POLITICO Playbook: PUTIN MOCKS U.S. before Obama bilat – HOT MEMO: ‘POLITICO in full’

Good Monday morning. THE CONVERSATION: The Donald, who unveils his tax plan at 11 a.m., used his sit-down with Scott Pelley on "60 Minutes" to tease the most ambitious Republican agenda in 35 years: "[T]here will be a large segment of our country that will have a zero rate, a zero rate. ... We're talking about people in the low-income brackets that are supposed to be paying taxes, many of them don't anyway." 

--On Chinese currency devaluation: "They will respect me. They won't be doing it. But here's what we have to do. If they don't come to the table, they're going to have a tax when they put their products into this country. And they're going to behave." PELLEY: "You're talking about a trade war." TRUMP: ... "I'm talking about a fair war."

--On NAFTA: "Excuse me, we will either renegotiate it or we will break it. Because, you know, every agreement has an end."

--On the border: "It will be a real wall. It'll be a wall that works. It'll actually be a wall that will look good, believe it or not. ... We're rounding 'em up in a very humane way, in a very nice way. And they're going to be happy because they want to be legalized. And, by the way, I know it doesn't sound nice. But not everything is nice."

--"I would end ISIS forcefully."

--On whether he'd drop a bomb on North Korea's nuclear reactor: "I would do something. ... Yeah, they're going to listen to me."

--Promises universal health care: "Everybody's got to be covered. This is an un-Republican thing for me to say ... I am going to take care of everybody. I don't care if it costs me votes or not. ... [The uninsured are] going to be taken care of. I would make a deal with existing hospitals to take care of people."

--KEEPER QUOTE: "I'm on a lot of [magazine] covers. I think maybe more than almost any supermodel ... But in a way that is a sign of respect -- people are respecting what you are doing." Worth reading the transcript! https://cbsn.ws/1RaRTtF

--DAVID AXELROD, "Reality TV bites: 'The Apprentice' effect aids Trump" https://cnn.it/1QIo0jv

By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; [email protected]) and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; [email protected])

SUBSCRIBE and read Playbook classic: https://politi.co/1GceYWB 

TV THU.: Jeb will appear on-set on "Morning Joe" for the first time since announcing.

BREAKING - Michael Calderone, "Politico Plans Expansion To 50 States And Major World Capitals By 2020" - Will double current newsroom of 300 reporters and editors: "Politico is planning a significant domestic and international expansion over the next five years, with ambitions to employ more political and policy journalists in Washington, Europe and across U.S. state capitals than any other publication, according to an email obtained by The Huffington Post.

"'Our dream is a Politico journalistic presence in every capital of every state and country of consequence by 2020,' co-founders Jim VandeHei and John Harris wrote in a memo in advance of an all-staff meeting. 'With each passing month, we grow more confident our model can save journalism in state capitals and spread it in new countries.'

"The plans ... continue Politico's exportation of its obsessive brand of politics and policy coverage to new media markets, a model replicated by the company earlier this year in Europe and ... in New Jersey and Florida. ... Politico employs almost 300 reporters, editors and producers worldwide, including in ... London, Berlin and Paris ... VandeHei and Harris also described Politico's editorial formula for scoops, narrative journalism, and 'defiantly nonpartisan' coverage of politics and policy in the memo." 

--Full text of memo: "[W]e will need to at least double the number of editorial heads to fulfill our ambitions." https://huff.to/1MU0h2c

TOP TALKER - N.Y. Post cover, "CHOKERS: Nats' pitcher throttles star teammate [Bryce Harper] after Mets win East." See the choke pic. https://bit.ly/1uTkiZw

--NYT baseball columnist Tyler Kepner on Sports Monday front, below fold, "An Assault on Sense In the Nationals' Dugout": "In the bottom of the eighth inning at Nationals Park on Sunday, Washington closer Jonathan Papelbon attacked Bryce Harper in the home dugout. ... Then, as if nothing had happened, Matt Williams let Papelbon go back out to pitch. That decision should be the final one he makes as Washington's manager." https://nyti.ms/1KJbXy2

** A message from the National Automobile Dealers Association: Consumers deserve to be able to seek the best deal on their auto loan. But a CFPB proposal would raise consumer prices and limit choices, by preventing local dealerships from being able to discount interest rates for their customers. Learn how consumers routinely save money when financing through local dealerships: www.nada.org/autofinance **

WHITE HOUSE TRANSITION: Alexandra Veitch, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs at DHS and longtime Pelosi staffer, heads to the White House today to begin as a Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs and House Liaison. Her husband, Chris Mewett, starts work today as defense and foreign policy adviser to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse after seven years with the Department of the Army. 

