| | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels | Presented by Kidney Care Access Coalition | | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
| | | |  | DRIVING THE DAY | | | THE POLL WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR — “Harris and Trump Deadlocked to the End, Final Times/Siena National Poll Finds,” by NYT’s Adam Nagourney and Ruth Igielnik: “KAMALA HARRIS and DONALD J. TRUMP are locked in a dead heat for the popular vote, 48 percent to 48 percent, the final national poll by The New York Times and Siena College has found, as Ms. Harris struggles for an edge over Mr. Trump with an electorate that seems impossibly and immovably divided.” NOT GREAT, BOB — “People in Washington Are Fleeing Town for Election Day,” by Michael Schaffer CASH DASH — “Harris continued to heavily outraise and outspend Trump in early October,” by Jessica Piper: “Harris’ campaign reported $97 million raised in the first half of October, according to new reports filed late Thursday with the Federal Election Commission. For Trump’s campaign, that figure was just $16 million.”
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Donald Trump’s inner circle has been working overtime in the past several months to neuter accusations that he's a danger to democracy. | Alex Brandon/AP | THE PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: JASON MILLER — We wrote yesterday about Harris sharpening her closing message: That Trump is a danger to democracy. A fascist. A has-been who tried to overturn the 2020 election and cannot be trusted with power again. Today, we examine why that could be a tougher sell than the Beltway echo chamber may realize — at least, according to Trump allies. Trump’s inner circle has been working overtime in the past several months to neuter these very types of accusations — e.g., the notion that he’s a dictator in waiting — by using unscripted events and a series of long-form podcast appearances to humanize Trump. The photo op where he served french fries at a McDonald’s drive-thru, the YouTube appearance where he plays golf , the appearance on get-out-of-debt guru DAVE RAMSEY’s radio show? All of them are part of this strategy. And don’t get us started on those bro-y podcasts that barely touch on politics, where he’s quizzing podcasters about what it's like to do cocaine or dishing on his son BARRON’s dating life (or lack thereof, to hear him tell it). For Deep Dive this week, we sat down with longtime Trump adviser JASON MILLER, who took us through the thinking on this strategy. “It just shows that he's someone who has fun,” Miller said. “It's funny — I'm old enough to remember back in 2000, they had the debate with [GEORGE W.] BUSH/[ AL] GORE on who would you rather have a beer with? … The person who would win that — even though he doesn't drink — would be President Trump.” In short, the campaign has tried to soften Trump’s image from that of a divisive politician defined by grievances to, instead, an amusing entertainer you’d wanna shoot the shit with. Trump’s political team still has remorse over the 2020 campaign, Miller said, believing the restrictions of running as an incumbent in the White House quashed Trump’s ability to get out and connect with everyday people. This year, his team vowed that wouldn’t be the case again. “When you're able to communicate the relatability, then voters feel even more strongly that the policies that you're pushing for are being done because you want to help them,” Miller told us. Today, he snags the biggest get yet: JOE ROGAN, whose rambling, world-conquering podcast he’ll appear on during a visit to Austin, Texas. Related read: “Joe Rogan Takes Center Stage in an Election Season Dominated by Podcasts,” by WSJ’s Anne Steele and Tarini Parti
|  | One longtime Trump ally who’s been in the inner circle since Trump came down the escalator told us this strategy is the “the smartest thing” the campaign has done this cycle. The person argued that the biggest untold story of the election — should Trump win — will be how Trump’s team “eroded the social stigma around him.” Trump aides also believe this strategy will ultimately be successful because it puts Trump right where he’s most comfortable, as our colleague Meridith McGraw notes in a just-posted story: As a celebrity entertainer. Trump feeds off the requests for selfies and playing to the cameras — like when, decades ago, he relished getting filmed performing the chores of everyday workers in his hotel, from walking customers’ dogs to delivering room service. This Sunday, he’s checking off a big item on his bucket list: headlining a rally at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. Nota bene: “At the Madison Square Garden event, Trump’s advisers say they are lining up special guests to help create buzzy moments, like when professional wrestler and Trump supporter HULK HOGAN appeared on the final night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.” Whether this will be enough to catapult Trump to another four years in office? We’ll find out in 11 days. Other highlights from the interview:
- Miller’s reaction to JOHN KELLY (“a loser”);
- His unvarnished feelings about former Wyoming Rep. LIZ CHENEY (“political Satan”);
- How Trump’s son, Barron, has been a guiding hand on the podcast strategy (“Every single recommendation he's had, has turn out to be absolute ratings gold that's broken the Internet”);
- What he thinks was the turning point in the campaign (“Who would have thought that SUNNY HOSTIN from ‘The View’ really killed Kamala Harris's candidacy?”)
