The beats Biden will drop

Jan 31, 2024

By Lauren Egan, Ben Johansen and Myah Ward

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JOE BIDEN’s team is facing one of the biggest, most consequential decisions of the 2024 election cycle: What will be its campaign song?

Candidates select a rotation of songs that play as they walk on and off the stage at events. And when a song sticks, it can end up being a defining feature of an election cycle, for better or worse. It’s hard to think of HILLARY CLINTON’s 2016 campaign without immediately humming RACHEL PLATTEN’s rather cloying “Fight Song,” or PETE BUTTIGIEG on the trail in 2020 without the hokey lyrics of “High Hopes,” or BARACK OBAMA in 2016 without STEVIE WONDER in the background.

Typically, candidates pick out a few songs they can shuffle between. DONALD TRUMP runs through, seemingly, the entire ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER catalog in addition to “YMCA” and “Macho Man.”

So far, the Biden team does not appear to have made any definitive decisions on its 2024 playlist, though, to be fair, he’s only had three official campaign speeches. At a June event in Philadelphia, he walked on stage to the cover of STEVE WINWOOD’s “Higher Love” by Norwegian DJ KYGO and WHITNEY HOUSTON. The song was a go-to track during his 2020 campaign.

At a January campaign speech in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, Biden walked out to the instrumental version of “Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)” from the Broadway musical “Hamilton” — a somewhat obvious choice since he was speaking about protecting democracy. At the end, he walked off to COLDPLAY’s “A Sky Full of Stars,” another regular on his 2020 campaign playlist (Coldplay was one of BEAU BIDEN’s favorite bands and its frontman, CHRIS MARTIN, performed at his funeral).

At his most recent campaign event in Manassas, Virginia, Biden ended his speech with “Freedom” by Kygo. (That’s two Kygo songs so far. Could a trend be emerging?)

When West Wing Playbook reached out to Biden staffers for this piece, they were tight-lipped about the song-selection process. Alums of the 2020 campaign and former White House officials did not want to speculate about possibilities for this year’s rotation. Even JEN O’MALLEY DILLON, a top Biden adviser who has a reputation among her colleagues for being a music buff, didn’t give us any ideas (we know you’ve got thoughts, JOD!).

“The president has a long and varied playlist featuring artists from Springsteen to Kygo to Beyonce,” Biden campaign spokesperson SETH SCHUSTER said in a statement. “One song not on President Biden’s list — ‘Justice for All by the J6 Prisoners Choir’ — the creepy, bizarre ode to the violent January 6th insurrection often played during Trump’s rallies.”

Democratic staffers who’ve been involved in selecting songs for past presidential candidates said the process takes time. GREG HALE, Clinton’s 2016 campaign director of production, told West Wing Playbook that he listened to more than 40 hours of music just to pick out Clinton’s walkout song for her launch event.

Not only do campaigns want to find songs that strike the right tone, but staffers also have to carefully vet songs to make sure they aren’t featuring any problematic artists or lyrics. GEORGE H. W. BUSH’s campaign, for example, probably should have given “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” a closer listen before playing it at his rallies (the song features the lines, ‘The landlord says your rent is late/He may have to litigate/Don’t worry, be happy). No one imagines the Biden campaign will be giving much consideration to NEIL YOUNG’s “Old Man.”

“I really think [Biden] should stick with a Bruce Springsteen type of song. It fits his message,” Hale said. “There might be a thought to do something more hip or modern. But it might be a little weird.”

DANA GORZELANY-MOSTAK, an associate professor of music at Georgia College & State University who runs the “Trax on the Trail” research project on presidential campaign music, said that going with a Springsteen-esque soundtrack would “authenticate [Biden’s] regular guy persona while affirming his progressive values.” But she argued there were “risks with going with a safe choice.”

“He needs to challenge the notion that he is old and not up for the job,” she said. “So in my opinion, he needs music that is energetic, affirming, empowering.”

Gorzelany-Mostak offered a few suggestions: “The Adventure” by ANGELS & AIRWAVES; “Unstoppable” by FOXY SHAZAM; “Stand” by R.E.M.; and “Believer” by IMAGINE DRAGONS (we’re going to have to disagree on this last one).

West Wing Playbook compiled all of the suggestions we received — plus a few of our own picks — into a Spotify playlist. We hope this makes the Biden campaign’s research just a bit easier. (You can blame the Gen Z member of our team for SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR’s “Murder on the Dancefloor.”)

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MEA CULPA: In yesterday’s edition, we included an item about consumer sentiment data from the Conference Board that incorrectly identified the organization. And in an item about a long-range bomb being sent to Ukraine, we should have written that the bomb can travel about 90 miles, not 90 miles per hour.

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POTUS PUZZLER

Thanks to the White House Historical Association for this question!

Which president was the last to be actively involved in horse racing?

(Answer at bottom.)

The Oval

READY TO RUMBLE: The White House on Wednesday ramped up attacks against House Republicans over current border deal negotiations, our JENNIFER HABERKORN reports. In a memo first shared with POLITICO, deputy press secretary ANDREW BATES took shots at House Speaker MIKE JOHNSON for holding up the Biden administration’s funding request for border security.

