White House bites its tongue on Elon-Twitter

Oct 31, 2022 View in browser   By Alex Thompson and Sam Stein Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from Allie Bice and Daniel Lippman.   Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Alex President JOE BIDEN and billionaire ELON MUSK aren't fond of one another. They've feuded over Biden not promoting Tesla as much as some of its rivals in the electric vehicle space. And they've jabbed at each other in semi-personal terms, too. "Lots of luck on his trip to the moon," Biden quipped in June when asked about Musk's criticism of the economy. Musk then tweeted in July that "whoever controls the teleprompter is the real President!" comparing Biden to Ron Burgundy in "Anchorman." But when it comes to Musk's recent purchase of Twitter, White House and administration officials told West Wing Playbook that they are curious about coming changes, but largely shrug at the drama surrounding the platform — at least for now. Among the few White House officials who have publicly alluded to the Musk takeover has been staff secretary NEERA TANDEN. A longtime user of the platform, Tanden wondered about a place where like-minded folks could decamp and mused that individuals are already leaving. Others in Biden world say that if they've discussed the topic at all, it's been to make jokes about it. The White House declined to comment. But its public apathy to the Musk-ism of Twitter is of a different tune than the bemoaning by other Democrats, who have talked about leaving the platform and warned about the dangers of a less-moderated, more disinformation-heavy space. But in reality, a number of progressives who work on social media policy and platform building said there hasn't been talk about building a new platform as a counterbalance to a Musk-run Twitter, as DONALD TRUMP and his allies did when Trump was booted from the platform following the Jan. 6 riots. "I know of no one trying to build a social media platform," said one prominent Democratic donor adviser. "It's just hard to do something from scratch, which Truth Social is experiencing." There had been informal chatter about a collective resignation from Twitter as a form of protest, but that hasn't materialized. Instead, there was a sense that the only real leverage point would be to pressure advertisers on the platform. "That's the primary lever if things get too bad," said JUDD LEGUM, author of Popular Information, an independent newsletter. "Twitter still gets more than 90 percent of revenue from advertising, so advertisers provide the counterbalance." There are also other progressive media strategies underway. Among them, according to people familiar with the discussions, the creation of smaller social media ecosystems that could be easier to moderate, cross-connected, and geared around healthy public dialogue. One of the chief purveyors of this idea is ELI PARISER. A pioneer in online citizen engagement, he has tried to conceive and construct these digital spaces with a group of engineers, architects and entrepreneurs at his organization, New_Public. Pariser's theory is that the digital town square that Musk has envisioned for Twitter should, in fact, be numerous town squares — the online "equivalents of parks and libraries." The hurdle would be to guard against homogeneity in these spaces while still keeping it free and well-moderated. Another would be finding investment for it. In a piece for Wired , Pariser wrote that it would require "a significant amount of new philanthropic and public funding for this work." But in a follow up chat with West Wing Playbook, he said he was optimistic. These smaller spaces, he argued, were "'governable' in a way that's really hard at a scale of hundreds of millions or billions. It's really hard to make decisions that work for thousands of communities at once, which is why none of these platforms have…. "Free-for-all spaces work for loud, opinionated people who are relatively secure in their status, but they don't work for most people (which is why most people don't participate in Twitter)." MESSAGE US — Are you Elon Musk? We want to hear from you! And we'll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com . POTUS PUZZLER This one comes from POLITICO's MYAH WARD. Since it's All Hallow's Eve, a spooky question seemed in order. Presidential masks are everywhere during Halloween. RICHARD NIXON became one of the first presidents whose likeness helped create the trend. In 1969, just before his inauguration, there was an anti-war protest that included someone wearing a Nixon mask. In its dispatch of the event, The New York Times found that this protester "marched the entire-20-block distance" pretending to do what? (Answer at the bottom.) The Oval SPOOKY SEASON: The White House was full of costumes today, of which we strongly approve. The trick-or-treating inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building was off the record, but we and other sources spotted some costumes in the West Wing including a banana, butterfly, witch, and astronauts. The National Security Council really leaned into an Area 51 theme. Press assistant MEGHA BHATTACHARYA dressed up as Coraline. The Covid team all dressed as various snacks with SUBHAN CHEEMA, one of the team's main comms people, donning a popcorn costume. And a few offices posted some of their pictures, too. The presidential personnel office is here . And the office of digital strategy — with their Dark Brandon themed decorations— posted their costumes here. West Wing Playbook dressed up as a terrifying Uncle Sam themed clown. NERD ALERT!: Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG dorked out a bit on the topic of traffic jams in an interview that aired over the weekend. Speaking with CNN's CHRIS WALLACE, he dove into the very human reasons that we often find ourselves sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic when there is no actual accident or construction on the road (we've all been there). Wallace couldn't quite help himself afterward. "You're kind of a nerd, aren't you?" he asked… rhetorically, we think. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This Twitter thread from MARK ZANDI, often referred to as a former economist for JOHN MCCAIN, but also the chief economist at Moody's Analytics. Zandi writes: "Last week's data suggest that the economy is on script to soft land. GDP posted a solid gain in Q3, further dispelling concerns we have suffered a recession. And while GDP has gone nowhere this year despite the Q3 gain, that's what's needed to quell inflation without a recession." Chief of Staff RON KLAIN retweeted the thread. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN'T WANT YOU TO READ: This POLITICO piece that the Supreme Court looks set to end affirmative action. "A majority of the justices sounded inclined to further restrict the use of race in college admissions during arguments in the first of two high profile cases at the Supreme Court Monday," write our BIANCA QUILANTAN and JOSH GERSTEIN. CONDOLENCES: The president on Monday attended the private memorial service for DONALD BLINKEN, father of Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN. The former U.S. ambassador to Hungary died in late September at the age of 96. Biden was accompanied by the first lady.   ICYMI: Second Gentleman DOUG EMHOFF sat down with CNN's DANA BASH over the weekend.   NEW AND IMPROVED POLITICO APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. With a fresh look and improved features, the sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don't miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. Already a POLITICO app user? Upgrade today! DOWNLOAD FOR iOS  – DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID .     THE BUREAUCRATS REPEAT CUSTOMER: ROCHELLE WALENSKY is experiencing a rebound case of Covid , according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC director contracted a mild case of Covid earlier this month but tested negative following a round of the antiviral drug Paxlovid. On Sunday, after noticing mild symptoms, she tested positive again. Walensky is isolating at home and will continue to work virtually, the agency said. PERSONNEL MOVES: KHALILAH HARRIS has been promoted to chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management. She most recently was deputy chief of staff at OPM. — SAHAR HAFEEZ has left the White House, where she was director for international economics at the National Security Council. She is now a senior adviser at the Commerce Department. Agenda Setting BOLSONOT GONNA WAIT FOR YA: The White House announced that Biden spoke with Brazilian President-elect LUIZ INÁCIO LULA da SILVA. The administration was also quick to recognize his victory on Sunday, amidst fears that JAIR BOLSONARO will attempt to reject the results and stay in power. Early indications are that Bolsonaro won't challenge the results . What We're Reading Biden lost temper with Zelenskyy in June phone call when Ukrainian leader asked for more aid (NBC's Carol E. Lee, Courtney Kube and Dan De Luce) Jerome Powell Is Popular. His War on Inflation Could Change That (NYT's Jeanna Smialek) Leaked Documents Outline DHS's Plans to Police Disinformation (The Intercept's Ken Klippenstein and Lee Fang)   DON'T MISS POLITICO'S 2nd ANNUAL DEFENSE SUMMIT ON 11/16: The United States is facing a defining moment in the future of its defense, national security and democratic ideals. The current conflicts and developments around the world are pushing Washington to reshape its defense strategy and how it cooperates with allies. Join POLITICO for our second annual defense summit, "At a Crossroads: America's Defense Strategy" on November 16 in person at the Schuyler DC or join online to hear keynote interviews and panels discussing the road ahead for America's national security. REGISTER HERE .     What We're Watching Noted Phillies fan JILL BIDEN will be attending Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday evening at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. She will join players, umpires, coaches and fans in "honoring those affected by cancer as part of the league's support and partnership with Stand Up To Cancer," according to the White House. Look, we're all thinking it so we should just come out and ask: Will notoriously brutal and prickly Phillies fans actually boo the first lady at a "Stand Up To Cancer" event? (Editor's note: Fellow Phillie's fan ANDREW DESIDERIO Slacked us shortly after the advisory of FLOTUS' trip came out, wondering if POLITICO, "by chance, [was] in the FLOTUS pool for tomorrow night." We're not.) POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER During the 1969 protest ahead of Nixon's inauguration, the Times reported that the protester "marched the entire-20-block distance in a mime of picking his nose." You can read the full piece here.  As Smithsonian Magazine put it in 2016 : "The identity of the nose-picking Nixon is still unknown, but the moment helped spawn what is now a familiar Halloween sight — the presidential mask. The phenomenon has become so well-known that some pundits (either ironically or seriously) believe that it can help predict election outcomes: Since the Nixon era, the presidential candidate with the best-selling costume mask has always taken the White House." A CALL OUT — Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about 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 Allie Bice @alliebice   Follow us

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://www.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings This email was sent to rouf@idiot.cloudns.cc by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA Please click here and follow the steps to unsubscribe.