| | | | |  | | By Eli Stokols, Lauren Egan and Ben Johansen | Presented by ACLI, Finseca, IRI, NAFA and NAIFA | 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 For two men who agree on almost nothing, it was astonishing how quickly President JOE BIDEN and former President DONALD TRUMP agreed to hold their first debate next month. In a letter Wednesday morning to the Commission on Presidential Debates, Biden’s campaign made clear the president wanted to debate Trump twice and to do so earlier than the fall and outside the traditional format run by the commission. Within hours, Biden posted on X that he’d received and accepted a proposal from CNN to hold a debate on June 27 and put the onus on the presumptive GOP nominee to accept: “Over to you, Donald. As you said: anywhere, any time, any place.” Before lunchtime, Trump accepted. CNN blasted out a press release noting the event would take place in its Atlanta studios. Another hour had barely passed before a second debate, to be moderated by ABC News in September, was also tentatively set. Sure, a number of things could still derail or delay the debates. But the expeditious back-and-forth and both candidates’ clear eagerness to meet head-to-head holds the potential to jolt a race that has long seemed frozen in place — and it reflected a common desire by both campaigns to sharpen their contrasts of one another. It also hinted at another dynamic: Neither Trump nor Biden are eager to share a stage with or further legitimize ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., who appears unlikely to qualify for the June 27 CNN debate. Beyond that, both Trump and Biden weren’t happy with the commission itself and eager to ditch it. And the networks knew as much, having made overtures to both campaigns to clarify their own interest in hosting a debate should the campaigns opt out of the commission’s structure. That’s one reason why things moved as quickly as they did on Wednesday. For the president’s team, much of the decision stemmed from frustration over how the CPD handled the debates in 2020. In the campaign’s letter to the commission Monday, JEN O’MALLEY DILLON ticked off a number of complaints about its approach: that the scheduled debates would take place too late in the process after early voting is already underway in many states, that its model is antiquated and geared towards “huge spectacles” rather than “good debates,” and that the commission was “unable or unwilling to enforce the rules” during those 2020 debates. Specifically, Biden’s team did not see the point of traveling to a college campus in a random state chosen by the commission — Utah, Texas and Virginia were set to host this year’s debates, a selection that perplexed some aides to the president. But the most problematic aspect of the commission’s debate format was its need to have a live audience. One person familiar with the campaign’s thinking pointed to Trump’s 2023 CNN town hall with anchor KAITLAN COLLINS where the former president’s supporters packed the room, giving the back and forth a feeling more akin to a pro wrestling match. That could be a potential sticking point for Trump, however. Although he agreed to the studio debates without an audience, he suggested in a Truth Social post that he prefers “more than two debates and, for excitement purposes, a very large venue.” Additionally, O’Malley Dillon’s complaint about the commission failing to enforce the rules in 2020 wasn’t just about moderators failing to keep Trump in line. When the candidates met in Cleveland for the first of what ended up being just two presidential debates, the commission allowed Trump to flout its own requirement that everyone entering the debate hall be tested for Covid. Trump, it turned out, had Covid during the debate and the second scheduled debate ended up being canceled as a result. “He put everyone in that debate hall at risk and it was because the commission couldn’t enforce its own rules,” the person familiar with the president’s thinking said. “That’s not something you forget.” The Biden campaign leaked O’Malley Dillon’s letter on Tuesday to two outlets: the Washington Post and New York Times. In both cases, they went to reporters who cover Trump, not Biden, perhaps in an effort to get the challenger’s attention. Biden aides dismissed the notion that the president’s push for debates reflected any desperation to change the current narrative, defined by polling deficits and an audible undercurrent of concern from Democrats worried about his candidacy. Trump, they noted, has been far louder in expressing an eagerness to debate (after avoiding debates with former Republican challengers in a primary he won by barely lifting a finger). But holding debates earlier in the cycle no doubt mitigates any risk from a bad performance being top of mind for voters in the closing weeks of the election. And they insisted that keeping Kennedy and other potential third party spoilers off the stage was not a top consideration in taking matters into their own hands. But the debate proposal Biden quickly accepted from CNN included qualifying criteria mandating that participants be on the ballot in enough states to have a path to winning the 270 electoral votes required to capture the White House. That, in turn, disqualified Kennedy and all others. MESSAGE US — Are you Commission on Presidential Debates co-chair FRANK FAHRENKOPF? 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!