PALACE INTRIGUE - "McCarthy faces tricky path to speakership: He's the overwhelming favorite ... but the Freedom Caucus still presents a big hurdle," by Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan: "In a break from his normal practice of heading to California or out on the road to raise money for colleagues, McCarthy stayed in Washington over the weekend. He ... locked up significant support, though he hasn't yet reached the magic number of 218 ... 

"McCarthy expects to meet with four key voting blocs soon - the House Freedom Caucus, and the Republican delegations from Pennsylvania and Texas. He also plans to meet with the Tuesday Group, a collection of moderate Republicans." https://politi.co/1P19MvQ

--L.A. Times A1, "Remembering his roots: With Rep. Kevin McCarthy on the short list to lead the House, conservative Central Valley residents see hope for their district," by Phil Willon in Bakersfield: "The district covers the heart of the California oil country and includes some of the most productive, and lucrative, farmland in the nation. McCarthy, 50, has the good fortune of representing one of the most conservative ... districts in a state dominated by Democrats: ... Romney won the district ... 2 -to-1." https://lat.ms/1h2qTj8

PLAY OF THE DAY: Boehner feels his oats during his sit-down with John Dickerson on "Face the Nation": "Winning [the Speaker] vote was never an issue. ... I would have gotten 400 votes, probably. But why do I want to make my members, Republican members, walk the plank? Because they're going to get criticized at home by some who think that we ought to be more aggressive. ... 

"Absolutely [the hardliners are] unrealistic. But the Bible says, beware of false prophets. And there are people out there spreading noise about how much can get done." ... 

DICKERSON: "Is Ted Cruz a false prophet?" ... 

BOEHNER: "I'll refer you to my remark at a fund-raiser I made in August in Steamboat Springs, Colorado." Where the Speaker called Cruz "that jackass."

DRIVING THE DAY: Obama bilat with Putin, 5:05 p.m. at U.N. building - "A smackdown before a sitdown: Obama and Putin are trash-talking in advance of their first meeting in a year," by Michael Crowley https://politi.co/1QIpomi

--"Russia seizes initiative in Syria crisis," by Reuters' Arshad Mohammed and John Irish, at the U.N.: Talking to Charlie Rose on "60 Minutes," Putin "mocked U.S. plans to train up to 5,400 Syrian rebels to fight [ISIS]. 'It turns out that only 60 of these fighters have been properly trained, and as few as four or five people actually carry weapons.'" https://reut.rs/1OBI6i0 ... "60 Minutes" https://cbsn.ws/1KZO1ei

NEW OVERNIGHT -- "Asians expected to become largest US immigrant group," by AP's Jesse Holland: In 40 years, "Asians will have surged past Hispanics to become the largest group of immigrants" in the U.S., per Pew Research Center. "[F]oreign-born residents expected to make up 18 percent of the country's projected 441 million people in 50 years, ... higher than the nearly 15 percent during the late 19th century and early 20th century wave of immigration from Europe." https://yhoo.it/1QI4dRr See the study. https://pewrsr.ch/1QI3Ypp

LAUNCHING TODAY: POLITICO PRO EUROPE BRIEF - Politico Pro today launches a twice-daily newsletter dedicated to making sense of European policy and politics through an American lens. Drawing on Politico resources in Brussels and in D.C., Politico Pro Europe Brief will track and analyze European policy from taxes to trade to mergers and acquisitions, energy and financial services and keep track of who the key political and regulatory influencers are. More info https://politico.pro/1KF4JOs

"GOD WEEPS" -- NYT Quotation of the Day - POPE FRANCIS, speaking to a group of survivors of sexual abuse by clergy members: "I deeply regret that some bishops failed in their responsibility to protect children. It is very disturbing to know that in some cases bishops even were abusers. I pledge to you that we will follow the path of truth wherever it may lead." https://nyti.ms/1P0UIyu