“Despite arguing for 6 straight years that presidents need new legal authority to secure the border, and despite claiming to agree with President Biden on the need for hiring more Border Patrol agents and deploying new fentanyl detection equipment, Speaker Johnson is now the chief impediment to all 3,” Bates writes.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by Axios’ NEIL IRWIN, who writes that the U.S. economy grew faster than any other “large advanced economy” last year. The U.S. gross domestic product looks to have grown the most of the seven leading democratic nations — by 2.5 percent in 2023 — with Japan finishing second at 1.9 percent, according to the IMF’s World Economic Outlook. As Irwin notes, every country was dealing with post-pandemic lulls, but the U.S. recovered in spite of those challenges.

Chief of staff JEFF ZIENTS, press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO and deputy press secretary Andrew Bates (four times) shared the piece on X.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by WaPo’s YASMEEN ABUTALEB, who reports that Arab American and Muslim voters in Michigan have begun organizing against Biden over his unwavering support of Israel. Arab Americans make up a majority of the population in many Michigan towns, and now some have helped launch an “Abandon Biden” campaign.

Whether it is voting for a third party, or skipping the presidential election altogether while voting for other offices, “organizers are telling Muslim and Arab voters that they should show up and vote, rather than stay home, so it is clear that Biden specifically has lost their votes,” Abutaleb writes.

LONG-AWAITED VISIT: The president will travel to East Palestine, Ohio, next month to mark the one-year anniversary of the deadly trail derailment there, our ADAM CANCRYN reports. Biden faced criticism last year for not visiting the town following the Feb.3 disaster, but the White House had repeatedly said the president would visit when the time was appropriate. A date for the visit has not been determined.

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THE BUREAUCRATS

SHOES FILLED: JOHN PODESTA, senior adviser on clean energy and a longtime Democratic strategist, will replace outgoing U.S. special climate envoy JOHN KERRY, WaPo’s MAXINE JOSELOW reports. Podesta will remain at the White House rather than move to the State Department. His new title will be senior adviser to the president for international climate policy.

MORE PERSONNEL MOVES: SABRINA BOUSBAR, the Biden administration’s senior adviser on emergency preparedness, is leaving her post to run against Rep. ANNA PAULINA LUNA (R-Fla.) in Florida’s 13th congressional district, our KIMBERLY LEONARD reports. If elected, Bousbar would be the first woman Gen Z member of Congress. Florida already is home to another Gen Z congressional member: 27-year-old Democrat, MAXWELL FROST, who represents the state’s 10th district.

— JED KOLKO, under secretary of Commerce for economic affairs, is leaving his post at the Department of Commerce. His last day is Friday.

ROSE, BUD, THORN: Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN on Wednesday hosted a global town hall for the entire department, including colleagues serving overseas.

A State Department official said Blinken discussed his 2024 priorities, which include finding a solution to the Middle East conflict and providing additional humanitarian assistance to the region, as well as getting supplemental Ukraine funding passed in Congress.

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Agenda Setting

POTENTIALLY MAJOR: Blinken has also asked the State Department to conduct a review of policy options on possible U.S. recognition of the Palestinian state after the war in Gaza, Axios’ BARAK RAVID reports. Some within the Biden administration believe recognition of a Palestinian state should be a first step to resolve the negotiations as opposed to the last.

“While U.S. officials say there has been no policy change, the fact the State Department is even considering such options signals a shift in thinking within the Biden administration on possible Palestinian statehood recognition,” Ravid writes.

STUDENT DEBT PLAN B: The Department of Education will hold another rule-making meeting over its alternative student loan forgiveness plan, Bloomberg’s AKAYLA GARDNER reports. It comes as pressure builds on the Biden administration to include those with financial hardships as a qualifier for debt relief in the new plan.

The department will hold two virtual sessions to address the issue, on Feb. 22 and 23.

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What We're Reading

One Big Reason Migrants Are Coming in Droves: They Believe They Can Stay (NYT’s Miriam Jordan)

NATO chief: I’m not worried that Trump will pull out of the alliance (POLITICO’s Paul McLeary and Daniel Lippman)

What We're Watching

NSFW WARNING: This video posted on X from rapper PLIES, who thinks Biden and Vice President KAMALA HARRIS need to do a better job crowing about their accomplishments. “Can somebody teach y’all how to motherfucking brag.”

“Stock market is doing way better under y’all than under [Trump]. Job numbers: way better under y’all than under him. Motherfucking GDP, people’s wages at the bottom going up more than people at the top. Inflation going down. Gas prices going down. And y’all can’t figure out how to motherfucking brag?”

On student loan forgiveness: “Get your ass out here and brag about it.”

POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER

President ULYSSES S. GRANT was the last president actively involved in horse racing. Grant was an avid horseman and loved to take a light carriage out of the White House stables and onto the streets of Washington, even occasionally racing his neighbor, Gen. EDWARD BEALE, according to the White House Historical Association.

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 Eun Kyung Kim and Sam Stein.

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The Federal Reserve’s Basel III Endgame will undermine the U.S. economy – and American competitiveness. That’s why so many companies, organizations and people are speaking out in rare agreement against the proposal and its harmful impact on capital markets and the U.S. economy – Republicans and Democrats, corporations and nonprofits, manufacturers and consumers, and even groups from California and Alabama.

Organizations from across industries are urging the Fed to reconsider the rule, saying it would have “significant adverse consequences” and is “bad for consumers and bad for economic stability.” Even lawmakers from both sides of the aisle agree that the Fed should “carefully consider the proposal’s consequences on capital markets.”

America has spoken. Will the Fed listen?

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