Biden goes long form

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Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration. With Allie Bice.

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JOE BIDEN does solo press conferences so rarely that the build up to Wednesday’s session became a news story in its own right.

The networks and cable news outlets gave the news conference the primetime treatment. The four big broadcast networks carried much of the beginning of Biden’s remarks, while the cable news networks carried the entire two hour affair. CNN aired a scorecard of the administration’s wins and losses over the last 12 months, while Fox News ran a highlight reel of White House correspondent PETER DOOCY’s moments confronting the president over the past year on issues like Afghanistan and Covid-19.

In preparation for the event, the White House Correspondents Association told members last week that, at the White House’s instructions, they still had to “live under a 42-person cap” due to distancing requirements sparked by Omicron. The organization chose 30 reporters representing half of the press corps, attempting to ensure news organizations with the biggest reach were represented.

For the lucky few who got to attend, Biden’s presser was an event-filled two hours—one conducted with utter disregard to this newsletters’ typical early evening deadline. For those who missed the affair, here are the highlights:

Length of the press conference: 1 hour 51 minutes (and he started on time!)

Stamina!: That’s longer than the longest news conferences by Trump (1 hr 26 mins) and Obama (1 hr 27 mins), per veteran White house reporter MARK KNOLLER.

Biden’s Covid mea culpa: “Should we have done more testing earlier? Yes”

But actually: “I didn’t overpromise, but I have probably outperformed what anyone thought would happen."

The queen of follow-ups: NBC’s KRISTEN WELKER, who managed to sneak in six (!!!) questions.

Biggest surprise: Biden specifically called on News Nation’s ALLISON HARRIS third, an unexpected move by a president whose White House tends to field questions from legacy news outlets first.

Biden on Republicans: “I did not anticipate that there would be such a stalwart effort to make sure that the most important thing was that President Biden didn’t get anything done.”

But what about Obama? “[Republicans] weren’t nearly as obstructionist as they are now.”

A top Republican Senate aide’s take: “This press conference was Ron Klain’s nightmare come true. The President got to speak his own mind without the White House staff interfering.”

Bookmark this quote: “Big nations can’t bluff.” (Was that, in a way, a bluff?)

Any staff shakeup?: “I’m satisfied with the team.”

New Year’s resolutions: Paraphrasing Biden here, he said he’d get out of D.C. more often, receive more outside advice, and get more involved with Democrats’ midterm campaigns.

News on BBB: “It’s clear to me that we are going to have to break it up.”

On Afghanistan: “I make no apologies for what I did.”

What about Kamala?: “She’s gonna be my running mate” in 2024, if he runs.

The polls? “I don’t believe the polls.”

Post-presser chyrons:

CNN: “BIDEN: IT’S BEEN A YEAR OF CHALLENGES BUT ALSO A YEAR OF ENORMOUS PROGRESS”

MSNBC: “BIDEN LOOKS FOR RESET AFTER CHALLENGING FIRST YEAR”

FOX: “BIDEN GRILLED BY REPORTERS ON CRISIS-FILLED YEAR”

Funniest out-of-context quote: “It’s okay, I’m a big boy.”

POTUS plays pundit:

On voting rights — “I predict we’ll get something done on the electoral reform side.”

On Putin’s Ukraine invasion strategy — “My guess is he will move in, he has to do something."

On cable news (sort of) — “The cables are heading south, they’re losing viewership. Fox is doing okay for a while, but it’s not gaining. A lot of the rest are predicted to be not very much in the mix in the next four to five years. I don’t know if that’s true or not.”

Psaki clean-up: After Biden’s comments on Russia, press secretary JEN PSAKI sent a statement that led with, “President Biden has been clear with the Russian President: If any Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border, that’s a renewed invasion, and it will be met with a swift, severe, and united response from the United States and our Allies.”

SEND YOUR HAWT TAKE — We want to incorporate more of your feedback. Is there something we missed in today’s edition? Do you have a tip to share or a thought on our coverage? Send us an email or text and we will try to include your feedback in the next day’s edition. Can be anonymous, on background, etc. Email us at [email protected] or you can text/Signal Alex at 8183240098 or Max at 7143455427.

Yesterday, we wrote about how even some of Biden’s most vocal supporters among the pundit class have begun to cool on the president.