BIG NEW JOBS - PhRMA announced longtime health-care lobbyist Steve Ubl as CEO, per Brett Norman, with Anna Palmer: "Ubl has been CEO of the medical device industry trade group AdvaMed for the past 10 years ... He will replace John Castellani, a veteran of the Business Roundtable, who announced in April that he was retiring from PhRMA amid a wave of departures from major health industry trade groups. ... Ubl is expected to start ... by early Nov." https://politico.pro/1Via7iN

--JANO CARBRERA, after more than 20 years in Washington, is moving to Chicago to work for Robert Gibbs as McDonald's Corporate Senior Vice President of U.S. Communications, Global Media & Public Relations. Jano's last day at Burson-Marsteller is Friday. Bespectacled and bearded sources say he is handing out thank-you notes to coworkers on cards that read: "With my deepest sympathies." Jano's Muppet (Mupano) will make the move. And is insisting on doing the driving. 

--DICK KEIL -- known as "Stretch" as a Bloomberg reporter in the Bush 43 White House, and an alum of PSI and Purple Strategies -- is moving from the corporate media affairs team at ExxonMobil's HQ in Irving, Texas, to a recently-created campaign and advocacy team responsible for promoting and protecting the company's image and reputation around the globe. He and Hillary will remain in Dallas, but he likely will be seen with more frequency in D.C. and N.Y.

WORTH THE CLICK: Michael Grunwald on Politico's The Agenda, "Why the Pope is wrong about climate": "Pope Francis is now the world's most influential climate activist ... Still, as a modern environmental document, [his encyclical] Laudato Si is really problematic. ... [W]hile the pope doesn't think much of capitalism or technology, those things are already helping to save the climate." https://politi.co/1YJwH30

HAPPENING TODAY - NASA press release, "NASA to Announce Mars Mystery Solved: NASA will detail a major science finding from the agency's ongoing exploration of Mars during a news briefing at 11:30 a.m. ... at the James Webb Auditorium at NASA Headquarters in Washington." https://bit.ly/1FuYTR9

--CNN's Michael Pearson: "It appears to be a confirmation of periodically flowing water on the planet's surface. Three of the scientists slated for the news conference are listed as authors of a new paper [saying] ... imaging from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter proves that seasonal dark streaks on the Martian surface are the result of briny water periodically flowing across the planet's surface." https://cnn.it/1MTjWz6

WHO THEY ARE -- Tampa Bay Times p. 1A, below fold, "Bush rolled back Everglades program: As governor, he sided with major campaign contributors on delaying pollution cleanup," by Craig Pittman: "Bush's Everglades success 'is evidence it is possible to manage restoration of this national treasure in a fiscally sound way," ... spokeswoman Kristy Campbell said." https://bit.ly/1MTiI6U

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING -- "PolitiFact ... Bush's boasting about Florida [in campaign ad released Sept. 8] only tells half the story," by Tampa Bay Times' Joshua Gillin: "Bush has often repeated the claim that he cut taxes by $19 billion ... We found he was citing a projection from his Right to Rise Super PAC measuring cumulative revenue changes from 1999 to 2007. The total of $19.3 billion is adjusted into 2007 dollars.

"The analysis includes the federal repeal of the estate tax, for which ... Bush couldn't really take credit. We rated it Half True." Also rated "Half True": Bush statements on cutting spending and job creation." https://bit.ly/1MThNU7

FIRST LOOK - "New national survey by three top GOP pollsters shows 72% of Republicans support favor taking action to accelerate the development of clean energy. In a joint memo, Kristen Soltis Anderson, Whit Ayres, and Glen Bolger write: "[T]he most successful [message] contrasts depoliticized climate and emphasized the other benefits of clean energy." The poll was commissioned by the ClearPath Foundation, which led by conservative entrepreneur and Politico 50 member Jay Faison. Full results and memo to be posted later today at www.ClearPath.org

BUSINESS BURST - Bottom of WashPost Sunday Business front, "Now Carlyle is learning to manage adversity: Private-equity titan has sampled diversification's pitfalls since going public," by Tom Heath: "The gyrations have investors wondering whether Carlyle can become less dependent on its hit-driven, leveraged-buyout business, which typically accounts for most of the company's profits. Like many other private-equity shops, the firm now calls itself an alternative asset manager, an investor's version of a supermarket." https://wapo.st/1MTgVPm

FIRST LOOK -- Liz Reicherts joins Siemens as V.P. of gov't affairs after 22 years in BP's D.C. office, where she was senior director of federal gov't affairs. 

