Playbook: Pecker nips at Trump’s defense

Presented by the Financial Services Forum

With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine

DRIVING THE DAY

WHAT THEY’RE READING AT MAR-A-LAGO — “How Susie Wiles Became the Most Feared and Reviled Political Operative Few People Have Ever Heard Of,” by Michael Kruse. Come for the insight into Trump world, stay for the delicious readout — much of it told anonymously by former RON DeSANTIS operatives — about how the Trump camp changed the narrative around his most formidable adversary in the primary. (Pudding fingers, boot lifts, a too-powerful wife — all were introduced into the media bloodstream by people working in close touch with Wiles.)

WHAT THEY’RE READING AT LE DIPLOMATE — Matthew Kaminski surveys the transformation of the D.C. dining scene over the past few decades for POLITICO Magazine: “The Lost Glamour of DC’s Political Elite”

TRUMP’S PECKER PROBLEM — The Manhattan hush money case has frequently been described as the weakest of the four criminal cases against DONALD TRUMP. But whatever the jury decides about the legal merits of the case, there could be an unanticipated political impact.

This week’s revelatory testimony from DAVID PECKER has put a spotlight on one of Trump’s greatest vulnerabilities: the chaos and confusion of his tenure in the White House that was marked by high turnover, inexperienced staffers, tabloid stories, and two impeachments that left the public exhausted.

Pecker’s astonishing firsthand account of how Trumpworld really works comes at a time when Trump has managed to overcome two significant vulnerabilities.

One, his campaign is run by a more stable and disciplined team than he had in charge in 2016, 2020 or while in the White House.

Two, recent polls show voters’ views of the Trump era have improved since he left office. Many Americans seem to be ignoring or down-playing the tornado of mischief that defined the Trump years. Instead, they are more focused on the high-performing economy of Trump’s first years in office or the generous stimulus that ballooned savings after Covid wrecked the economy in his last year.

Democrats have privately fumed for months that President JOE BIDEN is taking all the blame for the post-Covid, high-inflation, no-more-stimulus-checks economy, while voters look back fondly on Trump overseeing a pre-inflation boom period.

Pecker probably isn’t changing many minds about economic conditions, but he is refreshing memories about the turmoil that dominated the Trump era.

In court on Thursday, Pecker revealed:

— Trump was busy trying to contain the fallout from two alleged affairs not only during the final weeks of his campaign, but deep into his presidency.

— Trump refused to pay Pecker back after the former chairman of AMI spent $150,000 catching and killing KAREN McDOUGAL’s story of a long-running relationship with Trump.

— Trump brought Pecker into his inner circle. Pecker attended a meeting at Trump Tower in January 2017 with then-FBI Director JAMES COMEY, SEAN SPICER, REINCE PRIEBUS and MIKE POMPEO. “He probably knows more than anybody else in this room,” Trump said of Pecker, according to Pecker’s testimony. Trump was getting briefed on a recent shooting, but afterwards, alone with Pecker, he asked for a briefing on something that continued to weigh on his mind: Karen McDougal’s NDA.

— In July 2017, Trump threw Pecker and some of his business associates a dinner at the White House. Once again, Trump asked Pecker about McDougal.

— Pecker testified that then-Trump lawyer MICHAEL COHEN told him that “Donald Trump has [then-attorney general JEFF SESSIONS] in his pocket.”

— In 2018, Trump recruited two top White House communications aides — HOPE HICKS and SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS — to get on a call with Pecker and discuss his plan to extend the NDA with McDougal. “They thought that it was a good idea,” Pecker said.

Pecker gave the prosecutors what they wanted from a legal point of view. He directly connected the catch-and-kill schemes to Trump’s 2016 campaign and rebutted the notion he was concerned about family, not politics. That’s bad news for Trump. And if he’s convicted, polls naturally show it could have a significant impact on the election. But in the meantime, the legal technicalities may be less important than the larger tabloid narrative that is dominating the media and blotting out any competing message from Trump.

During a break in the trial, the former president tried yesterday to attack Biden for weak economic growth numbers. In a trial-less campaign year, the Trump criticism would have been the main election story of the day.

“We want to be out there talking about our issues in these battleground states, and we’re just pinned down for weeks in New York,” JOHN McLAUGHLIN, one of Trump’s pollsters, told POLITICO’s Natalie Allison.

