POLITICO Playbook: EXCLUSIVE: Hillary prepares to run against Trump! DAVID BROCK ‘now thinks Hillary will face The Donald,’ and that he’ll be tough
Good snowy Sunday morning. We're stuck in Boston, which is balmy compared to D.C. or NYC. Optimistic Amtrak's "Check Train Status" insisted until the final hour that our train home would run last night, but that never seemed very likely. Back today on first train that goes.
SIREN - GAME CHANGE ... READY FOR TRUMP? Assuming Hillary wins Iowa, her top outside ally David Brock is already shifting gears and training his sights away from Bernie Sanders and onto Trump. According to a source in his orbit, Brock believes he may have been wrong when he told reporters in early December that Ted Cruz would be the GOP nominee. At the time, Politico reported that Brock was not ruling out an upset by "the demagogue" (Trump).
Brock now thinks Hillary will likely face The Donald , and that he could give her a tough challenge. He's leaning on his super PAC, American Bridge, to step up delivery of a Trump oppo research book, contemplating strategic and tactical changes to Bridge's program, and upping the group's budget, the source said. Bridge's union allies are telling Brock that Trump could attract significant support from rank-and-file union members in key states.
By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; [email protected]) and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; [email protected])
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ARTICLE OF THE DAY - Ross Douthat column on p. 13 of NY. Times Sunday Review, "The Way To Stop Trump": "[Y]ou have to go after the things that people like about him. You have to flip his brand. So don't tell people that he doesn't know the difference between Kurds and the Quds Force. (They don't either!) ... Tell them about all the money he inherited from his daddy. Tell them about the bailouts that saved him from ruin. Tell them about all his cratered companies. Then find people who suffered from those fiascos - workers laid off following his bankruptcies, homeowners who bought through Trump Mortgage, people who ponied up for sham degrees from Trump University. ...
"Find the people hurt by Trump's attempts to exploit eminent domain: The widow whose boarding house he wanted to demolish to make room for a limo parking lot ... [P]ut his alleged dealings with the Mafia on the table. ... Trump is a salesman ... And how do you flip a salesman's brand? You persuade people that he's a con artist, and they're his marks." https://nyti.ms/1Qmkz3c
--PLAYBOOK FACTS OF LIFE: Although Ross wrote this as too-late advice for the GOP also-rans, this also sounds spookily like the early, evolving Hillary playbook for a general election.
TRUMP SCRUTINY RISING: WashPost, bottom of A1, " Racial bias case marked Trump's early career:Countersuit, dealmaking in civil rights lawsuit involving family's firm," by Michael Kranish and Bob O'Harrow in N.Y. https://wapo.st/1ZWblCE ... L.A. Times, bottom of A1, "In Iowa, nuanced views on migrants: Even conservatives in Marshalltown [Iowa farm town] say harsh proposals like Trump's go too far," by Mark Z. Barabak in Marshalltown https://lat.ms/1OGJPR8
FIRST LOOK: Donald Trump to Howard Kurtz for "Media Buzz" (11 a.m. ET today on Fox News), taped Thursdaynight at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas: KURTZ: "Are journalists treating you with some new respect because they think you may win?"
TRUMP: "Not all, but they're treating me with great respect. A lot of them -- I tell you, The Wall Street Journal has been terrific. They've really changed their views. And I've gained a great respect for some of the people in The Wall Street Journal. Some of the others have really changed their views. And rightfully so. I'm not saying it from my standpoint, Howie. I'm saying, you know, look: We've done a good job. TIME magazine wrote one of the most beautiful cover stories that I've ever had."
TRUMP, on how he will appeal to African Americans "They are going to like me better than they like Obama. The truth is Obama has done nothing for them." KURTZ : "Wait ... " TRUMP: "He's African American. He's done nothing for them." KURTZ: "Did you just say African Americans are going to like you better than the first African American president?" TRUMP: "I think that relatively speaking -- I mean, he does have a slight advantage, in all fairness -- but I think relatively speaking, when I am finished, I think they will absolutely love Donald Trump."
KURTZ: "If you are the nominee and you are not just trying to appeal to Republican Primary voters, will you tone down your rhetoric a bit? Will you reach out to minorities more?" TRUMP: "Oh, absolutely."