--Coby Dolan has left as legislative director to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and starts today as director of the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs at NOAA.

HILL HAPPENINGS - Kevin McCarthy speech on foreign policy: WSJ's Patrick O'Connor : At the St. Regis at 1:30 p.m. for "The John Hay Initiative, a loose confederation of Republican foreign-policy heavyweights [including Eliot Cohen, Brian Hook, and Eric Edelman] ... [to mark] the release of a new book, 'Choosing to Lead: American Foreign Policy for a Disordered World.'" https://on.wsj.com/1jpsUHX Advisory https://bit.ly/1VlkM79

MEDIAWATCH -- "Carson staffer cuts off CNN interview," by Hadas Gold : "[Jake] Tapper said that as an African-American and a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, Carson knows 'what it is like for people to make false assumptions about you. And you seem to be doing the same thing with Muslims.' 'You're assuming that Muslim Americans put their religion ahead of the country,' Tapper replied as Carson asked what false assumptions Tapper thought he was making.

"'I'm assuming that if you accept all the tenets of Islam that you would have a very difficult time abiding under the Constitution of the United States,' Carson said. At that point, Armstrong Williams, Carson's business manager said off-camera 'This interview is over.'" https://politi.co/1KJoW2L Video https://cnn.it/1iEf3N8

WEEKEND WEDDINGS -- "Alyssa Rosenberg and Matthew Gertz" - NYT: "The bride, 30 ... works in Washington as a columnist for The Washington Post, where she writes Act Four, a culture and politics column. She graduated cum laude from Yale. ... The groom, 31, is the research director for Media Matters for America ... He graduated cum laude from Columbia." https://nyti.ms/1LJ4a8u Wedding pic https://bit.ly/1FArGUa

SPOTTED: Best Man Nick Baumann, who introduced the couple, Bradley Beychok, Angelo Carusone, Fred Hiatt, Adam Kushner, Sonny Bunch, Jeff Muskus, Rebecca Katz, James Downie, Stephen Stromberg, Alexandra Petri, Alexander Remington, Jonathan Blanks, Dara Lind, Dylan Matthews, Travis Waldron, Josh Eidelson, Ian Milihiser, Todd Gregory, Jeremy Schulman.

--Mini Timmaraju, women's outreach director at Hillary for America, married Ken Scudder, comms. director for Rep. Alan Grayson, on Saturday at a traditional Hindu ceremony in Sugar Land, Texas. SPOTTED : Houston Mayor Annise Parker, NH Attorney General Joe Foster and Texas State Senator Sylvia Garcia. #Scudderaju2015. Pic https://bit.ly/1VieP03

--Meredith Gourash, legislative director to Ohio Rep. Bob Gibbs and Greg Dolan, comms. director to Rep. David McKinley (WVa.) were married at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in D.C. followed by dinner and lots of dancing downtown at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium. They met while working on the Hill. Greg found himself with watery eyes as he saw his bride walking down the aisle. The reception followed at the Mellon Auditorium, with a night cap at Sidecar to see off the newlyweds. Pics https://bit.ly/1iEdnDi ... https://bit.ly/1iVFOgI

BIRTHWEEK (was Sat.): Josie Martin, PhRMA EVP of public affairs (h/t Robert Zirkelbach) ... (was yesterday):O'Malley Iowa Deputy State Director Kristin Sosanie, who celebrated by hearing Gov. O'Malley sing her a "Happy Birthday" video while they were in Iowa (h/t Lis Smith)

BIRTHDAYS: Jen O'Malley Dillon, Obama deputy campaign manager, Precision Strategies co-founder, and mom to twins Katie and Mary (hat tip: Stephanie Cutter) ... Catalist's Laura Quinn ... Steve Schmidt, the pride of North Plainfield, N.J. is 45 ... Zenefits' Calley Means, a Schmidt protégé (h/t Hilary Halpern) ... Scott Mulhauser is 4-0. Mulhauser -- alum of the Export-Import Bank, Biden, and Lautenberg --- is now in Beijing as chief of staff for Ambassador Baucus at the Embassy. He celebrated with friends this weekend in Beijing, and is getting married in two weeks to Kara Carscaden (h/t Ben LaBolt and many more) ... Poppy MacDonald, publisher and president of National Journal ... 

