| | | | |  | | By Sam Stein, Myah Ward, Lauren Egan and Ben Johansen | | | Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With help from producer Raymond Rapada. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Eli | Email Lauren Is TAYLOR SWIFT a massive psyop operation designed by the Pentagon to sway millions of football-loving Americans to get the Covid vaccine and vote for JOE BIDEN in the 2024? No. Then again, maybe they got to West Wing Playbook, too. The idea that the biggest music star on the planet has taken on some sort of deep state-pop icon role is picking up steam on the right. VIVEK RAMASWAMY suggested that the Super Bowl outcome is preordained to give Swift and the Kansas City Chiefs’ TRAVIS KELCE (whose relationship he deemed artificial) a chance to announce a “major presidential endorsement.” On Monday, ALISON STEINBERG, a host on the conservative OAN, called the spectacle (and to be fair, it’s a bit much) “bread and circuses on steroids.” She declared, “Major league sports in and of itself is nothing but a psyop.” Conservative influencer BENNY JOHNSON tweeted that Swift had been “EXPOSED as a FED OP To Rig 2024 Election for Biden” and that the “Pentagon ADMITS It.” Was Anti-Hero a confessional? What in our Wildest Dreams is going on here? Part of it could simply be partisan reflexes malfunctioning. Swift has pushed for voter registration and LGBTQ causes. She endorsed Joe Biden in 2020 (She did! People have memory-holed this). Kelce, meanwhile, has advocated for vaccines and has been a pitchman for Bud Light, a corporation hated on the right. The most recent freakout over them began, notably, after The New York Times reported that the Biden reelection campaign had its eye on securing another Swift endorsement. Which, of course! What politician wouldn’t love the public backing of someone with nearly 280 million instagram followers and a massive army of young people hanging on her every move? But campaigns don’t engage with megastars like Swift until the celebs indicate they are ready. They also like to wait until later in the cycle when such an endorsement would have maximum impact with voters. For now, the Biden reelect is working with celebs more regularly involved in politics, like SOPHIA BUSH and KERRY WASHINGTON. As much as the Swift-Kelce drama says about our politics, it may say more about our culture — in particular, the reaction to a powerful woman finding her way into the spotlight reserved for the ultimate male sport. For weeks, Swift was cast in a quasi-villainous role of the female distraction — like SUSAN SARANDON in “Bull Durham,” or the Siren to Odysseus — dooming Kelce’s career and his team’s season. The Chiefs are in the Super Bowl now, thanks in large part to a monster AFC Championship game from Kelce. And it has produced the specter of conservatives now rooting for a team from the city they portray as a modern Sodom and Gomorrah: San Francisco. The Biden crew and its alumni network have watched it all with eye rolls and a touch of mockery. “Unsurprising that the MAGA right is again bullying Americans for having wildly controversial opinions like … LGBTQ Americans deserve equal rights, women should be able to make their own health care decisions, and Americans should vote in our elections,” said Biden campaign spokesperson KEVIN MUNOZ in a statement to West Wing Playbook. On a larger level, there’s also a sense that this is a case of the culture wars not just getting out of hand but being poorly played. Swift is beloved. Normies probably don’t quite understand why Kelce is getting dinged for dating her. The idea that NFL games are rigged is widely embraced already (namely by snake-bitten Buffalo Bill’s fans). The notion that Biden, who is portrayed by the right as inept and sleepy, is somehow behind it probably doesn’t compute to a lot of voters. And sure, turning all this into an attack line may rile up a certain segment of the politically online. But it’s not clear how much further it gets you beyond that. (See: Disney, RON DESANTIS). “The fact that some Republicans think she is being manipulated shows how badly they do not understand her or what she represents to people,” RON KLAIN, Biden’s former White House chief of staff, said in a text to West Wing Playbook. MESSAGE US — Are you THE PENTAGON OFFICIAL IN CHARGE OF THE T-SWIFT PSYOP? 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 Center Forward: America’s capital markets benefit our whole economy – with investments, innovation, economic growth and job creation. They enable everything from stable prices to strong pensions and clean energy. But the Federal Reserve is considering Basel III Endgame, which will weaken capital markets and undermine American competitiveness. Why would we hurt our economy at a time like this? See why companies and groups across America are speaking out against the proposal. | | | | | Thanks to the White House Historical Association for this question! Which president and first lady abstained from alcohol? (Answer at bottom.)