Not only are they pinned down there, but the trial itself has turned into a running commentary on many of the things the Trump campaign wants voters to forget about the Trump years. Pecker’s testimony will continue today under cross examination. More on that from NYT

MEANWHILE, AT THE SUPREME COURT— Things were better for Trump in Washington. While the Supreme Court does not seem likely to endorse his expansive definition of presidential immunity, it does seem poised to carve out some new rules that would prevent prosecution for certain official acts. More important for Trump, the court seemed likely to send the case back to the lower courts for fact-finding — a move that could easily delay the case until well after Election Day. Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney break down the other key takeaways from Thursday’s oral arguments.

Happy Friday. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.

THE PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: WAGNER MOURA — Moura plays a Reuters war correspondent on a mission to interview the president in the hit film “Civil War,” which we highly recommend. The movie raises lots of questions about the perils of extreme polarization, the state of journalism, and the possibility of events that are currently unimaginable happening in America.

Moura is best known in the U.S. for his role as PABLO ESCOBAR on Netflix’s “Narcos.” But he’s also a former journalist, a political activist and a writer and director himself: His 2019 movie “Marighella,” about the coup and the counter-revolution it inspired in Brazil in the 1960s, incurred the wrath of then-president JAIR BOLSONARO in Moura’s home country. Check out our conversation on this week’s episode of Deep Dive, which you can listen to on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

TALK OF THIS TOWN — Michael Schaffer’s WHCD week Capital City column: “‘No Fingerprints’: A Dark-Arts PR Operative Is About to Tell All: PHIL ELWOOD is one of Washington’s most wily manipulators of news. After his scathing memoir is published this June, will he ever spin in this town again?”

CLICKER — It’s back! POLITICO Magazine delivers a second annual edition of the Thirsty Awards, recognizing the most shamelessly media-seeking members of Congress. Among the honors bestowed: “The ‘I’m Not Like Other Dems’ Award,” “The ‘I Just Got Here and I’m Already Bored With the House’ Award,” “The Excellence in Trolling Award” and much more.

WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY

On the Hill

The Senate and the House are out.

What we’re watching … Is there a congressional coup afoot among Utah Republicans? Last night, Sen. MIKE LEE (R-Utah) endorsed conservative former Special Forces officer COLBY JENKINS in 2nd District House race — which wouldn’t be such a big deal if GOP Rep. CELESTE MALOY wasn’t already in the seat after winning a special election last year to replace her former boss CHRIS STEWART. Lee’s endorsement comes days before the Utah GOP convention, where Maloy is relying on a delegate vote to grant her access to the June 25 primary ballot.

At the White House

Biden will receive the President’s Daily Brief in the morning. The president will depart New York around noon to return to D.C.

VP KAMALA HARRIS will record radio interviews with Rev. AL SHARPTON for “Keepin’ it Real” and RYAN CAMERON for “Uncensored.” Later in the day, the VP will receive briefings and conduct internal meetings with staff.

PLAYBOOK READS

ALL POLITICS

CAMPUS UNREST UPDATES — The campus demonstrations over the Israel-Hamas war across the country have “handed Republicans a way to hammer two of their favorite targets: Liberal academia, where pro-Palestinian sentiment has long flourished, and Democratic leaders, who are so far rebuffing calls to roll out the National Guard in response to disruptive demonstrations,” Christopher Cadelago reports.

The Democratic response: “Officials led by the White House on Thursday spurned the politically charged request from House Speaker MIKE JOHNSON to deploy troops to quell the pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University, turning back the question to governors even as they provided them air cover.”

And second gentleman DOUG EMHOFF held “private calls with two Jewish community leaders at Columbia University earlier this week,” Adam Cancryn and Eugene Daniels report. “Emhoff, the nation’s most prominent Jewish official, also emphasized that ‘no student should feel unsafe on campus and offered his support on behalf of the Administration.’”

In New York: “Gov. KATHY HOCHUL has so far declined to seek federal assistance in the face of the swelling protests, which grew as university officials invited police onto the campus and they made hundreds of arrests,” Chris notes.

