floor action in sight as Republicans continue to work through their internal dissensions on a continuing resolution. Instead, GOP leaders have teed up “woke week on the House floor"— with bills bearing titles such the End Woke Higher Education Act and the Protecting Americans’ Investments from Woke Policies Act. The Senate will be doing some messaging of its own this week, teeing up a fresh vote tomorrow on Sen. TAMMY DUCKWORTH’s (D-Ill) Right to IVF Act. It’s a direct troll of Senate Republicans after Trump floated a plan to, among other things, require private insurers to cover in vitro fertilization. “[W]e have seen the Republican Party’s nominee for president claim to be ‘a leader in fertilization,’” Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER wrote in a letter to colleagues yesterday. “So, we are going to give our Republican colleagues another chance to show the American people where they stand.” The effort to shape the lame-duck legislative agenda is underway: You’ll recall that the Senate passed a package of tech regulations back in July, and this week, Sen. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R-Tenn.) is mounting a full-court press to get one big piece, the Kids Online Safety Act, through the House this year. Her “week of action” includes a Hill fly-in from advocates, a House-side policy briefing and a new video where Blackburn meets with the mother of a 17-year-old who died after buying a fentanyl-laced pill on Snapchat. At the White House Biden will travel to Wilmington, Delaware, and then to Philadelphia, where he’ll speak at the 2024 National HBCU Week Conference at 2:30 p.m. He’ll return to the White House in the late afternoon. On the trail Harris will take part in a campaign meeting at 1:30 p.m. PLAYBOOK READS 2024 WATCH Union President Sean O'Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention this year. | Julia Nikhinson/AP Photo ENDORSEMENT WATCH — The International Brotherhood of Teamsters’ reluctance thus far to endorse Harris (or Biden before her) has been a consistent thorn in the side of Democrats, who are struggling to maintain their historic levels of support from organized labor. But today Harris will meet with Teamsters to try to land their late backing — a big decision for the union after President SEAN O’BRIEN spoke at the Republican National Convention, Brittany Gibson previews. It’s also a pivotal moment for Harris, who needs to persuade O’Brien to weigh in. The Teamsters usually endorse the Democratic nominee after both parties’ conventions, which can be an important turnout and persuasion tool for their 1.3 million members. With their endorsement less certain this year, Dems are hoping it happens — and quickly, to maximize the political organizing benefit. “The sooner the better,” Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.) says. More top reads: Survey says: By a narrow margin, voters support Trump’s plan for massive tariffs that could transform the global economy, Reuters/Ipsos find. The backstory: “How grieving military families became a pro-Trump force with GOP operative’s help,” by WaPo’s Isaac Arnsdorf, Dan Lamothe and Josh Dawsey: “The [Abbey Gate] families’ journey to becoming prominent pro-Trump surrogates followed an initial interaction with Biden that angered them, and then active outreach from Trump and support from [MARLON] BATEMAN and Republican congressmen.” Just posted: “How The Election-Denial Mindset Works,” by The Atlantic’s Elaine Godfrey: “The trouble brewing over new voting rules in Georgia reveals the potential for a paralyzing crisis in American democracy.” Musk read: “Elon Musk’s pro-Trump super PAC ramps up swing state operations,” by WaPo’s Amy Gardner, Trisha Thadani and Clara Ence Morse: “The committee, called America PAC, has spent nearly $33 million since it emerged from a summer spending lull in mid-August … [T]he money has primarily funded get-out-the vote operations in battleground states including door-knocking, digital advertising and mailers.” AMERICA AND THE WORLD JAKE SULLIVAN GETS RESULTS — China has released one of the three U.S. citizens whom the U.S. considered unjustly detained, Phelim Kine reports. DAVID LIN, who’s been jailed since 2006, was returning home yesterday, “a breakthrough in a longstanding bilateral irritant that has defied resolution for years.” JURY’S STILL OUT — “Biden’s African diaspora council marks a year, but its future is unclear,” by Semafor’s Eden Harris VALLEY TALK TikTok is trying to stop the new U.S. law that would force a sale or ban on the app. | Mario Tama/Getty Images TIKTOK ON THE CLOCK — Federal judges today will take up TikTok’s legal arguments to try to stop the new U.S. law that would force a sale or ban on the app, Christine Mui previews. At oral arguments in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, three different lawsuits have been combined into one effort to trash the law as unconstitutional. TikTok and its proponents are set to argue that the law infringes on free-speech rights, and that Congress’ determination that it posed a security threat was under-baked. The Justice Department is defending the law. Though both sides have asked for a decision by Dec. 6, the case has a good chance of ending up before the Supreme Court. And many of its details could remain shrouded from view even after tomorrow because of classified national security claims submitted by DOJ. The three-judge panel, made up of Obama, Trump and