JENNIFER RUBIN, who didn’t respond to our email yesterday, tweeted: “I don’t say he is ‘in trouble’…typical.” JEFF HAUSER took issue with complaints about the president’s focus on voting rights: “the idea that Biden, who entered the race focused on civil rights issues in 2019, is undermining his campaign’s logic by fighting for civil rights.,.. that’s insane.”

A former senior Trump admin official chimed in to roll their eyes at Biden complaints about the press, pointing to the reaction to the new website that allowed people to order at home Covid tests for free. “Republicans find the Biden Administration’s complaints about the way the media treats them laughable….If the last Administration had launched a website in the middle of record case counts that limited you to four tests and wouldn’t get you the tests for at best two weeks…there would be a 24-7 news cycle about those facts and deeming this an absolute failure.”

Do you work in the Biden administration? Are you in touch with the White House? Are you Speaker NANCY PELOSI? We want to hear from you — and we’ll keep you anonymous. Email us at [email protected] or you can text/Signal Alex at 8183240098.

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POTUS PUZZLER

From the White House Historical Association

Which first lady ensured the White House had a music room and three pianos?

(Answer at the bottom.)

The Oval

BIDEN FRIEND LOSES JOB — New York Times security guard JACQUELYN BRITTANY announced today that the Times laid her off. Brittany officially put in Biden’s name for the Democratic nomination at the DNC in 2020 and had a starring role in the NYT documentary about their editorial board endorsement.

“I do love The New York Times, but in that case I think I was more the voice for the people, ya know,” she told us last year. We asked her what happened and she wrote, “Such a long story but they felt like it’s the right thing to do. Wrong!! Can’t say too much just yet.” The Times confirmed to us that she was no longer with the company, but did not disclose the reasons why.

KLAIN BLITZ: Chief of staff RON KLAIN is doing a round of on-the-record media, with interviews in the Wall Street Journal and POLITICO. He’ll also be on Morning Joe tomorrow.

REED SPEAKS: The Washington Post had a rare, if boring, on-the-record comment from deputy chief of staff BRUCE REED in their story today: “The White House has done a very good job of helping the president carry out the agenda he ran on with the narrowest of margins in Congress and in the midst of enormous challenges at home and abroad. So I think that the strategy for the year ahead is the same formula we followed for the past year, which is keep working, keep getting things done, keep moving the ball downfield.”

TOUGH QUOTE FOR JOD: EDWARD ISAAC DOVERE’s latest CNN story has some tough words for the White House political team overseen by deputy chief of staff JEN O’MALLEY DILLON.

“It’s hard for me to believe that the President knows how little his political shop is doing to support Democratic majorities in the Senate and the House. All of us believe that the President would be shocked to learn how little the White House political team is doing,” said one senior Democratic elected official in Washington, voicing widespread worries about the midterms.

THE BUREAUCRATS

WALENSKY’S APOLOGY TOUR (SORTA) — Walenksy has given interviews to the Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, and now the Boston Globe recently as she fights back against criticism of her stewardship over the CDC. While she acknowledged missteps to the Journal earlier this week, the Globe’s JESS BIDGOOD led her story today with this:

“Dr. Rochelle Walensky forcefully defended her bumpy CDC tenure in a Globe interview this week, describing her critics as ‘naysayers’ who have helped sow the public confusion she has been accused of creating and pointing out that many Americans are still not following her agency’s most basic guidance.”

Agenda Setting

YOU’VE GOT TO AC-CENT-U-ATE THE POSITIVE — As Biden nears his one-year mark in office, his administration is urging Democrats nervous about losing Congress in November to talk up the party’s legislative accomplishments , SARAH FERRIS and NICHOLAS WU report.

While the Senate nears an ugly clash on election reform, key White House officials spent Tuesday on a pair of calls with rank-and-file House aides, stressing the party’s victories on a bipartisan infrastructure law signed in November and a massive pandemic relief bill passed in March. Senior House Democrats picked up that focus on Wednesday, ticking off upbeat statistics on the economy and controlling the coronavirus.

Advise and Consent

TROUBLE BREWING FOR FDA NOM — ALICE MIRANDA OLLSTEIN and LAUREN GARDNER report that the FDA’s decision to ease access to abortion pills is fueling a new push by anti-abortion rights groups to derail the president’s nominee to lead the agency, ROBERT CALIFF, potentially endangering his confirmation.

