The Biden sit-down that split PBS

Jan 11, 2022 View in browser   By Max Tani, Alex Thompson and Tina Sfondeles Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With Allie Bice. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Tina | Email Max Networks and news outlets are used to jockeying with each other for coveted presidential interviews. But one-on-one sit downs with President JOE BIDEN are so scarce these days that the prospect of access to the president can cause tensions within the same news organization. Last year, PBS anchor and then-White House correspondent YAMICHE ALCINDOR was slated to conduct an on-camera interview exclusively with the president sometime around July 4, a date the White House was targeting for its celebration of 100 million Covid-19 vaccinations. But the scheduled sit-down caught some at the news organization off guard. Three PBS insiders and people with knowledge of the incident said fellow PBS anchor JUDY WOODRUFF and some other staff at PBS' nightly Newshour program were miffed and frustrated when they learned that Alcindor had secured an interview for the network's Sunday program, Washington Week. Woodruff, the news organization's longtime anchor and host of its flagship program, had a longstanding request for an interview with Biden from the time he became president, but which was not granted during his first year at the White House. She had been in the dark that Alcindor, a rising star and newly-appointed moderator at the organization, was asking too and that the White House had been working with her on it. Those PBS insiders said the interview caused tensions between the two shows: Some Newshour staff felt that, while there was no explicit policy dictating Woodruff should get the first interview with Biden, it was understood that PBS shows shouldn't be competing with one another for a sit-down. PBS declined to comment specifically on the incident. The tensions came at a delicate moment for PBS and Newshour. The normally drama-free Washington mainstay has seen several departures recently including Alcindor, who recently joined NBC News as Washington Correspondent (though she remains the host of Washington Week). Woodruff, an iconic journalist and the organization's longtime face , is also one of the oldest nightly news anchors on national television, sparking some speculation about how much longer she plans to stay and who her eventual successor might be. According to two people familiar with the discussions, AMNA NAWAZ and GEOFF BENNET are seen internally as frontrunners, though a PBS official said Woodruff's successor has "not yet been determined because there are not yet plans for Judy to step down." Intra-network friction between shows and anchors for high-profile interviews, particularly presidential ones, isn't new. When the Trump White House gave its first interview following the spread of Covid-19 to ABC News in 2020, it specifically asked to sit down with World News Tonight anchor DAVID MUIR over then-chief anchor GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, a move that further heightened tensions between the two anchors, which eventually boiled over publicly early last year. But while Trump interviews were coveted for their star-making potential — interviews generated huge ratings, headlines, and professional accolades for anchors — the PBS incident illustrates a different dynamic for those covering the White House in the Biden era: You may get only one chance to speak with the president one-on-one, if you get that chance at all. Over the weekend, the Associated Press noted that Biden has participated in just 22 media interviews, fewer than any of his six most recent White House predecessors at similar points in their presidencies. The scarcity has elicited complaints from some press freedom advocates and the White House Correspondents Association, and cast doubt on Biden's promise to oversee the most transparent administration in history. The White House argues that Biden takes questions from reporters regularly, often at the end of prepared remarks. But those aren't the same as sit-downs, where there are meatier exchanges and chances for direct follows. As West Wing Playbook reported last year, some White House officials say the administration has been interview averse because it believes journalists are too focused on the political process stories Biden has no interest in discussing. The White House's preferred approach to dealing with the press was evident in how the PBS turf war got resolved. It backed out of doing an interview with Alcindor, opting for a give-and-take with the press the Friday before July 4 weekend and a larger speech on the South Lawn for the weekend itself. As for lingering tensions between the two PBS shows, insiders downplayed any animosity between Newshour and Washington Week or their respective hosts. During Friday's broadcast, Woodruff thanked Alcindor for her time as a contributor to Newshour. Do you work in the Biden administration? Are you in touch with the White House? Are you CHRISTIAN L. TOM, special assistant to the president and deputy director of digital strategy? We want to hear from you — and we'll keep you anonymous. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com or you can text/Signal Alex at 8183240098.   BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we've got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don't miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now.     POTUS PUZZLER From the University of Virginia's Miller Center A tricky one — which president's top political adviser said that "the base is just a terrible concept. … How can you win by appealing to the base?" (Answer at the bottom.) The Oval MEACHAM MILD MELD: We noticed two lines of Biden's speech were very similar to something historian and informal Biden adviser JON MEACHAM said last week at a panel about January 6th. Here was Meacham: "Do you want to be Bull Connor or do you want to be John Robert Lewis? Do you want to be Jefferson Davis or do you want to be Abraham Lincoln?" And here was Biden: "Do you want to be on the side of John Lewis or Bull Connor? Do you want to be on the side of Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis?" We asked Meacham about this and he told West Wing Playbook he helped write today's speech. "I was involved in the drafting of the speech and was happy to offer that language for the President to use if he wished," he said. TOO BUSY — Georgia gubernatorial candidate STACEY ABRAMS did not attend POTUS' speech about voting rights in Atlanta, citing a scheduling conflict. "I spoke to Stacey this morning," Biden told reporters this morning before leaving for Atlanta. "We have a great relationship. We got our scheduling mixed up." She's