Give the whole interview a listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify Happy Friday. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade and Eugene Daniels.
| | | | A message from Kidney Care Access Coalition: Today, dialysis patients can be forced off the health coverage that works best for them – even impacting coverage for their spouse and kids.
The Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act (S. 5018 and H.R. 6860) is a bipartisan and bicameral bill that will restore protections for dialysis patients and ensure that these patients and their families have a choice in their coverage.
The time for Congress to act is now.
https://www.kidneycareaccess.org/ | | | | WHAT HOWARD LUTNICK IS READING — BROOKE ROLLINS gets the profile treatment: “The Silent Force Behind the Trump Transition,” by Ian Ward GET IN FORMATION — Later today, VP KAMALA HARRIS will speak at a rally featuring BEYONCÉ in the singer’s hometown of Houston, Texas. Normally, with 11 days left in a presidential election, a Democratic candidate spending any time in a ruby-red state rather than one of the seven battleground states would be an odd, verging on self-defeating, choice. But the Harris camp has a theory of the case. “Texas is the stage, and the audience is the battlegrounds,” a senior Harris campaign official told Megan Messerly and Eugene in a new piece previewing the trip. “It definitely arrests people's attention in a way that is hard to do by just going back to another battleground at this point in the cycle. This is our strategic way to break through the news.”
- The message they want folks to hear: (1) Abortion rights are on the ballot in November, (2) Texas’ abortion ban is a result of Trump’s court appointments and (3) if he returns to the White House, those restrictions are at risk of spreading to other states.
- Who they want to hear it: The trip also comes as part of Harris’ final push to court moderate voters who haven’t yet cast ballots, especially white women without college degrees. “What's fueling the rise in female support for Harris and what's contributing to [Trump’s] decline with white non-college?” the senior campaign official asked rhetorically. “The answer to both is white non-college women.”
Harris has long told her aides that she feels an obligation to make sure Trump isn’t allowed to moderate his position on abortion rights. If they can tie him to the Lone Star State’s abortion law — which bans the procedure starting at conception, does not allow exceptions for rape or incest, and makes violations punishable by up to 99 years in prison — all the better, their thinking goes. A undernoted theme of Harris’ vice presidency is visiting states that are home to, in her eyes, the right’s worst policy impacts — even if Democrats have little to no chance of flipping them. She went to Florida to mark the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. She visited Tennessee to talk about gun safety laws. And she returned to Florida to blast the state’s guidelines on teaching Black history. This time, the stakes are a whole lot higher.
| | | | A message from Kidney Care Access Coalition:   The Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act will right a wrong and ensure dialysis patients and their families aren’t forced off their health insurance. https://www.kidneycareaccess.org/ | | | | | WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY | | On the Hill The Senate and the House are out. What we’re watching … The new MITCH McCONNELL biography from AP’s Michael Tackett is becoming an issue in the simmering Senate GOP leadership race. Inside the pages of “The Price of Power” ($32.50), McConnell unloads on Trump and the MAGA movement more generally, calling the former a “ sleazeball” and the latter “completely wrong.” That prompted an angry reaction from conservative Sen. MIKE LEE (R-Utah), Anthony Adragna reports, who demanded those running to succeed McConnell “weigh in on this & commit never to sabotage Republican candidates & colleagues.” Sen. RICK SCOTT (R-Fla.), a longtime McConnell rival, did just that, while Sen. JOHN THUNE (R-S.D.) was more tepid, saying he was “focused on electing a strong Senate Republican majority that can hit the ground running” under Trump. At the White House Biden is in Arizona, where he is expected to issue a formal apology for the role that the U.S. government played in Native American boarding schools at the Gila River Indian Community. “It will mark the first formal acknowledgement from a president about the role the federal government played in the boarding school system and the devastating impact it had on generations of Native American families,” Lauren Egan writes. On the trail Harris will tape an interview with Brené Brown in the evening before traveling to Houston for a rally at 9:30 p.m. Eastern. Walz will deliver remarks at a campaign reception in Philadelphia in the afternoon before traveling to Scranton for a rally at 6 p.m. Trump will hold a rally in Traverse City, Michigan at 7:30 p.m.
