Is 'ultra-MAGA' lame?

Jun 27, 2022 View in browser   By Alex Thompson, Adam Cancryn and Max Tani Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Allie Bice.  Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Max Putin's price hike. Ultra-MAGA. That's President JOE BIDEN's go-to framing when pressed on high inflation and gas prices, and when he tries to draw contrasts with Republicans. But many Democrats think those catch phrases are, well, bad. "I think 'ultra-MAGA' is not a good talking point," Rep. RUBEN GALLEGO (D-Ariz) told West Wing Playbook. "We should just call them a bunch of weirdos. Anyone obsessed that much with any politician by nature is kind of weird." Several Democratic strategists agreed the White House lines were not resonating with the public. "On 'Putin's price hike,' it's not meeting voters where they are," said one strategist working on several competitive races this fall. "It's much more important to feel their pain than explain it." Others argued it sounds more like blame-shifting than problem-solving. Congressional Democrats are more divided on using "ultra MAGA." The term partly resulted from polling by the liberal Center for American Progress and Global Strategy Group, which found "a new extreme MAGA agenda" moved voters more than hitting Republicans on "lower taxes for the rich." Even so, Democrats in the most competitive races have largely avoided both phrases. The Democratic nominees in the eight most competitive Senate races have not tweeted either catchphrase from their campaign accounts or included the language on their website. It's the same for the two leading Democratic candidates in the Wisconsin Senate primary. A review of the campaign Twitter feeds for all 37 House "frontliners" — the members in the most competitive seats, as deemed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) – found that none of them have tweeted those descriptions. In fact, the only time they really used "ultra," if at all, was to talk about the "ultra-wealthy" or "ultra-rich." Many of them had discussed Putin with regards to the war in Ukraine but often not in the context of gas prices. One of the few who did cast blame on Putin, Rep. MIKE LEVIN, did it in a larger context of what he called the "Three P's: the pandemic, Putin, and price gouging by Big Oil." The White House declined to comment. The DCCC and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee did not respond for comment. While some have stayed away from a White House script they think is in need of a rewrite, other lawmakers have crafted their own messaging because they are eager to keep their distance between themselves and the White House. Biden's approval rating has fallen below 40 percent, and tensions have grown between the White House and Hill Democrats over gloomy electoral prospects this November. "Voters don't want the same talking points, they don't want you parroting what the White House is saying," one House Democratic aide said. "They want you being your authentic self." Many members of Congress were frustrated by a recent presentation from top White House aides about the economy and the White House political strategy that they felt offered little path for gaining ground. The aides arrived late, prompting Speaker NANCY PELOSI to quip to her members: "I'll just vamp until the White House shows up," according to two people familiar with her remark. The aides stayed late after the briefing to make up for their tardiness. That frustration was echoed by progressive Democrats over how Biden responded to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade after having a month to prepare following the publication of the draft opinion. "He made a strong statement the day of," Rep. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-Wash.), who leads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told our colleagues in a new piece this afternoon . "I would have liked to see some more specific actions rolled out…We all knew this was coming." TEXT US — Are you ALANA MOUNCE, who is joining the White House political shop? We want to hear from you! And we'll keep you anonymous if you'd like.  