also heavily associated with the push for voting rights. How could a scheduling conflict prevent her from seeing the president address this very topic in her home state? We reached out to her campaign to see what her schedule is like today. There was no response from a general email, or SETH BRINGMAN, a campaign spokesman, whom we emailed and called. We also tried some Abrams allies, like strategist NINA SMITH, but also didn't hear back about her schedule. Abrams did send a supportive tweet Monday about Biden's visit. TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE: CLAIRE RAFFORD reports that things got heated in a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing today featuring the president's top medical adviser, Dr. ANTHONY FAUCI, and CDC Director ROCHELLE WALENSKY, and other federal officials. Responding to questions from Sen. ROGER MARSHALL (R-Kans.) about the doctor's financial disclosures, Fauci noted that his investments and financial information were already "public knowledge," and had been for more than 30 years. "All you have to do is ask for it." "You're so misinformed, it's extraordinary," Fauci continued, adding "what a moron." HHS spokesman IAN SAMS sent along a comment afterwards: "At a time when America is seeing rising COVID cases, it's disappointing and frankly unacceptable that Republican Senators chose to spend a hearing with the country's leading public health experts spreading conspiracy theories and lies about Dr. Fauci." WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: Since the emergence of the Omicron variant late last year, the Biden administration has faced tough questions and criticism over the lack of available Covid-19 testing in some hard-hit areas, including places like New York and Washington, D.C. The administration has since announced the purchase of an additional 500 million tests. And the White House believes the media may now be overhyping Americans' concerns about lack of access to adequate testing. On Tuesday, one White House official flagged a new Axios-Ipsos survey showing that 90 percent of respondents said they did not have trouble finding a test over the past several days, and nearly the same number said they did not have to wait in long lines for a test. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN'T WANT YOU TO READ: This LAURA REILEY piece in the Washington Post about why there are some bare shelves in grocery stores. STEW LEONARD JR., the owner of a supermarket chain in Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York, told her that nearly 10 percent of his employees are out right now. "Two weeks ago, our No. 1 selling item at Stew Leonard's was filet mignon. Right now, the No. 1 seller is the rapid tests. We have a warehouse in New Jersey where we pick them up. We sent a tractor trailer and asked them to load them up. They said, 'Not so fast. How much do you want to pay for them?' It was a bidding war right there on the loading dock." Agenda Setting GET BETTER MASKS — Biden administration health officials are weighing whether to offer high quality masks , which could include KN95 or N95s, to all Americans, three people with knowledge of the deliberations told DAVID LIM and ADAM CANCRYN. ALL ABOARD: The CDC is lifting cruise ship restrictions despite 30-fold increase of Omicron cases on ships, ALEX DAUGHERTY reports (for Pro subscribers). What We're Reading Biden has found his bone to pick with the GOP: voting rights (POLITICO's Laura Barrón-López) Biden admin advances Gulf and Calif. offshore wind reviews (E&E's Heather Richards) Out with the old, in with the new: Kamala Harris' team works to improve public image (McClatchy's Francesca Chambers) What We're Watching Dr. TOM INGLESBY, a senior adviser on the White House's Covid-19 team, on PBS News Hour at 6:30 p.m. ET. A Council on Foreign Relations virtual conversation with CECILIA ROUSE , chair of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers, on Jan. 12 at 1 p.m. ET. Where's Joe He flew to Atlanta this morning to deliver remarks on the need for new voting rights legislation. Prior to the speeches, he and Vice President KAMALA HARRIS participated in a wreath laying ceremony at the resting places of MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. and CORETTA SCOTT KING at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. The pair also visited the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church before heading to the Atlanta University Center Consortium, where they delivered their remarks. "I believe the threat to our democracy is so grave that we must find a way to pass these voting rights bills. Debate them. Vote. Let the majority prevail," Biden said. "And if that bare minimum is blocked, we have no option but to change the Senate rules, including getting rid of the filibuster for this." He is set to return to the White House this evening, around 8:05 p.m. Where's Kamala With the president in Atlanta. The Oppo Book All press secretaries have their strategies and secrets to managing stress at the briefing room podium. Biden's press secretary, JEN PSAKI, admitted hers in an interview with NPR Jan. 2021 : "When reporters are getting really loud, or they're starting to ask crazy questions, I just slow down my pace, and I talk very quietly, and I treat them like I'm an orderly sometimes in an insane asylum." She went on to clarify: "Not that they're people in an insane asylum. But, sometimes, that's all you have to do to cool yourself down inside."   DON'T MISS CONGRESS MINUTES: Need to follow the action on Capitol Hill blow-by-blow? Check out Minutes, POLITICO's new platform that delivers the latest exclusives, twists and much more in real time. Get it on your desktop or download the POLITICO mobile app for iOS or Android. CHECK OUT CONGRESS MINUTES HERE.     POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER KARL ROVE, senior adviser to GEORGE W. BUSH , said that in his 2013 oral history interview with the Miller Center. Rove added that there's more to appeal to than the "base": "You want to have the broader party there, and then you want to look at those elements of the electorate — independents and soft Democrats — who can be swiped away." Join the Miller Center and presidential experts live online, on Jan. 13 to discuss President Biden's first year. Register here. Got a better question? Send us your hardest trivia question on the presidents and we may feature it on Wednesdays. We also want your feedback. What should we be covering in this newsletter that we're not? What are we getting wrong? Please let us know. Edited by Emily Cadei   Follow us on Twitter Alex Thompson @AlexThomp Maxwell Tani @maxwelltani Allie Bice @alliebice   Follow us

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