The effort has already swung some previously undecided Republican senators, like TOMMY TUBERVILLE of Alabama and ROGER MARSHALL of Kansas. Both initially praised Califf during his confirmation hearing in the Senate health committee and appeared inclined to support him before voting against advancing the nomination in committee over “pro-life issues.”

Filling the Ranks

MORE TOP DIPLOMATS TAPPED — Biden announced plans on Wednesday to nominate four new ambassadors, moving to fill vacancies at U.S. embassies in Brazil, the United Kingdom, Chad and Denmark, reports SAMUEL BENSON.

Three of the nominees are former ambassadors, including JANE HARTLEY, an adviser and former ambassador to France and Monaco whom Biden will nominate as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom. Biden’s pick for ambassador to Brazil is ELIZABETH BAGLEY, a longtime diplomat and attorney.

FOR PROS: The president also announced today he will nominate KATHRYN HUFF as the permanent head of the Energy Department’s nuclear energy program, KELSEY TAMBORINO reports.

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What We’re Reading

Biden administration defends Trump-era migrant expulsions, citing Covid-19 risk (CBS News’ Camilo Montoya-Galvez)

Power struggle among Biden appointees gets personal over race (WaPo’s Dan Lamothe)

What We’re Watching

Klain on MSNBC’s Morning Joe tomorrow at 6 a.m. ET, Psaki on America’s Newsroom with former White House press secretary DANA PERINO.

Where’s Joe

He received the President’s Daily Brief in the morning. The president also held a press conference in the East Room.

Where’s Kamala

She swore in MARK BRZEZINSKI to serve as the ambassador to Poland in the Vice President’s Ceremonial Office in the afternoon.

The Oppo Book

Both senior adviser BRIAN DEESE and Attorney General MERRICK GARLAND are fans of pop star TAYLOR SWIFT.

Deese admitted his fandom — and simultaneously blew up Garland’s spot — during a POLITICO Playbook interview in 2016, when he was working in the Obama administration. At the time, President BARACK OBAMA had just nominated Garland to fill the late Justice ANTHONY SCALIA’s spot on the Supreme Court.

Deese said that after listening to Swift with his 4-year-old daughter, who played her music on repeat, he got “reasonably into” the pop star’s work too.

“I’ve felt a little more self-conscious about that until, in the last week or two, getting to know Judge Garland is also reasonably into Taylor Swift,” Deese said. “I feel like I’m in pretty good company in that respect.”

We asked the Justice Department and the NEC if Deese and Garland had thoughts about the recent scarf/JAKE GYLLENHAAL controversy. They did not respond.

POTUS PUZZLER ANSWER

A music aficionado, first lady ABIGAIL FILLMORE was known to play duets with her talented daughter, MARY ABIGAIL.

Got a better question? Send us your hardest trivia question on the presidents and we may feature it on Wednesdays.

Edited by Emily Cadei

Maxwell Tani @maxwelltani

Allie Bice @alliebice

‘I’m so sorry’: Tearful Adele announces postponed Las Vegas residency on eve of debut

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Adele said on social media that half of her team has been out with COVID-19 and that it has been impossible to finish the show.

LAS VEGAS — In a tearful post on social media, Adele announced her Las Vegas residency is being delayed, saying the show is not ready and citing COVID-19 and other disruptions.

“Weekends With Adele” at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace was set to start Friday. Shows were planned each weekend through April 16.

“I’m so sorry,” Adele said Thursday, fighting back tears. “My show ain’t ready. We’ve tried absolutely everything that we can to put it together in time and for it to be good enough for you but we’ve been absolutely destroyed by delivery delays and COVID.”

Adele said half of her team has been out with COVID-19 and that it has been impossible to finish the show.

“I can’t give you what I have right now and I’m gutted,” Adele said, apologizing for the last-minute decision.

She said all the dates will be rescheduled and that more information would be coming soon.

All dates will be rescheduled

More info coming soon

💔 pic.twitter.com/k0A4lXhW5l — Adele (@Adele) January 20, 2022

In a tweet, Caesars Palace said it understood fans’ disappointment but added: “Creating a show of this magnitude is incredibly complex. We fully support Adele and are confident the show she unveils at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace will be extraordinary.”

