Youths To Biden: The Vibes Are Off

Jul 12, 2022 View in browser   By Sam Stein, Alex Thompson 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  It's no secret that President JOE BIDEN has a problem with young voters. He's old. And his political appeal is predicated on restoring civility and norms, not inspiring younger generations to rush to the polls. In a survey released by the New York Times this week, 94 percent of Democrats under the age of 30 said they'd prefer a different presidential nominee. Does it have to be this way? If you ask Democratic activists who work in this space, the answer is, actually, no — though they offer differing prescriptions for how to glow up Biden's image with America's youth. One idea is to focus on simpler policies; chief among them, weed. Yes, weed. Biden has steadfastly refused to support legalization, choosing instead to emphasize decriminalization. But, the thinking goes, he's made pivots on other policy matters before (see: abortion) and tackled hot-button cultural issues in the lead up to past elections (see: gay marriage). "He should say publicly, 'I've been wrong about marijuana policy my entire career, I've seen the light and listened to activists. I've listened to my party and this is what I will now do,'" said JOHN HUDAK, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution. "It's an easy win he's refused to accept as a win." As Hudak sees it, there are obvious benefits to embracing legalization for Biden. For one, it doesn't carry the baggage of other policies designed to court younger voters, like student debt relief, that could have inflationary side effects. More creatively, any discomfort Biden may have with legalization — and according to those who have worked alongside him, he has discomfort owing to the fact that his son, HUNTER, has suffered from drug addiction — can be assuaged by the likelihood that Congress won't turn it into law. But the most obvious benefit is that it is insanely popular…. among everybody. The Civiqs survey numbers show 83 percent of voters between the ages of 18 and 34 want legalization, alongside 71 percent of voters overall. "Cannabis reform is not ahead of its time, this is the time for cannabis reform," said Hudak. "Supporting cannabis reform in and of itself won't win [Biden] the youth vote. But it will telegraph to those voters that this is a guy who is listening to us." Not everyone imagines things can be so easy. TRÉ EASTON, a Democratic strategist who has worked in the youth vote space, said he would love for Biden to get on board with legal weed. But he doesn't suspect he will. Even if the president did, he wasn't sure it would move the dial politically. The problem facing Biden, Easton said, was far broader than individual policy. "So much of it is just vibes, and the vibes you get from this White House is that they're not prioritizing trying to make young voters happy," he said. Easton's central thesis is that young voters see in Biden a "slavish devotion to these institutions that have routinely failed them." They don't know a political system that works or that appears up to the fundamental challenges facing society, from climate change to sustaining democracy. "It's not just young Americans who look at this system and see something broken," said Easton. "Trump's whole appeal was that he could take a dysfunctional system and fix it… Americans see this system as fucked up." The White House's contention is that Easton is wrong, not on the merits, but on Biden. To them, Biden has actually started to make the system work again. He's passed gun laws and infrastructure reform that eluded prior presidents. He's stabilizing the country politically and toning down a partisan rancor that served as a blot on the past four years. He's hosting picnics with members from both sides of the aisle! Their theory of the case worked in 2020. But as of now, the numbers strongly suggest that young voters aren't buying it. And so, the party is left with a third option by which to court them: point to the other guy. "No one will tell you his numbers are good," said one top Democratic strategist. "That would be bullshit. But every midterm I've been involved in, the party in power says it is a choice and not a referendum. What is different this time is that DONALD TRUMP wants to make it a choice." "The more that Trump makes himself part of the conversation and clarifies it as you have a choice between sticking with Biden or going back to Trump, that helps us," the strategist added. "Having that in the ether is incredibly important." TEXT US — Are you a YOUNG BIDEN SUPER FAN? 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.   STAY UP TO DATE WITH CONGRESS MINUTES: Need to follow the action on Capitol Hill blow-by-blow? Check out Minutes, POLITICO's 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 This one's courtesy of reader ALEX PENLER: Which first lady spoke Mandarin fluently — and once lived in China? (Answer at the bottom) The Oval OVERSHADOWED: The public hearings by the committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot have consumed D.C. media for months, occasionally blotting out other political news stories. Tuesday was no exception: National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications JOHN KIRBY was slated to appear on Fox News this afternoon in advance of the president's trip to the Middle East. But his appearance was bumped as the cable news networks remained glued to the Jan. 6 hearing and the latest testimony to emerge. (NICHOLAS WU and KYLE CHENEY have more here.) WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: Or shall we say watch. