| | | | |  | | By Lauren Egan, Eli Stokols and Ben Johansen | | Presented by |  | | | 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 JOE BIDEN has a lot on his plate before he leaves the presidency, including solving international crises, wading through a lame-duck session of Congress and squeezing in a few more foreign trips. But there’s yet another project ahead of him: his presidential library. Setting up a presidential library is a years-long endeavor. Presidents first have to create a foundation, select a location for the library and launch a multimillion dollar fundraising campaign to pay for its construction — centers that typically include a museum, archives, space for public events as well as civic and research components. Modern presidents — aside from former President DONALD TRUMP, who has not made any real plans for his library — have typically started working on these projects well before leaving office. President GEORGE H.W. BUSH selected Texas A&M University to house his library in 1991, before he even launched his unsuccessful reelection campaign. President BILL CLINTON had set up the foundation responsible for raising money for his library three years before he left office. President GEORGE W. BUSH selected Southern Methodist University the February before he left office, and President BARACK OBAMA had raised millions of dollars and accepted the University of Chicago’s bid to host his library by the spring of 2015. Compared to those timelines, Biden is behind. He has not announced a location. He shut down his Biden Foundation ahead of his 2020 presidential campaign. Biden staffers expect that close aides — such as STEVE RICCHETTI, ANTHONY BERNAL and ANNIE TOMASINI, along with his sister, VALERIE BIDEN OWENS — will play a role in the library, but a formal staff is not yet in place. Biden, famous for his indecisiveness and tendency to vacillate on plans, has said that he did not feel it was appropriate to think about the library while still president. But since he ended his reelection campaign, he and his aides have focused more of their attention on cementing the president’s legacy and mapping out what his looming ex-presidency will look like. Behind the scenes, the first lady has also encouraged him to make progress on the library. JILL BIDEN’s insistence that Biden act more urgently on the library led to a bit of a marital dispute in 2023 after she returned from a speaking event at the Truman Library in Kansas City, according to the transcript of Biden’s testimony to special counsel ROBERT HUR. “She said, ‘Joe, have you decided on your library?’ I said, ‘I have no idea where I’ve got — I mean — and I don’t think I’m supposed to while I’m president think about the library.’ But she said, ‘Joe, but that’s going to be an important thing,” Biden said. “She was very angry with me because she, she went out and did a thing at the Truman Library, and she said, that’s the place where all that you’ve done is going to end up being located.” Biden could decide to put his library in downtown Wilmington, perhaps along the riverfront, or in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he was born. There’s also The Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. In the Hur interview, Biden mentioned that Syracuse University, where Biden attended law school, was also interested in housing the library. But current and former Biden staffers said they’d be surprised if he didn’t go with the University of Delaware, a place for which he has great affection. “It would be a no-brainer to build a site at the University of Delaware. It’s an aesthetically pleasing campus with a very traditional college feel to it. Both the president and the first lady are graduates of the school and began dating when she was finishing her senior year,” said a former White House official granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. “But even more important than that connection is the location. A presidential library less than 2 miles off I-95 has potential to be a tourist trap on steroids.” [Editor’s note: As if Delaware didn’t make enough toll revenue already on I-95.] People involved in past presidential library projects said that they weren’t all that concerned about the pace that the president is moving, noting that he has some built-in advantages that could make the project an easier lift. For example, he could easily graft his library onto one of his already existing centers, like the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy at the University of Delaware. And while fundraising tends to be much harder once out of office, there’s reason to think that might not be the case for the president. “It could have been difficult [to fundraise] if he had run and lost. But the circumstances under which he voluntarily withdrew have generated an enormous amount of gratitude and appreciation for Biden that I’m not sure would have been there to this degree,” said RICHARD NORTON SMITH, a historian who’s headed several presidential libraries. But, he added: “gratitude and appreciation will only take you so far.” MESSAGE US — Are you CATHERINE McLAUGHLIN, executive director of the Biden Institute? 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!
| | A message from UnitedHealth Group: The U.S. health care system is too expensive, inefficient and inaccessible for too many Americans. But there is a path forward to a future where every person has access to high-quality, affordable care and a better system that helps people get and stay healthy. See our ideas to make health care healthier. | | | | | Which president was once confused with ROY ROGERS? (Answer at bottom.)
