♪ A total eclipse of the… president ♪

Presented by GE Aerospace: The power players, latest policy developments, and intriguing whispers percolating inside the West Wing.

Apr 08, 2024 View in browser   By Eli Stokols, Lauren Egan and Ben Johansen Presented by  Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Eli | Email Lauren Aides in the White House press office field hundreds of inquiries daily on dozens of topics. But in recent days, one in particular has been dominating their inboxes: Monday’s total solar eclipse over the United States. One individual in the press shop, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that 15 different news organizations covering the White House had reached out with various, eclipse-related questions: Did President JOE BIDEN intend to view the eclipse? Was he aware there would be an eclipse taking place during a scheduled speech on student loans? Might the White House move the speech up to accommodate the eclipse? At the White House, the eclipse wasn’t just a celestial phenomenon. It was a new data point showing how the press shop and the press itself continue to misunderstand one another. While some members of the media spent the day grousing about the White House and its inability to understand the news people care about, a few aides inside the West Wing marveled at the irony of reporters wondering aloud about why Biden’s message isn’t breaking through. Each side thought the other could do more. Networks and correspondents, administration aides noted, have the ability to affect what stories fill their air time. They don’t need to cover the sun all day. The president, those in broadcast news pointed out, has the power to adjust his schedule. While the country will wait about 20 years until this happens again, all he needed was one more day for a better news cycle. “Why is the president traveling today? Did he not want to be at the White House?” DARLENE SUPERVILLE of the Associated Press asked press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE during a gaggle aboard Air Force One en route to Wisconsin to outline a new plan to ease student loan debt for 30 million Americans. “We know how exciting this is, we get it,” Jean-Pierre replied. “But student loans matter. Giving Americans student loan relief also matters.” But Biden, Superville responded, “could talk about student loans any day of the week. The eclipse only comes around once every 40 years.” [Pushes glasses up from nose, closer to eyes: it’s, uh, every 6,585.3 days, Darlene] Although Jean-Pierre wouldn’t say if Biden had plans to so much as glance up at the eclipse after his speech (he didn’t), a staffer aboard Air Force One did pass out eclipse glasses to those on board before the plane landed in Wisconsin. At that point, Biden’s only acknowledgement of the eclipse was a photo posted late Monday morning on his social media platforms showing him standing on the Truman balcony holding special eclipse glasses up to his eyes. “An eclipse is worth marveling at,” reads the post, said aloud in Biden’s voice. “But don't be silly, folks – play it safe and wear protective eyewear.” That was a not-so-subtle dig at former President DONALD TRUMP, who in 2017 stood in the same place during another eclipse and stared up at the sun sans glasses. Biden’s campaign, for its part, blasted out a fundraising email that reminded recipients “there’s a solar eclipse today!” and urged them not to not to look directly at the sun “unlike the last guy in the White House.” As for the student loan debt relief plan Biden announced in Wisconsin, it’s a top priority for millions of younger voters whom he’ll need to turn out in November. But the announcement was largely…[thinks: what’s another word for “eclipsed”?]...invisible beneath the rolling coverage of the moon passing directly between the earth and the sun. “I did ask them about their plans several times and made the point to them — more than once! — that the networks are going all out on coverage,” one member of the press corps told West Wing Playbook. “They saved a huge announcement for today and we can barely get it on TV.” Another correspondent, who is a White House producer for a TV network, said they’d received little guidance about the president’s plans for the eclipse after asking about it a week in advance. “So far, all they have done is add other people to my initial email inquiry,” the producer told us around midday Monday. CNN and MSNBC both kept live shots of the eclipse on screen even through commercial breaks during their wall-to-wall coverage. As Biden stepped to the stage in Madison at 1:26 p.m. Central Time, CNN’s afternoon anchors, BORIS SANCHEZ and BRIANNA KEILAR, were hosting an “Eclipse Across America” special live from Indianapolis, a city beneath the direct path of the eclipse. About 25 minutes before the first “totality” over Mazatlán, Mexico, they donned inflatable sun and earth costumes to act out the eclipse, before tossing to correspondents embedded in shrieking crowds of thousands experiencing the total eclipse. The president experienced the blackout too. None of the networks cut away from the eclipse to carry his 14 minutes of remarks. While Biden spoke about erasing loans for millions, CNN correspondent ED LAVANDERA was going live from the Dallas Zoo with the barely visible silhouette of a giraffe lurking behind him while describing how zoo visitors and residents were reacting to the momentary darkness, the flamingos and zebras huddling together. “We love to enrich the animals in different ways but this is something we could never replicate,” a zookeeper told Lavandera, summing up perhaps why the eclipse, not the president, carried the day. MESSAGE US — Are you THE SUN? 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!    SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW.     POTUS PUZZLER What was HERBERT HOOVER’s favorite sport? (Answer at bottom.) The Oval CONGRATS TO ALL THE WINNERS: Don’t cry because it’s over. Be glad it happened. DAWN STALEY’s South Carolina Gamecocks capped a remarkable tournament by finishing off its perfect season Sunday afternoon, using its size and depth to outlast CAITLIN CLARK’s Iowa squad in the final game of her career. Turning in just as impressive a performance was “GENO AIN’T PAT,” the winner of the West Wing Playbook women’s bracket challenge. Since we don’t know who you actually are (aside from someone for whom 11 championship banners apparently means nothing), please email us (with a screenshot showing you logged in to that account) and we’ll arrange for you to claim your prize: the chance to write an Oppo Book item on whoever you like, within limits!! WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by CNN’s AARON PELLISH and EVA MCKEND, who report on recent comments from ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.’s New York state director, who argued that Kennedy being on the ballot in the Empire State will help Donald Trump beat Biden. “The only way that Trump can even, remote[ly] ... take New York is if Bobby is on the ballot. If it’s Trump vs. Biden, Biden wins… With Bobby in the mix, anything can happen,” said RITA PALMA. In a video posted to YouTube, which has since been deleted, Palma is seen saying that the campaign’s “number one priority” is preventing a Biden victory, and votes for Kennedy could increase the likelihood of no candidate receiving a majority of Electoral College votes — which under that scenario, would leave it up to the House. “Who are they going to pick? If it’s a Republican Congress, they’ll pick Trump. So we’re rid of Biden either way,” she said. The campaign later sought to distance itself from Palma, telling our BRITTANY GIBSON that she was merely “a ballot access consultant.” DNC spokesperson MATT CORRIDONI shared the story on X. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by AP’s JOHN SEEWER and MARC LEVY, who report that Biden may be left off the presidential ballot in Ohio this November unless the state’s Republican-controlled legislature creates an exception to the ballot deadline or the Democratic Party moves up its convention. The DNC is scheduled to take place on Aug. 19, nearly two weeks after Ohio’s deadline to certify presidential candidates for the general election. In a letter to Ohio Democratic Party chair LIZ WALTERS, Ohio Secretary of State FRANK LAROSE said the legislature has until May 9 to create an exception to the deadline. SERENADING JOE: TikToker HARRY DANIELS, who has amassed nearly a million followers for hunting down celebrities and making them wildly uncomfortable by singing to them a tad bit off key (cc. DUA LIPA and JOSH HUTCHERSON), found President Biden. Daniels sang Biden a rendition of LANA DEL REY’s “National Anthem,” and well, just watch as the 81-year old president questions everything about this generation.   A message from GE Aerospace: Today we recommit ourselves to shaping the future of flight as GE Aerospace, an independent publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. A new era begins now.   