| | | | A message from ACLI, Finseca, IRI, NAFA and NAIFA: Annuities deliver financial certainty like traditional pensions of old. They are a legally enforceable promise made by an insurance company to provide guaranteed monthly income throughout retirement. The Department of Labor’s fiduciary-only rule will shut down access to options for middle-income savers. It’s out of step with bipartisan support in Congress to expand access to guaranteed lifetime income. Congress needs to stand up for retirement savers. Protect retirement for all. | | | | | Which future president campaigned for HARRY TRUMAN in 1948? (Answer at bottom.)
| | JUST A DAD: President Biden will soon have to watch his son HUNTER BIDEN head to trial over gun charges — and White House aides are worried about the psychological toll it may have on him, our JONATHAN LEMIRE, BETSY WOODRUFF SWAN and EUGENE DANIELS report. The trial is likely to start June 3, adding further weight on Biden during an already precarious time politically. Three advisers revealed that the president has expressed fears about the possibility that his son will serve time in prison. “He worries about Hunter every single day, from the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to sleep,” said one of the advisers. “That will only pick up during a trial.” SPEAKING OF HUNTER: Betsy and BRITTANY GIBSON report that one of his main benefactors — who has picked up a major share of his substantial legal bill — is running out of cash. This comes as the president’s son gets set to go to trial on the gun-related charges in a matter of weeks. PARDON ME: Sen. MITT ROMNEY (R-Utah), who has vowed not to vote for Trump, thinks Biden erred in not immediately granting his predecessor a pardon. “Had I been President Biden, when the Justice Department brought out indictments, I would have immediately pardoned him,” Romney, the GOP’s 2012 presidential nominee, told MSNBC’s STEPHANIE RUHLE in an interview set to air Wednesday night. “Why? Well, because it makes me, President Biden, the big guy and the person I pardoned the little guy. And, number two, it's not going to get resolved before the election. It's not going to have an impact before the election. And, frankly, the country doesn't want to have to go through prosecuting a former president.” RUNNING IN THE RAIN: Because no one in this town is at all competitive, more than 500 reporters, members of Congress and executive and judicial branch staffers braved the rain Wednesday morning to run the annual American Council of Life Insurers’ Capital Challenge, a three-mile run through Anacostia Park. The top five-person team from the White House, “Zients Zoomers,” had three runners finish in the top 25: PAUL ZEISS (16:03; fifth overall — Go Bears!), VIVEK VISWANATHAN (17:31; 19th overall) and DAN KOH (18:07; 24th overall). Chief of staff JEFF ZIENTS finished in 23:58 (223rd overall). The fastest runner in the entire field was WaPo senior data engineer JACK MILLER, whose time of 14:30 does not make sense to any of us. The post’s A squad, “It Speeds It Ledes,” edged out the NYT’s A team, “News That’s Fit to Sprint,” in the media group competition. Don’t ask about Politico’s squad, although Lauren did her part (20:24; 90th overall). WaPo White House reporter TYLER PAGER, who finished 25th overall with a time of 18:07, didn’t even make the newspaper’s A team (too many fleet-footed engineers) but took solace in finishing ahead of several rivals, despite glancing at incoming emails on his phone as he ran. “I think it’s important the world knows that REID EPSTEIN [18:58; 39th overall] did not win,” Pager told West Wing Playbook afterward. Epstein, who was recovering from a pulled hamstring, shot back: “I’m fucking 20 years older than him. He should be embarrassed to be so close to me.” Most colleagues just let their times do the talking: WSJ’s ANDREW RESTUCCIA finished 33rd overall with a time of 18:41, 12 seconds ahead of NYT’s JIM TANKERSLEY, who was 35th overall at 18:53. Inside the White House press shop, MICHAEL KIKUKAWA finished in 20:41 (104th overall) and ROBYN PATTERSON finished in 23:06 (184th). BEY AND HER CREW: New financial disclosures for Biden and Vice President KAMALA HARRIS released this afternoon contained little in the way of surprises. But one line item did stick out: Harris’ reimbursement of $1,655.92 for Beyoncé concert tickets that were gifted to her by none other than BEYONCÉ KNOWLES-CARTER herself. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: The latest Consumer Price Index released Wednesday, which showed cooling inflation in April. CPI rose 3.4% in April from a year ago, the Labor Department announced. Core prices, which excludes volatile food and energy items, climbed 3.6% annually, the lowest increase since April 2021. “Fighting inflation and lowering costs is my top economic priority. I know many families are struggling, and that even though we’ve made progress we have a lot more to do,” Biden said in a statement. Communications director BEN LABOLT shared the report on X, also highlighting that the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 hit record highs. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by AP’s ELLEN KNICKMEYER, who reports that an Interior Department staffer became the first Jewish political appointee to resign in protest of the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza. On Wednesday, LILY GREENBERG CALL, a special assistant to the chief of staff at the Interior, accused Biden of wrongfully using his support of Jews to justify U.S. policy in the conflict. “He is making Jews the face of the American war machine. And that is so deeply wrong,” Call said in an interview with AP.