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN posted a video of himself visiting his first office at the department 30 years ago. In a #WalksWithTony Instagram post , Blinked describes the spot as "the tiny windowless space where I learned the ropes of diplomacy and worked with colleagues whose mentorship I still appreciate." WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN'T WANT YOU TO READ: This Dallas Morning News story featuring the headline : "First lady Jill Biden apologizes for comparing Hispanics to tacos during Texas visit." The comments Monday prompted mockery from Republicans and criticism from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and led to a mea culpa Tuesday from the first lady's spokesperson. MICHAEL LAROSA wrote in a tweet that Biden apologized that her words "conveyed anything but pure admiration and love for the Latino community." AID STACKS UP: The U.S. is sending $1.7 billion to Ukraine to pay health care workers' salaries and provide other essential services, the latest round of aid to the country as the Russian invasion continues. The money will be provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Treasury Department and the World Bank. Our MATT BERG has more details.  TWEET OF THE DAY: White House Chief of Staff RON KLAIN retweeted a post from a Twitter account with the handle @BidensWins: Twitter THE BUREAUCRATS THE SAFETY NET: As part of an internal investigation within the Social Security Administration, witnesses said THERESA GRUBER, a deputy commissioner for the agency, "displayed 'significant anomalies' at work over the course of at least a year. They included "slurred speech in which she 'appeared intoxicated,' leaving meetings without notice, slouching in her chair and aggressive behavior," WaPo's LISA REIN reports. Despite the report, Gruber remains at the job. JUDICIAL WATCH: The White House released a new list of judicial nominees on Tuesday. One name missing from the list was someone likely to drive many members of Biden's own party insane. CHAD MEREDITH, the anti-abortion attorney from Kentucky whose likely nomination by the Biden White House leaked last month, was not on today's announcement.The White House has continued to take heat over its reported deal with Sen. MITCH MCCONNELL. Still, the Biden White House remains interested in the deal. HuffPost reported on Tuesday that, per an official briefed on the White House's plans, Biden still plans to nominate Meredith to the federal bench. Agenda Setting LEBRON'S TAKE: WNBA star BRITTNEY GRINER has a lot of famous friends who won't let the Biden administration rest easy until she's home. During a clip released Tuesday from his HBO show "The Shop," Lakers superstar LEBRON JAMES expressed his extreme dissatisfaction with the length of Griner's detention in Russia. "Now, how can she feel like America has her back?" he said. "I would be feeling like, 'Do I even want to go back to America?'" Filling the Ranks AT LAST: The Senate on Tuesday approved Biden's nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. That makes STEVEN DETTELBACH only the second Senate-confirmed director for the agency, our MARIANNE LEVINE reports. The move comes after a series of mass shootings in the U.S. within the past few months alone.   HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT ROE BEING OVERTURNED? JOIN WOMEN RULE ON 7/21: Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade , abortion policy is in the hands of the states and, ultimately, voters. Join POLITICO national political correspondent Elena Schneider for a Women Rule "ask me anything" conversation featuring a panel of reporters from our politics and health care teams who will answer your questions about how the court's decision could play out in different states, its impact on the midterms and what it means for reproductive rights in the U.S. going forward. SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS AND REGISTER HERE.     What We're Reading Biden to discuss immigration, trade with Mexico's president (AP's Will Weissert) Biden heads to Saudi Arabia amid discomfort and criticism (WaPo's Tyler Pager) Justice Dept. announces task force to fight overreach on abortion bans (WaPo's David Nakamura and Rachel Roubein) POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER First lady LOU HOOVER learned to speak and write Chinese while she and not-yet President HERBERT HOOVER lived in China in 1899. A CALL OUT — Thanks to Alex for this question! Think you have a more difficult one? Send us your best on the presidents with a citation and we may feature it. Edited by Eun Kyung Kim and Sam Stein.   Follow us on Twitter Alex Thompson @AlexThomp Maxwell Tani @maxwelltani Allie Bice @alliebice   Follow us

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