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| |  Former Trump administration officials today are signaling their support for former chief of staff John Kelly. | Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images | THE FORMERS STRIKE BACK — More than a dozen former Trump administration officials today are signaling their support for former chief of staff JOHN KELLY , who went on the record this week in extraordinary detail to say Trump fits the definition of a fascist, would govern like a dictator and has no concept of the Constitution, Meridith McGraw reports. “In a new letter, shared exclusively with POLITICO, the former Trump administration officials — some of the officials have been outspoken Trump critics for years — stated, ‘this is who Donald Trump is.’ ‘The revelations General Kelly brought forward are disturbing and shocking. But because we know Trump and have worked for and alongside him, we were sadly not surprised by what General Kelly had to say,’ the letter states.” But will it matter? “Harris’ campaign conducted a focus group with undecided voters in a battleground state, where the participants found Kelly to be credible and trustworthy and his criticism of Trump, according to a campaign official, granted anonymity to discuss the findings, made some of them think twice about the former president.” Another alarm bell: “Trump alumni warn he could deploy troops against Americans,” by WaPo’s Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey and Dan Lamothe Meanwhile, there is growing concern among Democrats that Harris’ courting of Republicans is going too far. “In private — and increasingly in public as Election Day fast approaches — they say she risks chilling Democratic enthusiasm by alienating progressives and working-class voters,” NYT’s Nicholas Nehamas and Erica Green report. RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE THE LONG GAME — Pennsylvania Gov. JOSH SHAPIRO has become one of the Harris campaign’s primary surrogates, but “while he is rallying voters on her behalf, he is also lobbying her — privately urging Harris to take up one of his policies aimed squarely at working-class voters in Pennsylvania,” Holly Otterbein reports. “In a conversation described for the first time to POLITICO, he said he pressed her to vow to get rid of rules that require a college credential for many jobs in the federal government, a proposal she has adopted. Shapiro said that he’s hustling because the stakes in the election are sky-high. But his own image is also on the line. He will be judged, fairly or not, on whether he delivers his state for Harris. And Harris, in turn, will be scrutinized over whether she made the right call when she didn’t choose Shapiro as a running mate.” TRANSITION NEWS — Harris is bringing on two former aides — GABRIELA CRISTÓBAL and ERICA SONGER — from her VP office to join the transition team, Jasper Goodman reports. RACE FOR THE SENATE DEEP IN THE HEART — Democrats have an unexpected flip target on the board with less than two weeks to go as Rep. COLIN ALLRED tries to unseat GOP Sen. TED CRUZ, and they’re investing: Senate Majority PAC is putting $5 million into ads and the DSCC is following with “several million more,” Ursula Perano reports. FOR THE RECORD — “Montana Senate candidate says he was ‘medically discharged’ from the Navy. Records say otherwise,” by NBC’s Courtney Kube RACE FOR THE STATES THE ABORTION SPLIT — There is a nightmare scenario for the Democratic campaigns emerging as the countdown to Election Day ticks shorter: “Ten states have abortion rights measures on the ballot this year, and Democratic activists express confidence that most will pass, just as every similar state measure has won approval since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022. But they remain less certain about how many of these newly engaged abortion rights voters will then support Democratic candidates,” NYT’s Elizabeth Dias and Lisa Lerer report. Related read: “Campaign for pro-abortion amendment in New York spends big on overhead. Not so much on ads,” by Bill Mahoney VIRGINIA IS FOR VOTERS — “Judge sounds inclined to halt Virginia voter purge,” by Josh Gerstein POLL POSITION FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — GOP challenger KEVIN COUGHLIN is leading Democratic Rep. EMILIA SYKES in Ohio’s 13th Congressional District, 46% to 45%, with eight percent of voters still undecided, according to a new poll from co/efficient. See the full polling memo North Carolina: Trump +2, per Emerson. … Wisconsin: Trump +1, per Emerson. Sen. TAMMY BALDWIN and ERIC HOVDE tied at 48%, per Emerson.