In California: Administrators at the University of Southern California yesterday announced that they were canceling the main commencement ceremony, planned for May 10. Meanwhile, Los Angeles police arrested nearly 100 people protesting on the USC campus late into Wednesday evening, arriving in riot gear to clear an encampment at the center of campus. And GOP Senate candidate STEVE GARVEY urged law enforcement and campus leaders to take swift action against protesters, whom he described as “terrorists.” More from Lara Korte

TRUMP CARDS

INSIDE TRUMP 2.0 — Trump allies are “quietly drafting proposals that would attempt to erode the Federal Reserve’s independence if the former president wins a second term, in the midst of a deepening divide among his advisers over how aggressively to challenge the central bank’s authority,” WSJ’s Andrew Restuccia, Nick Timiraos and Alex Leary report.

“A small group of the president’s allies — whose work is so secretive that even some prominent former Trump economic aides weren’t aware of it — has produced a roughly 10-page document outlining a policy vision for the central bank, according to people familiar with the matter. ...

The group also contends that Trump, if he returns to the White House, would have the authority to oust JEROME POWELL as Fed chair before his four-year term ends in 2026, the people familiar with the matter said, though Powell would likely remain on the Fed’s board of governors.”

THE WHITE HOUSE

FOR YOUR RADAR — “Secret Service agent assigned to Kamala Harris detail involved in fight with other agents,” by the Washington Examiner’s Tom Rogan: “The incident occurred at the Washington, D.C.-area Andrews Air Force Base, before Harris arrived, and after the agent suffered what the Secret Service has characterized as a medical incident. … The Washington Examiner understands that the agent became aggressive with other agents. When the special agent in charge and a detail shift supervisor attempted to calm the agent, a physical altercation ensued.”

POLICY CORNER

COAL WORLD — Coal’s erosion as a fuel and political force in the U.S. is accelerating. Two of Congress’ most staunch allies are exiting the stage with Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) retiring and Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL set to step down from leadership. And even Trump’s reelection probably wouldn’t save the country’s dirtiest fossil fuel, Alex Guillén writes this morning.

“The industry still has supporters in Congress, who are mobilizing to oppose Biden’s latest regulatory assault on carbon pollution from coal plants. But coal’s place in the economy has been in dramatic decline for years, displaced by cheap, abundant natural gas and the rise of renewable power as electricity producers bowed to demands to address climate change and the rising costs of abating pollution. The country’s coal output has dropped by half since peaking in 2008. Now the U.S. has a fleet of aging power plants that are slipping toward retirement — pushed on their way by persistent legal pressure from environmentalists who are hailing the new regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency.”

More top reads:

  • The Biden administration and dairy industry are racing to convince the public not to worry about the spread of the bird flu virus following the news yesterday that fragments of the disease are among the U.S. milk supply, Emily Cadei, Marcia Brown and David Lim report. “Despite the assurances, the Food and Drug Administration’s announcement that 1 in 5 retail milk samples tested positive for viral fragments suggests that the virus may have spread beyond symptomatic dairy herds.”
  • Washington’s fascination with AI has permeated its social life, from salon dinners to embassy receptions to networking at this weekend’s WHCA dinner. On the POLITICO Tech podcast this morning, media maven TAMMY HADDAD joins our colleague Steven Overly to talk about her Washington AI Network, the AI events this weekend and how AI is shaping D.C.’s social scene. Listen to the episode

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

THE ARMS DEAL — U.S. officials are “putting the finishing touches” on one of the largest Ukraine military aid packages to date, “preparing to ink contracts for as much as $6 billion worth of weapons and equipment for Kyiv’s forces,” Paul McLeary and Lara Seligman report.

“The package, which could be finalized and announced as soon as Friday, will dip into the $61 billion in Ukraine funding signed into law by President Joe Biden on Wednesday. It would include Patriot air defense munitions, artillery ammunition, drones, counter-drone weapons, and air-to-air missiles to be fitted on fighter planes, according to the two officials and a third person familiar with the planning.”

On the ground: Gaza-based militants “launched mortar rounds on Wednesday at Israeli forces making preparations for the U.S.-led effort to establish a new maritime aid route for Gaza,” Lara reports. “No American equipment was damaged as … U.S. military personnel were scheduled to soon begin construction of the pier, which the U.S. hopes will drastically expand the amount of aid that can reach the enclave.”