BREAKING TOMORROW: Glenn Thrush's "Off Message" podcast re-launches for 2016 with an Oval Office sit-down with President Obama, taped Friday. POTUS makes his most expansive comments yet about the 2016 race, with candid takes on the clash between Hillary and Bernie, their strengths and weaknesses, and the GOP fracas. Find the podcast, Glenn's take on it, and the full transcript on POLITICO tomorrow at 6 a.m. And subscribe to Off Message here to get the podcast as soon as it lands. https://apple.co/1K4Rxpi
** A message from Boeing: In less than a century, Boeing took the world from seaplanes to space planes with decade after decade of innovation, inspiration and wonder. We're proud to celebrate our centennial anniversary as the world's largest aerospace company -- and we're ready to write history for the next 100 years. Come along for a breathtaking journey at boeing100.com. **
SNEAK PEEK: "Face the Nation" pops a CBS News Battleground Tracker showing Iowa tied (margin = 7.2 points): Trump 39% and Cruz 34%, then Rubio at 13%. (But he's closing strong!) Carson is 5%, Rand 3%, Christie 2%, Bush/Fiorina/Kasich/Santorum 1%, Huck/Gilmore 0%. The tie at the top is a 14-point swing from December: Cruz was at 40%, Trump 31%.
--On the D side (with a margin of 8.9 points), Sanders is 47%, Clinton 46%, O'Malley 5%. "Face the Nation" will also have N.H. and S.C. for both sides, but GOP numbers for Texas, Fla. and Ga.
--MARCH 1 STATES -- (Minneapolis) Star Tribune poll of 800 Minnesota registered voters: Rubio 23%, Cruz 21%, Trump 18%, Carson 11%, Bush 7%, Christie 5%. In general-election matchup: Rubio 49%, Clinton 40% ... Cruz 45%, Clinton 43%. https://strib.mn/1NtagFV ... The numbers https://strib.mn/1nh6g6j
EXCLUSIVE CLIP - Episode Two of "The Circus," Showtime's documentary series on the presidential race airing tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT, is called "Prisoner's Dilemma," summing up the infighting between the GOP establishment candidates. Sen. Lindsey Graham ... expressed amazement that Trump has dominated the debate for so long: "If I robbed a bank, the headline would be, 'Trump Disappointed Graham Robbed a Bank,'" Graham says in an extra scene provided exclusively to Playbook. https://bit.ly/1PM5HZh
--@JebBush tweeted a clip of himself on the upcoming episode, asking if he can get a role on Showtime's Homeland "where I kill a terrorist with my bare hands." https://bit.ly/1K4SspV
--"Teen Ted Cruz joked of goals: 'World domination, you know, rule everything,'" by Shane Goldmacher: "A new video of a teenaged Ted Cruz, posted Saturday on YouTube, shows a lankier and younger version of the future Republican presidential candidate sarcastically talking about his life's goals ... 'Take over the world, world domination, you know, rule everything. Rich, powerful, that sort of stuff' .... The operator of the [YouTube] account told POLITICO the video had been provided by a high school classmate of Cruz's who wished to remain anonymous." With the 48-sec.video https://politi.co/1SFl4so
LATE-NIGHT BEST - On SNL, TINA FEY returned as Sarah Palin to endorse Trump, played by Darrell Hammond. Palin: "Thank you, Iowa! I wanted to take a break from my full-time career of writing things on Facebook to fly down here and lend my support to the next president of the United States, Donald J. Trump." ... Trump: "Hey America, isn't she great? Just the total package: smart, legs, yelling, everything. I haven't seen a woman this impressive since Jeb Bush." ... Palin: "I'm here because we Americans are struggling. ... We've seen our own children targeted by the police for no reason other than they committed some crimes." ...