| | | | | PLAYBOOK READS | | AMERICA AND THE WORLD
|  Elon Musk has been secretly chatting with Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN since 2022. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | MUSK READ — ELON MUSK has been secretly chatting with Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN since 2022. “The discussions, confirmed by several current and former U.S., European and Russian officials, touch on personal topics, business and geopolitical tensions,” WSJ’s Thomas Grove, Warren Strobel, Aruna Viswanatha, Gordon Lubold and Sam Schechner report. “At one point, Putin asked the billionaire to avoid activating his Starlink satellite internet service over Taiwan as a favor to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, said two people briefed on the request. “While the U.S. and its allies have isolated Putin in recent years, Musk’s dialogue could signal re-engagement with the Russian leader, and reinforce Trump’s expressed desire to cut a deal over major fault lines such as the war in Ukraine. At the same time, the contacts also raise potential national-security concerns among some in the current administration, given Putin’s role as one of America’s chief adversaries.” Meanwhile, industry experts tell WaPo’s Eva Dou that Musk’s Starlink “could be poised to gain billions of dollars more in federal contracts and subsidies” if Trump returns to the White House. “Other Republicans have also telegraphed business upsides for Starlink, including pushing for the company to get a slice of a $42 billion pot of federal internet subsidies.” Related read: “Elon Musk dropped eight figures to help GOP retake Senate,” by Jessica Piper CONGRESS
|  Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) has built a reputation as a Donald Trump whisperer. | Andrew Harnik/Getty Images | HOLLER BILL — Mainstream Republicans and foreign diplomats are hoping that BILL HAGERTY, a low-profile first-term Tennessee senator, can help tamp down some of Trump’s most extreme impulses if he wins back the White House, Gavin Bade and Eleanor Mueller write . “Hagerty has built a reputation as a Trump whisperer for wary diplomats and worried Wall Street financiers who need a translator for the new age of American populism. “It’s a transformation that has landed the Tennessee lawmaker on Trump’s short list for a number of high-profile Cabinet gigs, say eight people with knowledge of the discussions, from U.S. Trade Representative to Commerce secretary or even secretary of State or Treasury. While the ultimate makeup of a Trump Cabinet is still unclear, those close to Trump are confident Hagerty will play an influential role.” More top reads:
- The House Administration Committee has hired JOSHUA FINDLAY and THOMAS LANE, “two former Donald Trump campaign officials involved in the 2020 fake electors scheme as the GOP-led panel gears up to take center stage in an unknown post-election landscape when Congress returns in November,” CNN’s Annie Grayer reports.
- Senate Finance Chair RON WYDEN (D-Ore.) and Rep. JAMIE RASKIN (D-Md.), the top House Oversight Dem, want AG MERRICK GARLAND to appoint a special counsel to investigate if JARED KUSHNER ran afoul of FARA in his work overseas, Jordain Carney writes.
| | | | A message from Kidney Care Access Coalition:   | | | POLICY CORNER HOW THE AGENCIES ARE PREPPING — With just days to go in the election, the Justice Department is “under explicit instructions to stay mostly quiet, in the hopes of avoiding the sort of political firestorms that engulfed the department in the last two presidential elections,” NYT’s Devlin Barrett reports. “The department has instituted what many insiders privately refer to as a ‘30-day rule,’ intended to greatly diminish the number of public appearances or statements by its top officials. An internal Justice Department memo issued this summer and reviewed by The New York Times said senior officials ‘must be vigilant to prevent the appearance that any of our official duties are an effort to influence the outcome of the election.’” Meanwhile, over at the Pentagon, officials made a rare move to push back vehemently against misinformation spread on social media by Trump allies that baselessly claimed that U.S. troops had been authorized to use force against Americans during the election, AP’s Tara Copp writes. JUDICIARY SQUARE FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — A coalition of more than 45 organizations representing advocates for judicial accountability, survivors’ rights, and governmental transparency are sending a letter to congressional leaders asking them “remedy serious faults in the vetting process for judicial nominees.” The letter follows a report released by Sen. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-R.I.) last week, which found that the Trump White House exerted influence over the FBI’s investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court Justice BRETT KAVANAUGH. MEDIAWATCH SEGUNDO THOUGHTS — “Did the ‘L.A. Times’ and other news outlets pull punches to appease Trump?” by NPR’s David Folkenflik TV TONIGHT — PBS’ “Washington Week”: Anne Applebaum, Dan Balz, Dana Bash and Jerusalem Demsas. SUNDAY SO FAR … CBS “Face the Nation”: Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) … Liz Cheney … Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes … Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Al Schmidt. CNN “State of the Union”: Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) … Liz Cheney. Panel: Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), Scott Jennings, Karen Finney and Kristen Soltis Anderson. NBC “Meet the Press”: Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) … Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Panel: Hallie Jackson, Jonathan Martin, Sara Fagen and Symone Sanders-Townsend. ABC “This Week”: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) … Dan Osborn … Mark Cuban. Panel: Donna Brazile and Chris Christie. FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). Panel: Josh Holmes, Julia Manchester, Mario Parker and Juan Williams. MSNBC “The Weekend”: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul … Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) … Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.). NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”: Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) … New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Strategist panel: Michael Meehan and Whit Ayres. Panel: Bill Sammon, Tamara Keith, Ramesh Ponnuru and Catherine Lucey.
| | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS | | | Sheldon Whitehouse has mastered the art of the collar roll. Jared Kushner might have forgotten that people can see who you’re following on X. Samuel L. Jackson revealed that he and Kamala Harris have the same favorite cuss word. Donald Trump is heading into Nittany Nation on the weekend before Election Day. Fred Upton said he was going to endorse Harris whether Tim Walz called him or not. OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED a VIP reception of the Semafor World Economy Summit taking place alongside the IMF/World Bank fall meetings hosted at Justin Smith’s residence yesterday evening: Philippines Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez, Danish Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen, Estonian Ambassador Kristjan Prikk, Samaila Zubairu, Kylie Patterson, Bale Dalton, James Roscoe, Kevin Keane, Omar Vargas, Karan Bhatia, Muriel Chase, Barbara Humpton, Noor Menai, Philip Rucker, Sadie Gurman, Ben Smith, Liz Hoffman, Rachel Oppenheim and Bennett Richardson. — SPOTTED at the George H.W. Bush Points of Light Awards celebration at the Capitol Hilton on Wednesday night, honoring Patrick Dempsey, Arthur Blank, Shrusti Amula and Ashley Brown: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Neil Bush, Doro Bush Koch, Marvin Bush, Lauren Bush Lauren, Bob Costas, Michelle Nunn and Rod Rosenstein. MEDIA MOVE — Brad Bosserman is now chief revenue officer for NOTUS and the Allbritton Journalism Institute. He previously was chief revenue officer at Grid News and is a POLITICO alum. TRANSITIONS — Matt Cronin is joining Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) as senior national security adviser. He most recently was chief investigative counsel and deputy general counsel for the House China committee, and is a White House alum. … Abby Avery is joining Sen. Katie Britt’s (R-Ala.) office as military legislative assistant. She previously was manager of government operation at United Launch Alliance. … Steve Behm is joining The Burson Group as Americas chair for corporate affairs. He previously was president of corporate advocacy at Real Chemistry. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Nicole Beemsterboer, executive producer at Bloomberg’s Big Take, and Brian Rogers, partner at Bullpen Strategy Group, on Oct. 18 welcomed Mae Catherine Rogers, who joins big brother Gregory. Pic — Kathryn Loomis, assistant general counsel at Freddie Mac, and Richard Davidson, federal affairs lead for DOE’s National Renewable Energy Lab and a Sheldon Whitehouse alum, welcomed Josephine Loomis Davidson on Tuesday. Pic … Another pic HAPPY BIRTHDAY: James Carville (8-0) … Geoff Burr … Nate Hodson … Ed Barron … DOT”s Phil McNamara … Penta Group’s Bryan DeAngelis … CBS’ Jan Crawford … POLITICO’s Bill Kuchman and Nicole Rose … Summit Campaign Strategies’ Charles Chamberlain ... Patrick Butler ... Elizabeth Crisp … Chuck Conconi … Brigid Ueland of the American Financial Services Association … Kendall Heath … Trey Hodgkins … Bobbie Kilberg … Cameron Kilberg … Susie Gelman … Brian DeBose … Steve Duchesne … Chuck Baker of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association … GMMB’s Eric Conrad … Emily Prosser of the Senate Banking GOP … Victoria Nuland … Gordon Johndroe … CRC Advisors’ Mike Martin … Ross van Dongen of Accelerator for America 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.
| | | | A message from Kidney Care Access Coalition: A June 2022 Supreme Court ruling undermined long-standing statutory protections for dialysis patients by allowing employer group health plans to force dialysis patients on Medicare before they would have otherwise chosen. When they transition from their employer health plan to Medicare, their family could also be forced off their coverage. This causes an unnecessary and costly disruption to these families – at a time when they are also managing a life-threatening disease.
The Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act is a bipartisan, bicameral bill to simply restore these critical protections for patients and their families. The bill ensures families can choose their coverage, protects private health insurance, and prevents Medicare from being overburdened.
Over 40 organizations, including those representing patients, providers, the disability community, and communities of color, are calling on Congress to pass the Restore Protections for Dialysis Patients Act.
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