| | TWO PLANES PASSING IN THE … DAY: Biden touched down in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday afternoon for the first of two fundraisers. According to reporters traveling with the president, DONALD TRUMP’s private plane was clearly visible from the tarmac as Air Force One taxied. There were also about a hundred Trump supporters lined up outside the airport to protest the president’s arrival. But Biden managed to get in and out of his opponent’s home turf without ever laying eyes on Mar-a-Lago. According to Bloomberg’s JENNIFER JACOBS, who was traveling with Biden, Air Force One just narrowly avoided flying directly over Trump’s club on the way in, flying south over the ocean before heading west to the airport. PLOTTING A RESPONSE: Biden on Tuesday said that he’s decided how the U.S. will respond to the drone strike in Jordan that killed three American soldiers, our ADAM CANCRYN reports. The president did not go into specifics on how or when the U.S. will respond, but reiterated that the U.S. does not seek war with Iran. “I do hold them [Iran] responsible in the sense that they’re supplying the weapons to the people who did it,” Biden said. “I don’t think we need a wider war in the Middle East. That’s not what I’m looking for.” WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This data from the Consumer Board, finding U.S. consumer confidence spiking in January to its highest level since the end of 2021. The Board’s gauge of sentiment jumped to 114.8 in January, up from a revised 108 in December and marking the third straight monthly increase. Average 12-month inflation expectations also fell to 5.2 percent, its lowest since March of 2020. National Economic Council director LAEL BRAINARD touted the Board’s announcement in a statement that credited Biden’s agenda: “While President Biden lowers costs for prescription drugs and utility bills, Congressional Republicans are proposing tax cuts for the wealthy and large corporations.” WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by NYT’s MICHAEL D. SHEAR, HAMED ALEAZIZ and ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, who report that Biden’s pledge to reshape the U.S. immigration system after restrictive Trump-era policies has come back to bite him. Record levels of migrant crossings have stalled the president’s initial campaign vision for a more open and humane border, resulting in an immigration crisis that jeopardizes his reelection efforts. “The result is a growing humanitarian crisis at the border and in major cities around the country,” the trio write. “Many voters now say immigration is their top concern, and they do not have confidence that Mr. Biden is addressing it.” CAPTAIN AMERICA GOES TO WASHINGTON: On Tuesday, actor CHRIS EVANS joined press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE at the White House with a group of young voters to discuss youth engagement on issues from climate change to the economy. Evans and director MARK KASSEN also spoke with Energy Secretary JENNIFER GRANHOLM and deputy Treasury Secretary WALLY ADEYEMO about public service and the future of clean energy.
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes. | | | | | | | | A SHOULDER FOR LIONS FANS TO CRY ON: Biden will travel to Michigan on Thursday, less than a week after he won the endorsement of the United Auto Workers, our Adam Cancryn and NICHOLAS WU report. The event will give the president a chance to tout the UAW endorsement in a state heavily composed of union members. It will also give him an opportunity to send Lions fans his condolences for the devastating loss they experienced over the weekend (it wasn’t DAN CAMPBELL’s fault – EDITOR’S NOTE: it was). HEADED SOUTH: Vice President KAMALA HARRIS will headline a get-out-the-vote event on Friday at South Carolina State University, an HBCU in Orangeburg and the alma mater of Rep. JIM CLYBURN. The event comes the day before the state’s Democratic presidential primary. ANOTHER WILMINGTON ADDITION: JASMINE HARRIS, a former aide to Sen. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-N.Y.), will join the Biden campaign as director of Black media, theGrio’s GERREN KEITH GAYNOR reports.
