DRIVING THE DAY: TRUMP UPDATE — Federal authorities are investigating an incident at former President Donald Trump’s Florida golf club on Sunday that they said appears to be an attempted assassination. Trump, who was golfing at the club at the time, was unharmed. Kamala Harris and Democrats were quick to condemn the violence, a potential second assassination attempt targeting Trump in about two months. Harris shared her concern on X: “I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.” California Rep. Adam Schiff, a regular critic of the former president who is expected to be the state’s next senator, also wrote on X: “This madness has got to stop. Violence is not the answer to our political differences.” The top lawmakers on a panel investigating the July shooting have now requested a briefing with the Secret Service this week on the latest events. THE BUZZ: GOLDEN STATE SWING — Before the incident in Florida, Trump was in California over the weekend. While he re-upped his regular criticisms of Harris’ home state as a “mess” and an apocalyptic pit of lawlessness, the trip also underscored California’s status as a top political ATM for both parties. The former president made fundraising stops in Los Angeles County and Woodside, an affluent Silicon Valley suburb. Trump's visit to deep-blue California came as he tries to narrow the money gap with Harris, who’s notched record-breaking hauls since July. Tickets to the Bay Area event ranged from $3,300 per person to $500,000 per couple, including a photo op. The last time Trump was in San Francisco earlier this summer, he raked in $12 million at a dinner with billionaire tech titans. Trump’s trip also came days after his dismal debate performance, when Harris repeatedly had him on the defensive. He oddly made no mention of the Golden State during the debate, but the fundraising visit offered him a chance to make up for that missed opportunity and pivot back to making Harris’ home state a central character in the final weeks of the race, framing it as a hellish place with rampant homelessness, theft and drug addiction. “She destroyed San Francisco and she destroyed the state,” Trump said during an appearance at his cliffside golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes south of LA on Friday. Trump’s California bonanza was also a striking split screen as Harris spent much of the weekend barnstorming purple states that will likely decide the outcome of the November election, including Pennsylvania and North Carolina. Trump, on the other hand, made fundraising stops in liberal California and then deep-red Utah (though he also made brief layovers in purple Nevada and Arizona). Democrats, including close Harris allies, brushed off Trump’s rebukes of California. They argue the campaign will be focused on Harris’ record as vice president, and that the state’s economic successes far outweigh its bad press. San Francisco Mayor London Breed, a former mentee of Harris, told Playbook that Trump is only targeting San Francisco because Harris “destroyed him at the debate.” Breed quipped, “Our city and companies are the envy of the world.” Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, a longtime friend of Harris, said the Democratic nominee must navigate a difficult balancing act by holding up what California does while acknowledging its sobering problems with homelessness and other issues. She told Playbook as she attended a fundraiser for Democratic women in San Francisco on Friday that voters will be more keen to accept that realistic outlook than the “dystopian images” that Trump has sold. “California's economic success is an inconvenient fact for Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans,” Kounalakis said. GOOD MORNING. It's Monday. Thanks for waking up with Playbook. You can text us at 916-562-0685 — save it as “CA Playbook” in your contacts. Or drop us a line at lkorte@politico.com and dgardiner@politico.com, or on X — @DustinGardiner and @Lara_Korte. WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official listed. His office said he expects to announce bill action and hold meetings about the special legislative session on gas prices.
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