2021 was a very good year for Adele. Her album “30” arrived late last year and she recorded the highest album sales debut in four years. It was the biggest-selling album debut since Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” in 2017. Adele’s previous album, 2015’s “25,” still holds the record for most albums sold in a single week, with 3.38 million copies.

Report: UVA hires Taylor Lamb as quarterbacks coach

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Lamb takes over a very productive quarterback room at UVA, which under Jason Beck produced two current NFL quarterbacks in Kurt Benkert (Packers) and Bryce Perkins (Rams) as well as one of the nation’s leaders in passing yards with the record-setting Armstrong.

NFL Mock Draft Simulation: Eagles add defensive reinforcements

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Welcome back to BGN’s Mock Simulation Series. In these weekly articles, I use the awesome draft simulator over at The Draft Network to play out different draft scenarios for the Eagles. Philadelphia has a ton of picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, so there are plenty of avenues for roster improvement that we will explore over the next few months.

Pick 15: DeMarvin Leal, Defensive Lineman, Texas A&M

DeMarvin Leal is a high upside defender that can move around from playing defensive end in base defense to sliding inside to rush the passer. He is the type of athlete that thrives in the NFL and would be a swing for the fences for an Eagles defensive line that needs to get younger.

Pick 16: Tyler Linderbaum, Center, Iowa

This already feels like a player that will get mocked to the Eagles all offseason. Tyler Linderbaum is a physical, athletic center with tons of experience under his belt. With Landon Dickerson thriving at guard, Linderbaum could be the heir apparent to Jason Kelce.

Pick 19: Ahmad Gardner, Cornerback, Cincinnati

Ahmad Gardner might be the best pure cover cornerback in this draft. Pairing him with Darius Slay in the Eagles secondary would go a long way to making the Eagles defense a formidable unit.

Pick 51: Drake Jackson, Edge, USC

The Eagles make another splash on defense by addressing their edge rusher situation. Derek Barnett is on his way out and the Eagles need someone to play across from Josh Sweat. Drake Jackson is a great athlete with tons of room to get even better. He would be a day one contributor on this defense.

Pick 83: Brandon Smith, Linebacker, Penn State

Drafting Penn State linebackers is always a good idea. Brandon Smith is a really solid athlete with excellent football IQ and ability to lead a defense from the inside linebacker position. Linebacker has gone unaddressed for too long and Smith would be the answer the Eagles have been looking for.

Pick 120: Breece Hall, Running Back, Iowa State

The Eagles have cemented their identity as a team that pounds the rock. Unfortunately, their current group of running backs all have reliability issues when it comes to health. Jordan Howard has been banged up for a few years now and Miles Sanders, talented as he is, has missed eight games over the last two years. Breece Hall has been a reliable playmaking back for Iowa State since his freshman year. His blend of size, strength, and athletic ability make him a very exciting fit in this offense.

Pick 152: Greg Dulich, Tight End, UCLA

The Eagles used two tight end sets quite a bit this year, but with Zach Ertz out of the picture, only one of their tight ends is a reliable pass catcher. Greg Dulich has caught 68 passes and ten touchdowns in the last two years. Over his career at UCLA, he has averaged almost 18 yards a reception. He is a dangerous pass catching tight end who could give the Eagles tons of flexibility out of two tight end sets.

Pick 160: Justyn Ross, Wide Receiver, Clemson

The outlook at wide receiver is still a bit unclear for the Eagles. DeVonta Smith is the clear-cut top guy, but the team certainly needs help outside of his presence. The 2022 free agent class looks promising, but there’s no scenario where the Eagles shouldn’t try to address the position a bit through the draft. Justyn Ross’ career at Clemson was plagued by injuries, but he was a game changing player when healthy. This is a low risk, high reward pick at a position of need.

Pick 164: Isaac Taylor-Stuart, Cornerback, USC

Isaac Taylor-Stuart still has his best football ahead of him and it might not even be at cornerback. The 6’1” defender has potential safety convert written all over him given his speed and physicality at the cornerback position. Taylor-Stuart would give the Eagles much needed depth in their secondary while also being a promising developmental player.