| | | | A message from Center Forward:   | | | | | PARTISAN CLASH: On Tuesday, the House Homeland Security Committee moved closer to approving articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, who could be the first Cabinet secretary impeached in over 150 years. House Republicans accuse Mayorkas of “willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law” and “breach of public trust” over the crisis at the Southern border. Democrats and legal scholars have argued that Republicans have failed to produce any evidence that amounts to grounds for impeachment and that their efforts are purely political. Mayorkas sent a nearly seven-page letter to the committee Tuesday morning defending his record, saying the panel has made “false accusations” and calling the impeachment “baseless.” FIRST IN WEST WING PLAYBOOK: JAMES COUGHLAN has joined the Export-Import Bank as senior vice president and general counsel, our DANIEL LIPPMAN has learned. He most recently was a partner in the D.C. office of Holland & Knight and is an alum of the U.S. International Trade Commission and the office of the late Sen. CARL LEVIN (D-Mich.). MORE PERSONNEL MOVES: GREG HONAN is now chief of staff of the Office of Communications at the White House. He most recently was senior manager for the travel and events division of the Executive Office of the President.
| | | | YOUR GUIDE TO EMPIRE STATE POLITICS: From the newsroom that doesn’t sleep, POLITICO's New York Playbook is the ultimate guide for power players navigating the intricate landscape of Empire State politics. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest and most important stories from Albany, New York City and around the state, with in-depth, original reporting to stay ahead of policy trends and political developments. Subscribe now to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle of NY politics. | | | | | | | | | TAKE THE EDGE OFF: In a letter to the Drug Enforcement Administration on Tuesday, 12 Senate Democrats urged the Biden administration to ease federal restrictions on marijuana, NBC’s JULIE TSIRKIN reports. The lawmakers argue that Biden should either lower marijuana to a Schedule III drug category under the Controlled Substances Act, or remove it entirely. “The case for removing marijuana from Schedule I is overwhelming,” the senators wrote. “The DEA should do so by removing cannabis from the CSA altogether, rather than simply placing it in a lower schedule.” THE SUPPLIES AREN'T OUT YET: The Pentagon successfully tested a new long-ranged precision bomb for Ukraine that is expected to arrive on their battlefield as soon as tomorrow, our LEE HUDSON, LARA SELIGMAN and PAUL MCLEARY report. Ukraine will receive the first batch of Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs, “a brand new long-range weapon made by Boeing that even the U.S. doesn’t have in its inventory,” they write. One official told our colleagues that the bomb will be able to travel up to 90 miles per hour and reflects a “significant capability” for Ukraine.
| | | | Should 4 People Be Able to Control the Equivalent of a Nuke? (Will Hurd for POLITICO) The War the World Can’t See (NYT’s Vivian Yee, Abu Bakr Bashir and Gaya Gupta) A Pediatrician’s Two Weeks Inside a Hospital in Gaza (New Yorker’s Isaac Chotiner)
| | | If you told Treasury Secretary JANET YELLEN years ago that she would have abandoned Brick Breaker on her Blackberry for Candy Crush, she would have scoffed at the idea. She goes with the classics. But after an author of a Yellen biography asked if she had played Candy Crush, her curiosity spiked. She gave it a try. The rest is history. “This morning I hit level 6,180,” Yellen said on Saturday’s episode of Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!
| | President RUTHERFORD B. HAYES and first lady LUCY HAYES both abstained from alcohol and chose instead to serve non-alcoholic beverages at State dinners and receptions, according to the White House Historical Association. To learn more about the history of alcohol and the White House, listen to The White House 1600 Sessions Podcast “The History of Wine and 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 or sourcing, and we may feature it! Edited by Eun Kyung Kim and Sam Stein.
| | A message from Center Forward: 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?
Protect our Capital Markets. Protect our Economy. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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