Trump: "She's fun. She just says whatever she wants. It's like her mouth starts driving before her brain gets in the car. ... I hope no one's allergic to nuts, because we've got a big one here. She's Two Corinthians short of a Bible. And is it just me, or does everything she say sound kind of dirty?" Palin: "And our president's just bending over for ISIS while crony capitalists are sucking off the teat and slurping off the gravy train while Congress is just working the balls." 5-min. video https://bit.ly/1nsheq5
WHAT IOWA IS READING - Des Moines Register, top of 1A, "EDITORIAL BOARD ENDORSES RUBIO, CLINTON ... Rubio ... can attract independents, as well as inspire the Republican base with his foreign policy experience and his ideas to reform the education system and bolster the economy, the board writes. No other candidate can match Clinton's knowledge and experience." Marco endorsement https://dmreg.co/1PvpTOp ... Hillary endorsement https://dmreg.co/1PM7NYT
STATE OF THE ART -- N.Y. Times A1, below fold, "Sanders Courts Elusive Voters: Young Iowans,"by Jason Horowitz in Underwood, Iowa, and Yamiche Alcindor in Des Moines, with Nick Corasaniti in Chicago: "Of the 15,000 people in Iowa who have done at least one volunteer shift [for Sanders], 27 percent are 18 to 24 years old, and 32 percent are 25 to 34 ... Tad Devine ... said ... the campaign would ... begin a web advertising campaign about the 'Go Home for Bernie' program [rental cars, vans and buses, if necessary, to carry students who are from Iowa back to their hometowns, where they will have maximum impact on the caucuses] that uses geographic targeting to reach mobile phones around the colleges." https://nyti.ms/1Qmhosn
MEDIA PRIMARY - WashPost Outlook section lead, "New Hampshire's Union Leader remains part of the GOP primary ritual. But the newspaper and its publisher, Joe McQuaid, aren't the kingmakers they used to be, writes Julia Ioffe" from Manchester (online: "Meet the New Hampshire newspaper publisher who's at war with Donald Trump"): "It is, in a way, the 2016 campaign in miniature: angry, insurgent candidates discarding the traditions that once guided the ... contest. Like the Union Leader, New Hampshire ... is becoming increasingly irrelevant. ... Participation in the debates is dictated ... by national ratings. ... Today, the wrecking ball is no longer the Union Leader but the candidate." https://wapo.st/1Vi0DQh
YOU'RE INVITED: Please join us in downtown D.C. TOMORROW for Playbook Cocktails: a one-on-one conversation with former National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, followed by a keynote interview with former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates about his new book, "A Passion for Leadership." Doors open at 5:30 p.m. at the W Hotel. RSVP: https://bit.ly/1OvLFlC
SPOTTED: First Lady Michelle Obama at Soul Cycle on 14th Street on Friday morning at, with several "big SUVs and some super buff guys with her in the studio," per our tipster
PICS DU JOUR -- Scott Kelly @StationCDRKelly: "Massive #snowstorm blanketing #EastCoast clearly visible from @Space_Station! Stay safe! #blizzard2016 #YearInSpace". https://bit.ly/1PLypJv
--"Bo And Sunny Obama Are Having A Great Snow Day" - HuffPost: 3 pix on one page https://huff.to/20lqjyT
RICH LOWRY on Politico, "Inside the 'Against Trump' Issue: Why the National Review decided to launch a full broadside against The Donald-and what the blowback has been": "A couple of themes have been prominent in the pro-Trump pushback against our issue ... You are the dastardly establishment. If Brent Bozell, Dana Loesch, Katie Pavlich and Erick Erickson are the establishment, the world really has been turned upside down. In reality, elements of the Republican establishment are currently negotiating the terms of their surrender to Trump before a vote has been cast, in an astonishing display of fecklessness." https://politi.co/1OFOCT2
FUN READ -- WEEKLY STANDARD cover story, "Nine Tales of Trump at His Trumpiest: And these just scratch the surface," by Matt Labash: "[T]he problem with dating/marrying younger women, of course, is that they tend to age ... [and] you have to leave them. ... As one Trump intimate tells me, when Trump was going to break things off with his second wife Marla Maples before the relatively modest prenup-limit expired and he'd have been on the hook for more money, Trump didn't have the stomach to tell her. So, the intimate says, 'He leaked it to the Daily News, left the paper on the bed, and he went out to breakfast.' Now that's class." https://tws.io/1Pt8FRO... See the cover, which shows Donald swinging like King Kong from the top of Trump Tower. https://bit.ly/20jHyAw
THINGS THE DONALD SAYS - CNN: "Trump: I could shoot somebody and not lose voters" -- 48-sec. video https://bit.ly/1QrANKm
--Jeremy Diamond @JDiamond: "'Yeah I cried, when I was 1 years old, I was a baby,' @realDonaldTrump says of crying."