Pick 194: Charleston Rambo, Wide Receiver, Miami

It is hard to believe, but Charleston Rambo set the single season catch record at Miami in 2021. Consider the names that preceded him and that is damn impressive. Rambo’s blend of size, smooth route running and excellent ball skills make him a very solid passing game option. While drops have been a long-standing problem for him, taking a bet on a receiver who has improved every year of his career is always smart this late in the draft. As an added bonus, Rambo would be reunited with Jalen Hurts after their year together at Oklahoma.

Pick 207: James Empey, Center, BYU

It wouldn’t be an Eagles draft without adding a few offensive lineman. Empey is an experienced and tough player who can slot in at any interior offensive line position. With the Eagles always having some injury concerns up front, having depth along the trenches is always good.

New poll shows Marjorie Taylor Greene is vulnerable in primary matchup

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A new poll obtained by Jewish Insider suggests that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) may be facing a viable Republican challenger in Jennifer Strahan as the first-term incumbent prepares to defend her seat in the open House primary for Georgia’s newly drawn 14th Congressional District.

The poll, conducted by the GOP firm TargetPoint, shows that Strahan, a 35-year-old healthcare executive who lives in the southeast portion of the district and entered the race this past September, still faces an uphill battle in her quest to unseat Greene, the far-right conspiracy theorist who has frequently drawn controversy for her inflammatory public statements.

Among 450 potential Republican primary voters who were surveyed, 60% said they would vote for Greene over Strahan if the election were held at the time the poll was conducted between Jan. 13 and 17. Strahan, for her part, pulled in 30% of the voting share. The margin of error is 4.6%.

But when voters were informed, among other things, of Greene’s history of incendiary comments, including “a number of anti-Jewish statements” as well as her support for the Nation of Islam, the poll showed that Strahan was statistically tied with the freshman congresswoman at 41%.

The poll was commissioned by “a group of Georgia Republicans who want to show that there is a viable, conservative alternative to” Greene, according to a Republican political consultant and fundraiser in Georgia who spoke with JI on the condition of anonymity.

The consultant declined to provide specific names of the backers. There is no other publicly available polling on the race.

Strahan is among three Republican challengers in the race, including Mark Daniel Clay and Charles Lutin.

Marcus Flowers, one of four Democrats competing to unseat Greene, has raised $3.3 million, according to the Federal Election Commission, but experts view the Army veteran as a long shot due to the partisan makeup of the district, which remains deeply conservative even with a redrawn congressional map that includes deep-blue portions of southwest Cobb County in metropolitan Atlanta. Much of the district is situated in the more rural northwest part of the state.

The poll suggests that the new boundaries could slightly benefit Strahan in the primary. The small number of respondents who said they were undecided or envisioned voting in the Democratic primary or not at all were asked exclusively if they would “consider voting for Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Republican opponent.” Though the survey did not specify a candidate, 100% responded in the affirmative.

The primary will be held on May 24.

While the poll shows some promise for Strahan, she is facing a steep fundraising deficit. As of September, Strahan had only pulled in around $56,000, according to the latest filings from the FEC. Greene, by contrast, has raised $6.3 million.

But as Greene continues to draw scrutiny for her provocative statements, Strahan sees an opening, as she explained in an interview with JI last month.

During her brief time in Congress, Greene, 47, has often been accused of espousing antisemitic tropes, including support for QAnon conspiracy theories and social media comments in which she suggested that California wildfires were caused by a space laser controlled by a Jewish banking family.

Greene has also likened mask and vaccine mandates to Nazi Germany, even after apologizing for such comments and visiting the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

Earlier this month, Twitter permanently suspended Greene’s personal Twitter account, citing “repeated violations” of its COVID-19 misinformation policy.

On Thursday, Greene, posting to her Telegram account, once again likened vaccine mandates to Nazi Germany. “This past year the Democrat’s obsession with vaccine cards proved they are like the Nazi’s who forced people to carry ‘health pass,’” the congresswoman wrote.

In a statement to JI, Strahan said that such comments were further proof that Greene is unfit to serve in the House.

“Rep. Greene’s apologies in the past for similar comments clearly meant nothing to her,” Strahan charged. “Her behavior embarrasses most Georgians, displays her ignorance of history, and explains why she is so ineffective. Our district deserves new leadership.”

A spokesperson for Greene did not respond to a request for comment from JI.