More top reads:

MEDIAWATCH

AREA MAN CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC — “The Onion Is Sold by G/O Media,” by NYT’s Katie Robertson: “The satirical news website was bought by a new firm in Chicago that took inspiration for its name, Global Tetrahedron, from a book written by The Onion’s staff.” More from new CEO Ben Collins

The top Onion headline after the news broke: “Give Us $1 Or ‘The Onion’ Disappears Forever”

TV TONIGHT — PBS’ “Washington Week”: Peter Baker, Laura Barrón-López, David Drucker and Mara Liasson.

SUNDAY SO FAR …

ABC “This Week”: Trump legal panel: Dan Abrams, Kate Shaw, Asha Rangappa, Timothy Parlatore and Norm Eisen. Panel: Donna Brazile, Sarah Isgur, Selina Wang and Susan Page.

CBS “Face the Nation”: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell … Catherine Russell … Robert Costa … Jan Crawford.

CNN “State of the Union”: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) … Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin … LA Mayor Karen Bass … Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

FOX “Fox News Sunday”: Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) … Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). Panel: Stef Kight, Juan Williams, Mollie Hemingway and Tiffany Smiley. Sunday Special: Stephen Breyer.

NBC “Meet the Press”: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell … Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). Panel: Geoff Bennett, Jonathan Martin, Marc Short and Jen Psaki.

NewsNation “The Hill Sunday”: Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.). Panel: Tia Mitchell, Daniella Diaz, Bob Cusack and David Drucker.

MSNBC “The Sunday Show”: Jim Wallis … Joe Walsh.

PLAYBOOKERS

OUT AND ABOUT — British Ambassador Karen Pierce and POLITICO CEO Goli Sheikholeslami hosted an evening of cocktails and conversation at the British Embassy yesterday evening, including the recording of including the recording of a special episode of the “Power Play” podcast with Pierce and Anne McElvoy. SPOTTED: Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.), AG Merrick Garland, Deputy AG Lisa Monaco, SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman, Australian Ambassador Kevin Rudd, Valerie Biden Owens, Missy Owens, Anita Dunn, Mike Donilon, Adrienne Watson, Chris LaCivita, Ian Sams, Ron Bonjean, Dan Conston, Alex Burns and MJ Lee, Adam Cancryn, Brakkton Booker, Daniella Diaz, Jen Haberkorn, Elena Schneider, Eli Stokols, Lauren Egan, Alex Ward, Katherine Tully-McManus, Elana Schor, Kate Irby, Ursula Perano, Nick Wu, Alex Isenstadt, Nahal Toosi, Matt Kaminski, Lara Seligman, Ally Mutnick, Lisa Kashinksy, Matt Wuerker, Madison Fernandez, Suzanne Lynch, Kit Maher, Justin Sink, Sabrina Siddiqui, Kara Swisher, Josh Dawsey, Phil Rucker, Jake Tapper, Major Garrett, Joy Reid, Manu Raju, Oliver Darcy, Jeff Mason, Jacqui Heinrich, Rachel Levitan, Paul Kane and Kristin Wilson, Tyler Pager, Ed O’Keefe, Matt Klapper, Sahil Kapur, John McCarthy, Katherine Knight Patterson, Zeke Miller, Seung Min Kim, Francesca Chambers, Francesca Craig, Scott Sloofman, Heather Podesta, Xochitl Hinojosa, Mo Elleithee, Evelyn Farkas, Hogan Gidley, Mike Inacay, Avery Jaffe, Emily Lenzner, Scott Mulhauser and Hilary Rosen. Pic … Another pic … And another

— Washingtonian co-hosted the 11th Annual Washington Women in Journalism awards yesterday evening, where four top female political journalists across different categories were honored: Kara Swisher received the Hall of Fame Achievement Award, Rachel Scott received the Outstanding Journalist in Broadcast Television, Carol Leonnig received the Outstanding Journalist in Print and Meridith McGraw was named Star to Watch. SPOTTED inside: Gloria Story Dittus, Cathy Merrill, Joe Crowley, John McCarthy, Heather Podesta, Katherine Maher, Matt Shay, David Chavern, Susan Neely, Anna Palmer, Rita Braver, Sally Buzbee and Yamiche Alcindor.