CAMPAIGN HQ WHEN THE BALL IS PLACED ON THE TEE: After Donald Trump on Monday posted a video to Truth Social praising the end of Roe v. Wade, but saying it is up to states to decide specific bans, the Biden team went on offense. “Donald Trump is endorsing every single abortion ban in the states, including abortion bans with no exceptions,” campaign director of rapid response AMMAR MOUSSA said. “And he’s bragging about his role in creating this hellscape.” The president blasted Trump in a statement, our ADAM CANCRYN and ELENA SCHNEIDER report. But the most interesting part may be this: "Biden campaign officials kicked off Monday’s press call with an extended admonishment of initial media reports they argued mistakenly indicated that Trump was opposing a national abortion ban." Wilmington clearly doesn’t want to let Trump skate and argued that because he didn’t explicitly say he’d oppose a national ban, he is on the hook for being supportive of it. For good measure, the campaign also released an ad, telling the story of a woman who after having a miscarriage 18 weeks into her pregnancy, was denied an abortion. Three days later, she went into sepsis and almost died twice. “Trump did this,” the ad’s text reads. THE BUREAUCRATS DEPENDS ON HOW ONE DEFINES “CRUSHING”: As Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN wraps up her second trip to China, she and U.S. Ambassador to China NICHOLAS BURNS kicked back with an IPA on Monday. NBC’s BRIAN CHEUNG shared a video of Yellen “crushing” her drink at Beijing’s Jing-A Brewery. Brian, we would be more inclined to call that nursing a beer. Nonetheless, the secretary’s knack for Chinese retail politics is impressive.   A message from GE Aerospace:   Agenda Setting SINCE YOU DEFINITELY DIDN'T HEAR ABOUT THIS ON TV TODAY: As noted above, President Biden is taking another swing at student debt forgiveness, announcing plans on Monday to cancel student debt for more than 30 million Americans, our MICHAEL STRATFORD and BIANCA QUILANTAN report. It’s the second attempt by the Biden administration at fulfilling a campaign promise, after the Supreme Court rejected its first effort last summer. The proposal is aimed at those with accrued interest as millions of borrowers have balances greater than what they originally owed. The plan would cancel up to $20,000 of unpaid interest per borrower, regardless of income. STRUGGLING FOR A BREAKTHROUGH: While in Cairo on Sunday, CIA Director WILLIAM BURNS proposed a new Israel-Hamas hostage and cease-fire deal, Axios’ BARAK RAVID reports. The deal would include the release of over 40 hostages being held in Gaza, at least 700 Palestinian prisoners and include the longest pause in fighting since the Oct. 7 attacks. But Hamas negotiators reportedly said that it does not have the ability to release 40 hostages in the humanitarian category — women, children and the elderly — because a significant number are suspected to be dead. The issue remains cloudy and, of course, extremely delicate. “We are waiting for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s response,” National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY said. “It could take a few days.” KEEPING IT LOCAL: The Biden administration announced on Monday that it will be awarding a Taiwanese semiconductor plant $6.6 billion to expand the facilities it is already building in Arizona, our CHRISTINE MUI reports. Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO said that the funding means that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, a leading maker in the semiconductor industry, will be able to expand existing plans on two facilities in Phoenix, as well as a third newly announced production hub. What We're Reading Democrats in Pennsylvania Urge Biden to Branch Out Beyond Philadelphia (NYT’s Nicholas Nehamas) What happens to solar power when the moon blocks the sun? (POLITICO’s Jason Plautz) Totality Is Worth It (The Atlantic’s Marina Koren)   A message from GE Aerospace: GE Aerospace, now a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange, is inventing the future of flight, lifting people up, and bringing them home safely.   POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER Hoover was an avid baseball fan, throwing out the first pitch at the Washington Senators’ opening day all four years of his presidency, according to the White House Historical Association. In 1930, when BABE RUTH signed a contract paying him $80,000 a year, he was asked if he thought he deserved to get paid more than Hoover. “Why not? I had a better year than he did,” Ruth responded. Hoover’s passion for the game did not garner the respect from fans, who greeted the president with “a resounding chorus of boos” during his pitches. 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 Sam Stein.   GROWING IN THE GOLDEN STATE: POLITICO California is growing, reinforcing our role as the indispensable insider source for reporting on politics, policy and power. From the corridors of power in Sacramento and Los Angeles to the players and innovation hubs in Silicon Valley, we're your go-to for navigating the political landscape across the state. Exclusive scoops, essential daily newsletters, unmatched policy reporting and insights — POLITICO California is your key to unlocking Golden State politics. LEARN MORE.       Follow us on Twitter Eli Stokols @EliStokols Lauren Egan @Lauren_V_Egan Ben Johansen @BenJohansen3   Follow us

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