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
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| | RUNNING OUT OF LEASH: FDIC Chair MARTIN GRUENBERG faced calls to resign at a combative hearing Wednesday morning, after a scathing probe found that his agency was riddled with sexual harassment and discrimination complaints, our MICHAEL STRATFORD reports. Gruenberg — who was appointed by President Biden — spent most of his testimony in front of the House Financial Services committee defending his tenure against a barrage of bipartisan criticism, and apologizing to employees for the agency’s culture of widespread abuse from senior management towards female employees. “You’re on a short leash; a lot of people here would like to see you gone,” Rep. STEPHEN LYNCH (D-Mass.) said. “I’m not so sure you’re the guy to make the changes, but maybe you are. Maybe you can prove that to us, I don’t know.”
| | | | A message from ACLI, Finseca, IRI, NAFA and NAIFA:   | | | | | CAN YOU BE CLEARER? Top Democrats aren’t quite clear on what the White House’s policy is with respect to Israel, after the administration halted 3,500 bombs that were to be sent to the country and then quietly notified Congress that it was greenlighting a $1 billion arms sale last night. ALEXANDER WARD, JOE GOULD, ADAM CANCRYN and Lemire report that some in the president’s own party say the administration has a significant messaging problem even as the White House says the bomb pause was for a specific, narrow purpose. IN CASE THE GUITAR SOLO WASN’T ENOUGH: While in Kyiv today, Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN announced an additional $2 billion in foreign military aid for Ukraine, Reuters' SIMON LEWIS reports. Blinken said the funds will provide weapons for Ukraine, invest in its defense industrial base and finance military equipment purchases from other countries. He then performed the riff from “Free Bird.” NICARAGUA IN THE HOT SEAT: The Biden administration will issue visa restrictions on 250 people and sanctions against three organizations that support the Nicaraguan government, whose authoritarian leader DANIEL ORTEGA has profited off people trying to reach the United States, NYT’s KATIE ROGERS reports. According to U.S. officials, Ortega’s government charged a large number of migrants visa fees upon arrival in the country — which has become a popular hub for Latin American and African migrants en route to the U.S. — then required them to leave within 96 hours. BOEING, YOUR TIME HAS COME, MAYBE: The Justice Department notified Boeing on Tuesday that it violated the terms of its 2021 agreement in which the company avoided criminal charges for two fatal 737 Max crashes, CNN’s EVAN PEREZ reports. After multiple missteps this year (like, um, the door being blown off an Alaska Airlines flight) the DOJ is now saying Boeing is subject to criminal prosecution. It's not yet clear when and if the department will pursue those charges.
| | White House Worries Russia’s Momentum Is Changing Trajectory of Ukraine War (NYT’s David E. Sanger, Julian E. Barnes and Kim Barker) Biden Risks Losing Significant Share of Black Vote, King Says (Bloomberg’s Steve Matthews and Skylar Woodhouse) How MSNBC’s Leftward Tilt Delivers Ratings, and Complications (NYT’s Jim Rutenberg and Michael M. Grynbaum)
| | | | A message from ACLI, Finseca, IRI, NAFA and NAIFA: Annuities close retirement security gaps for workers.
They help people navigate anxieties about savings lasting throughout retirement amid economic uncertainty and market volatility.
Congress recognized the real challenges people are facing and the importance of annuities in addressing them. Bipartisan legislation in 2019 and 2022 made guaranteed lifetime income more accessible to savers.
The Department of Labor’s fiduciary-only rule undermines this good work by limiting access to options for a protected retirement. Congress needs to act to protect options for retirement savers. Protect retirement for all. | | | | | Then-president of the Screen Actors Guild and New Deal Democrat RONALD REAGAN delivered a speech for Truman’s 1948 reelection campaign in Los Angeles. During the speech, he also endorsed the then-mayor of Minneapolis HUBERT HUMPHREY in his campaign for U.S. Senate. “We must have new faces in the Congress of the United States, Democratic faces. This is why we must elect not only President Truman, but also men like Hubert Humphrey.” Thanks to Shelley Fryer for this question! 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 and Rishika Dugyala.
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