Or if you think we missed something in today's edition, let us know and we may include it tomorrow. Email us at westwingtips@politico.com or you can text/Signal/Wickr Alex at 8183240098. POTUS PUZZLER Last week, we included a trivia question about raccoons at the White House and discovered there is actually a longer history. This one's from Allie: Which president kept a raccoon as a White House pet? (Answer at the bottom) The Oval GAVIN WATCH: Amidst a number of moves the ambitious California governor has taken to bolster his national profile, the political firm Medium Buying reports that GAVIN NEWSOM has placed a $105,000 ad buy on Fox News in Florida for July 4th. ROE RESPONSE: As it became clear that the Supreme Court was poised to overturn Roe, JENNIFER KLEIN took on a larger role within the administration as the primary coordinator of the federal government's response to the impending decision, CNN reported Monday. As the head of the White House's Gender Policy Council, which West Wing Playbook wrote about earlier this year, Klein convened meetings with other agencies and outside groups, and has even started making videos from the White House explaining the post-Roe abortion landscape. WHAT THE VP'S OFFICE WANTS YOU TO READ: West Wing Playbook wrote on Friday about Harris' emerging role as the administration's main voice on abortion rights. Now, The Associated Press has a similar story on Harris taking up that mantle, which was shared on Twitter by the VP's deputy comms director RACHEL PALERMO and senior comms adviser HERBIE ZISKEND. The staff alse shared Harris' Monday interview with CNN's DANA BASH where she discussed her shock over the decision. "The court actually took a constitutional right that has been recognized for half a century and took it from the women of America." WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN'T WANT YOU TO READ: It seems unlikely that the Gulf nations will be able to provide the U.S. relief from high gas prices. At least, that's what they're telling other leaders. During this week's G7 meeting, EMMANUEL MACRON was overheard telling Biden that SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN ZAYED AL-NAHYAN , the head of the United Arab Emirates, recently told him that Saudi Arabia and the UAE can barely increase oil production. MAKING THE ROUNDS: Health and Human Services Secretary XAVIER BECERRA and Labor Secretary MARTY WALSH met with 14 major health insurers and payer groups to to ensure they provide contraceptives without cost to enrollees. Our SARAH OWERMOHLE has more details. TOURS ARE BACK ON: Public tours of the White House are coming back July 19th, the Biden administration announced Monday . They'll be available from 8 a.m to 12:30 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday.   STAY UP TO DATE WITH 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.     Agenda Setting ABOUT THAT NUCLEAR DEAL: ROB MALLEY, the U.S. special envoy for the Iran nuclear talks, traveled to the Gulf state of Qatar today to revive discussions with Tehran about a potential agreement, NAHAL TOOSI and STEPHANIE LIECHTENSTEIN report. Though a breakthrough on this trip is unlikely, the move is the administration's first effort in months toward advancing the deal. UPPING THE PRICE: The Biden administration announced Monday it's raising tariffs on approximately $2.3 billion worth of Russian goods to 35 percent, our DOUG PALMER reports. The announcement comes as the president is in Europe this week, for the G-7 and NATO summits. Filling the Ranks NOMINATION WITHDRAWN: Biden's nominee to lead the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ED GONZALEZ, withdrew his nomination for the post over the weekend. While he didn't elaborate on his decision, Gonzalez wrote in a Twitter thread that he "arrived at this decision after prayerfully considering what's best for our nation, my family, and the people of Harris County who elected me to serve a second term as Sheriff."   DON'T MISS DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED:  Technology is always evolving, and our tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today.     What We're Reading G7 leaders vow to support Ukraine for 'as long as it takes' (Politico's Hans Von Der Burchard) Biden to announce extension of U.S. troop presence in Poland (NBC News' Courtney Kube, Carol E. Lee and Kristen Welker) WNBA star Brittney Griner ordered to trial Friday in Russia (AP's Jim Heintz) The nominal ways President Biden could expand abortion rights (WaPo's Amber Phillips) POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER Former first lady Grace Coolidge with Rebecca the raccoon at the 1927 White House Easter Egg Roll. | Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. President CALVIN COOLIDGE. Back in November 1926, supporters of the president sent him a raccoon to kill and eat for Thanksgiving dinner, but things didn't exactly go according to plan, and the Coolidge family instead kept her as a pet. They even gave her a name, Rebecca. According to the Library of Congress, the raccoon became quite popular, making appearances at public events, including the 1927 Easter Egg Roll. A CALL OUT — Do you think you have a more difficult trivia question? Send us your best question on the presidents with a citation and we may feature it. Edited by Eun Kyung Kim.   Follow us on Twitter Alex Thompson @AlexThomp Maxwell Tani @maxwelltani Allie Bice @alliebice   Follow us

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