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President Biden waves as he leaves the stage during the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday in New York City. | Getty Images/Michael M. Santiago | | | | GIVING THEIR PAIN A PURPOSE: Last year, AUDRA GALLANT celebrated her 40th birthday by picking out wallpaper for her son’s nursery. On Saturday, for her 41st birthday, Gallant will mark it by watching herself in a political ad, paid for by Democrat JOSH STEIN’s gubernatorial campaign in North Carolina, retelling the story of why she “needed an abortion,” our ELENA SCHNEIDER reports. “I could not have been happier to be pregnant,” Gallant said in the ad speaking directly to the camera. “But during a routine ultrasound, I found out that my baby was not going to make it and I was at risk.” The ad shows a split-screen of Gallant, shaking her head in disbelief as she watches Stein’s scandal-ridden Republican opponent, MARK ROBINSON, saying, “Abortion in this country is not about protecting the lives of mothers. It’s about killing the child because you aren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down.” It’s the latest in a push from Democrats — from the KAMALA HARRIS campaign to Senate races across the country — telling the stories of women who have sought an abortion. “The power of this is, regular women are coming forward and saying, ‘It happened to me, this is how abortion affected me and my family,’” said Democratic consultant MARTHA McKENNA. HARRIS AT BORDER: Vice President Harris made her first trip to the southern border since becoming the Democratic nominee on Friday, in a move to try and cut into Donald Trump’s strength with voters on immigration, our MYAH WARD reports. She’ll use the stop in Douglas, Arizona, to call on tougher border security and highlight Trump’s role in killing the bipartisan border deal. Tied to the trip, the campaign also launched a new ad in Arizona and other battleground states focusing on her plan to “hire more border agents, enforce the law and step up technology and stop fentanyl smuggling and human trafficking.” During the visit, Harris will propose even stricter asylum restrictions than those of Biden’s, Myah also reports. STILL EYEING THE OTHER BELT: Despite the vice president’s visit to Arizona, the last two months have revealed that her campaign is not prioritizing the Sun Belt states but rather the Rust Belt, our MEGAN MESSERLY, HOLLY OTTERBEIN and JESSICA PIPER report. “Looking at spending and stops, it’s hard not to conclude that winning Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan is plan A for Harris to win,” said MIKE MIKUS, a Pennsylvania-based Democratic strategist. “Based on everything I’m seeing, Harris is stronger in the Rust Belt than the Sun Belt. Both are going to be very close either way.” The campaign’s biggest targets for TV, radio and digital ad spending have been Pennsylvania and Michigan. Since Harris took over for Biden, her campaign has spent $136 million on TV and radio across those states as well as Wisconsin, compared to $113 million across the four Sun Belt states. DOUG SLAMS TRUMP: Second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF labeled Donald Trump’s comments about Jewish voters — in which he said Jews will be to blame if he loses — as blatantly antisemitic. He told MSNBC’s JEN PSAKI in an interview that the remark puts a target on the backs of Jewish people. “This is a disgusting trope, you know, with the so-called ‘dual loyalties’ — it's an outrage, and it's not just Jewish people that should be outraged,” Emhoff said in the interview, which will air Sunday on Psaki’s show. NOT THE SPICY MARGS!!! The Harris campaign is out with a new pitch to young voters: “The Trump Tequila Tax.” Trump has proposed a 20 percent tariff on every foreign import coming into the United States. And in the same vein of the Trump campaign and the NELK BOYS hitting TIM WALZ’s tax on Zyn nicotine pouches, the Kamala HQ TikTok is letting young people know they could be paying top dollar on booze if Trump goes through with the tax. “That means he wants to tax your tequila, and your Coronas, your Modelos, your Hennessy. All of it,” a staffer said in the video. “Kamala Harris wants to support small businesses like mom and pop liquor stores and locally owned bars. … If you want to stop the Trump Tequila Tax, vote Harris-Walz,” he said.