... AP's Andrew Taylor ... Kate Sheckells ... WashPost's Emily Heil ... filmmaker Nadia Szold (h/t her proud brother Daniel Lippman) ... Texas Tribune's Abby Livingston, a Roll Call alum ... BuzzFeed's Chris Geidner ... Politico's Gabi Renz (h/t Gabe Brotman) ... Bloomberg's Del Wilber (h/t Annie Linskey) ... Katie Smith ... Molly Crosby, email manager at Dem firm Rising Tide Interactive and alum of Sen. Patty Murray and NARAL (h/t Dave Stroup) ... Mattingly Messina, campaign policy aide to Gavin Newsom (h/t Ruby Cramer) ... Evelyn Erskine, spokeswoman for Global Philanthropy and Engagement at Bloomberg L.P. ... Kat Kane, senior writer and creative strategist at Hillary for America ... Phil Gallo, father of four and rock of Redeemer ... Laura Santucci ... Matt Corridoni, deputy press secretary with O'Malley for President, is 26 (h/t Daniel Ensign) ... Reid alumnus Jon Summers ... Rory Murphy, the pride of Great Falls, MT, is 31; he's currently a law clerk at Squire Patton Boggs and part-time law student at Catholic U and is an Ex-Im and Senate Finance alum (h/t girlfriend Alex Miller) ... Rory Murphy ... AP's Jeff Barnard is 6-5 ... 

... Politico's Patrick D'Silva and Suhani Sanwar ... Steve Largent ... Darren Grubb, pride of Midland ... Calley Means ... Brian Rogers, comms. director for Sen. McCain ... Katie List ... Katie Smith, senior digital editor for USA Today and a Roll Call alum ... WashPost's Julie Bone ... Steve Largent ... Peter Well DiBella, son of Rick and Whitney ... Calley Means, product operations manager at Zenefits and a McCain alum... Hutchison alum Dave Davis ... Kyle Ashby, Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy ... 

... Adweek's Tony Case ... Melissa Charbonneau, director of comms at FedEx Services-World HQ ... Marty Machowsky ... Kathy Wagner ... Kimberly Butler ... Brent McIntosh of Sullivan and Cromwell and a DOJ alum ... Carol Stetelman Abshire ... Martin Edwin Andersen ... Ryan Olsen ... Brigitte Bardot is 81 ... Janeane Garofalo is 51 ... Moon Zappa is 48 ... Naomi Watts is 47 ... Young Jeezy is 38 ... World Golf Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak is 38 ... Daniel Platzman (Imagine Dragons) is 29 ... Hilary Duff is 28 ... actor Keir Gilchrist is 23 (h/ts AP) 

DESSERT - Trevor Noah debuts at 11 tonight as "Daily Show" host -- USA Today's Gary Levin: "At 31, [the South African is late night's youngest host] ... Kevin Hart is his first guest, followed later in the week by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and singer Ryan Adams ... Noah grew up as a poor, mixed-race kid during apartheid ... Noah will start out focusing more on people making news than those delivering it. 

"'I'm less likely to skewer CNN or Fox [than] (Kentucky court clerk) Kim Davis and Mike Huckabee,' he says. Other changes: The stand-up comedian may experiment with, um, standing. He'll also make more frequent use of the show's diverse team of fake-news correspondents, bolstered by three newcomers." https://usat.ly/1O4fxKa Trailerhttps://bit.ly/1fowmjm

** A message from the National Automobile Dealers Association: Consumers routinely save money when financing their vehicle at local dealerships. Because dealers can shop a customer's loan application to dozens of lenders, they can usually find better rates than consumers can on their own. Dealers can also offer discounts that lead to even lower interest rates and greater savings. But the CFPB wants to eliminate dealer discounts, making car loans more expensive for consumers. The Wall Street Journal estimates that the CFPB's proposed changes could cost some consumers nearly $600 over a four-year loan.

When you're purchasing a new car, you should have every financing option available to you. No government institution should deny you that - that's not what Washington is supposed to do. 

Learn how consumers can save money through dealer-assisted financing at: www.nada.org/autofinance **

To view online:
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