SPOTTED outside: Several female journalists who work for the outlet protesting what they saw as an irony: Even as the magazine feted women in journalism, the women who work in the Washingtonian newsroom were not invited. Instead, they handed out flyers from the Washingtonian Guild calling for the company to institute fair pay and paid parental leave policies. Security on the premises could be heard encouraging guests to throw away the flyers. Pics

— SPOTTED last night at GLAAD, Precision Strategies and Town & Country’s Bytes and Bylines event at Irish Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason’s residence co-hosted by Susanna Quinn, Eric Kuhn, Stephanie Cutler, Sarah Kate Ellis, Adrienne Elrod, Karen Finney and Adam Rathe: Dennis Cheng, Sara Fisher, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Wilson Cruz, Alok Patel, Karen Travers, Rachel Scott, Cecilia Vega, Major Garrett, Ed O’Keefe, Kyle Griffin, Anthony Fauci, Alana Beard, Deanne Criswell, Isabella Guzman, Tona Brown, Jennifer Griffin, Madeleine Rivera, Kenneth Moton, Chris Nguyen, V. Spehar, Erin Reed, Ali Rubin, Annalise Myre, Andrew Zucker, Ashley Parker, Avery Miller, Daniel Koh, David Mcintosh, Elizabeth Thorp, Heather Podesta, Jackie Kucinich and Jackie Rooney.

— SPOTTED at WME, Puck and Snapchat’s party celebrating the Fourth Estate, held at The Riggs Hotel: Christian Muirhead, Richard Weitz, Aaron Sorkin, Matt Belloni, Peter Hamby, Jeffrey Katzenberg, John Boehner, Sherrilyn Ifill, Tim Ryan, Jonathan Capehart, Jon Finer, Anita Dunn, Debra O’Connell, Jessica Kurdali, KC Sullivan, Alison Pepper, Ramon Escobar, Mini Timmaraju, Abby Livingston, Tamara Keith, Joanna Coles, Peter Baker, Symone Sanders, Amna Nawaz, Pamela Brown, Shawna Thomas, Geoff Duncan, Jon Favreau, John Heilemann, Oliver Darcy, Kasie Hunt, Barak Ravid, Kai Bird, Bradley Singer, Jay Mandel, Henry Reisch, Gail Ross, Jane Meyer and Howard Yoon.

— SPOTTED at the Meridian International Center for the White House Foreign Press Pass Party co-chaired by Ryan Lizza and Olivia Nuzzi, Taka Abe, Jim Acosta and Liz Landers, Josh Dawsey, Jennifer Griffin and Greg Myre, Ryan Heath, Mary Louise Kelly, Raquel Krähenbühl, Anna Palmer, Amna Nawaz, Symone Sanders, Jessica Dean and Alex Katz and DJ’d by Steve Landberg: French Ambassador Laurent Bili, Canadian Ambassador Kirsten Hillman, Costa Rican Ambassador Catalina Crespo-Sancho, Panamanian Ambassador Ramon Martinez, Swiss Ambassador Jacques Pitteloud, Belgian Ambassador Jean-Arthur Regibeau, Jessica Rosenworcel, Matt Kaminski, Stuart and Gwen Holliday, George Conway, Katherine Maher, Ashley Chang and Bennett Richardson.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Former first lady Melania Trump … State Department’s Suzy George and Nicole Elkon … POLITICO’s Emily Schultheis … Luke Frans … AKPD Message and Media’s Larry Grisolano … Jazz Pharmaceuticals’ Karas Gross … Nick Penniman … Dan Meyer … NPR’s Domenico Montanaro and Ben Fishel … John Leganski … U.S. News and World Report’s Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder … Ebbie Yazdani … Rich Feuer Anderson’s Jared Sawyer … Shana Teehan … Paulina Firozi … Chris Curry … Urban Emu’s Vlad Gorshkov … Jonathan Rauch … NBCUniversal’s Phil Tahtakran … Meagan McCanna … CNN’s Jessica Schneider … Colin Wilhelm … Jackson Richman … Alex Morgan of the Progressive Turnout Project … NYT’s Russell Goldman … Kristi Stone Hamrick … former Reps. Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.) and Rod Blum (R-Iowa) … Carter Reese of Bullpen Strategy Group … Stagwell’s Jay Leveton

Send Playbookers tips to [email protected] or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.

An earlier version of this newsletter misspelled SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman’s name. It also misspelled the name of Swiss Ambassador Jacques Pitteloud.