Reagan appointees, is a “pretty favorable” draw for the government, one law professor tells Christine. But since Congress passed the new law in April, the political environment has grown notably more positive for TikTok. Far becoming app non grata, both presidential campaigns have embraced what has become a key tool of political communication. MORE POLITICS FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Rep. DERRICK VAN ORDEN (R-Wis.) trails his Democratic challenger REBECCA COOKE by 2 points, 47 percent to 49 percent, in a new poll from the Democratic-aligned House Majority PAC. Democrats are zeroing in on Van Orden’s red-leaning western Wisconsin district, placing millions in ad buys there in recent months since Harris took over the top of the Democratic ticket. The survey of 400 likely voters was conducted Sept. 8-10 by GBAO and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent. POLICY CORNER Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo notes the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs program's broad popularity. | Francis Chung/POLITICO WOMP WOMP — One of the CHIPS and Science Act’s big programs seemed poised two years ago to transform tech manufacturing across the country. But the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs program hasn’t even reached one-fifth of its planned funding, and its future now looks uncertain, Christine Mui and Mohar Chatterjee report this morning. The idea of spending $10 billion to create centers of innovation for everything from biotech to lithium batteries originally had bipartisan support. But in the past two years, Congress has seriously starved the program’s funding, and some of the winners are just hoping the money comes through before the election. As a political victory to tout, the program’s rollout this summer got overshadowed by Biden’s debate performance and exit from the presidential race. So it’s largely been absent from the political conversation — a missed opportunity for the administration, as backers like Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO note the concept’s broad popularity. Tech Hubs looks much smaller these days. “Despite its political popularity, the program’s spotty rollout and poor funding has alienated some of its initial supporters,” Christine and Mohar write. FED UP — “Fed Ready to Unshackle US Economy With Soft Landing at Stake,” by Bloomberg’s Liz Capo McCormick and Jonnelle Marte: “The central bank’s first interest-rate cut is widely expected on Wednesday, but investors are more focused on what will happen immediately after the announcement.” CONGRESS 2025 DREAMING — If Democrats take back the House, likely House Oversight Chair JAMIE RASKIN (D-Md.) is already planning what he’d investigate, Axios’ Andrew Solender reports. Raskin’s targets include policy areas like gun control and climate change and Trump family business dealings. He says he’d want the panel to operate more like the Jan. 6 committee did and get “out of the business of chaotic hearings and aimless, scattershot investigations.” BEYOND THE BELTWAY MEN (AND WOMEN) OF STEEL — Though broad political opposition to Nippon Steel’s takeover of U.S. Steel was meant to signal working-class solidarity, WSJ’s Kris Maher, Bob Tita and Aaron Zitner find in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, that many employees and leaders actually support the deal. They see a sale to Nippon as the best way to protect jobs in the area. TOP-ED — “Why Didn’t Facing a Common Enemy Bring Us Together?” by FRANCIS COLLINS in The Atlantic, adapted from his new book, “The Road to Wisdom”: “As I ran the National Institutes of Health during the pandemic, I learned that something deep within our culture is wrong.”   PLAYBOOKERS Kamala Harris’ old condo is now San Francisco’s hottest Airbnb. Joe Biden and Antony Blinken celebrated Blair House’s 200th anniversary. TAKING HIS TALENTS TO THE NORTH COAST — Adrian Culea, who most recently was an adviser for congressional affairs at the Energy Department and is a Biden White House alum, is joining the Cleveland Cavaliers as special assistant to the head coach. TRANSITION — Jamitress Bowden is now comms director for the House Administration Democrats. She previously worked at BerlinRosen, and is a House Oversight alum. HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) … Julián Castro … NBC’s Richard Engel … Hogan Gidley … Jason Zengerle … RENEWPR’s Ben Finzel … Jill Lesser of FGS Global … Paul Orzulak of West Wing Writers … Cleta Mitchell … Lauren Dillon … Andrea Arora … former Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards … Sara Goo of Axios … Lori Brutten … Stoick Consulting’s Jordan Stoick … Laurie Knight of the National Beer Wholesalers Association … CNN’s Angelica Grimaldi … Hannah Sarisohn … Richard Perle … Ian Walton … Chuck Westover … Elliot Vice … former Reps. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), Ralph Abraham (R-La.) (7-0) and David Rivera (R-Fla.) … Christine Ciccone … Meta’s Jackie Rooney and Josh Ginsberg … Alekhya Tallapaka … POLITICO’s Xinran Xu and Ester Wells … Evan Thies … Brandon Russell of MapleBridge Strategies … Sarah Feldpausch Ursprung of Heritage Action 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.   Follow us on Twitter Rachael Bade @rachaelmbade Eugene Daniels @EugeneDaniels2 Ryan Lizza @RyanLizza   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

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