--Jenna Johnson @wpjenna: "Prayer ahead of Donald Trump's rally in Sioux Center included this line: 'Today we come to thank you for Donald Trump...'"
AIR WAR -- Alex Isenstadt @politicoalex: "Wow. Huck super pac up with ad jabbing at trump's alleged mocking of disabled nyt reporter" https://bit.ly/1QmmXad
BIRTHDAYS: OMB Director Shaun Donovan is 5-0 ... Eric Schultz, White House principal deputy press secretary, special assistant to the President and the pride of Syracuse - see a recent profile by his hometown paper https://bit.ly/1nroJxw ... Andrew Friendly of Advanced Technology Ventures ... Stephanie Losee, Politico's executive director of brand content ... Fusion's Dax Tejera, executive producer for "America with Jorge Ramos" and an NBC alum ... WSJ's Byron Tau, a Politico alum ... Courtney Rowe, the West Wing's favorite Arkansan, who was recently promoted to Special Assistant to the President for Message Planning, is 33 (h/t Jen Psaki) ... CBS News' Jacqui Corba, a Politico alum ... Ann O'Hanlon ... CQ Roll Call's David Hawkings is 56 ... Kenzi Green, national press secretary for the Young Democrats of America and a DNC alum ... Andrew Green, director of corporate affairs at Thomson Reuters and an FT alum ... Monica Popp, chief of staff for Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn ...
... Brian Gallagher (h/t Deckard) ... Annie Groer, contributing writer for WashPost ... Steve Selby, professor by day, guitarist by night (h/t Jon Haber) ... Tea Party Express alum Amy Kremer ... Christopher Ulrich ... AP's Lisa Marie Pane ... Alex Wong, Romney alum now foreign policy advisor and general counsel to Sen. Tom Cotton ... Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) ... Ron Beitelspacher ... Ellen Globokar ... Sam Rodriguez (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ... Natalie Krings, comms. director for Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) ... Alicia Cristina Burgos ... Bush 43 WH alums Lauren Vestewig and Meg Hauck ... actor Jerry Maren (last surviving Munchkin from "The Wizard of Oz," released in 1939) is 97 ... Neil Diamond is 75 (h/t Taylor S. Gross) ... Aaron Neville is 75 ... comedian Yakov Smirnoff is 65 ... Olympic gold medal gymnast Mary Lou Retton is 48 ... actress Mischa Barton is 30 (h/ts AP)
** A message from Boeing: Since July 15, 1916, we've been making the impossible, possible. In less than a century, Boeing took the world from seaplanes to space planes with decade after decade of innovation, inspiration and wonder. We're proud to enter our centennial anniversary as the world's largest aerospace company -- and we're ready to write history for the next 100 years. Join us this year for events and activities that celebrate the people and moments that inspire us to live by our founder Bill Boeing's philosophy -- "build something better." Come along for a breathtaking journey at boeing100.com. **
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Author
9 年Ed Klein's biography of Hillary Clinton titled 'Unlikeable' merits far greater media coverage. He argues Obama and Michelle Obama and key staff really do not want Hillary to follow them. Do they have an ace to play or will they just leave resigned to the fact that they are powerless to stop her and the only move is to grin through an endorsement ritual in the hope she will be too busy to be vindictive ?
Author
9 年Can we agree that for box office entertainment value, this is the most exciting Presidential race for decades ? It is certainly more exciting than the last few races. You do get the feeling that 'Anything can happen in the next ten minutes !' so keep watching and no flipping channels. Plus with Donald Trump as President, yes I think 'Anything can happen in the next ten minutes' would be the style people would have to get used to. Having said that Boris Yeltsin (never sober after breakfast) and Berlusconi were far more outrageous political leaders but just did not have a fraction of Us media coverage prowess to highlight their extraordinary time in power.
Mobile Market Ambassador at OzHarvest
9 年Seriously? Media in favour of the right? Fox News is what's destroying American minds and that is purely Murdoch/right-wing propaganda. What frustrates me is the lack of media coverage for Democratic contender, Bernie Sanders. He's leading Clinton in both Iowa and New Hampshire, but astonishingly, the media doesn't want to talk about it. How is that for media bias?