| | AN EMOTIONAL TRIP HOME: President Biden on Friday traveled back to his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, to give the eulogy of his childhood best friend, TOM BELL, who died last week at 81. “Tommy would look at me and say Joe… you can do anything, you can be anything, he was like a coach,” Biden said at the eulogy, according to the pool report. “He was a friend with a special heart who always put light in your heart.” The president became emotional during the speech. “I apologize, I’m supposed to be the president and not get emotional, but Tommy brings out all the emotion in me,” he said. “I could always count on Tommy and hope he knew he could always count on me as well.” WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by CNBC’s JEFF COX, who reports that inflation moved closer to the Federal Reserve’s target in August, easing the way for additional, future rate cuts. The personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE), a measure that focuses on the price of goods and services, rose 0.1 percent during the month, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.2 percent, down from 2.5 in July and the lowest since February 2021. Senior communications adviser for economic messaging MICHAEL KIKUKAWA reposted the piece on X. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by our SAM SUTTON, who reports that ports along the East and Gulf coasts are on the verge of a massive dockworkers strike, which could cripple the U.S. economy and create a political headache for both President Biden’s final months and Vice President Harris’ candidacy. Intervening on the strike — as Biden did two years ago to prevent rail workers from walking off the job — could create problems for Harris with blue-collar voters. But allowing the strike to go on could put additional strain on consumers, many of whom cite the economy as their primary concern. A strike could begin as soon as Tuesday if the International Longshoremen’s Association doesn’t reach a deal with the companies who operate at more than a dozen major ports across both coasts. The two sides are far from a deal.
| | | | A message from UnitedHealth Group:   | | | | | THE BEEF THAT NO ONE WANTS NOR CARES ABOUT: But alas, we’re writing about it. Statistician NATE SILVER and presidential historian ALLAN LICTHAN have been going at it on X today. “Nate Silver has finally seen the light! Weeks after I predicted a Harris victory he has come down from a 2/3 probability of a Trump victory to a 58% probability of a Harris victory,” Lichtman posted on X. Silver, of course, couldn’t help himself. “The funny thing is if you actually apply his keys correctly based on how he's applied them in the past, they predict a Trump victory,” he responded. “More about this soon lol.” Lichtman kept going — but, truly, who cares. PERSONNEL MOVES: LILIANA VALDES-GAMBOA is now a special adviser for rural development at the USDA. She most recently was a special assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary for Rural Development at USDA. — AIDAN MILLER has been promoted to be a special assistant in rural development at USDA. He most recently was a confidential assistant for rural development.
| | A MASSIVE ESCALATION: Israel targeted the leader of Hezbollah in massive airstrikes against the group’s Beirut headquarters on Friday, our ROBBIE GRAMER, ERIN BANCO, JONATHAN LEMIRE and NAHAL TOOSI report. The attack dramatically escalates the conflict in Lebanon and throws the Biden administration’s cease-fire hopes in limbo. It remains unclear whether the strike was successful in killing or wounding HASSAN NASRALLAH, or if he was in the building hit. While in New York this week, Biden told confidants that he was livid with BENJAMIN NETANYAHU and doesn’t believe the Israeli leader wanted to reach peace with either Hamas or Hezbollah. Biden was frustrated with how often Netanyahu would humiliate Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN and the president himself. Escalating fighting between Israel and the militant group has killed nearly 700 people and forced 90,000 people to flee their homes in Lebanon.
| | Kamala Harris' Pennsylvania Problem (Charles F. McElwee for POLITICO Magazine) Washington Targeted ‘Corrupt’ Mines. Workers Paid the Greatest Price (WaPo’s Jeff Stein and Claudia Méndez Arriaza) What Does Baseball Lose When the A’s Leave Oakland? (NYT’s Jack Nicas)
| | | This may not come as a surprise, but in 1976, RONALD REAGAN was knocking doors in Texas for the Republican presidential primary — which he would go on to lose to incumbent GERALD FORD — when he was mistaken for the “King of Cowboys.” When he got to one door, an “ol’ fella in his undershirt and jeans” came to the door and after Reagan told him he was running for president, the man asked what he had done for a living. “I told him I had been an actor,” Reagan said. After asking what he would know him from, “I thought maybe if I give him a hint, my initials were R.R..” “With that, his face lit up and he turned and ran back into the house yelling ‘Ma, ma, come out here quick, Roy Rogers is outside!’” Reagan recounted. 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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