Good Sunday morning. Sovereignty bested Journalism at the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby Saturday — and there is no shortage of MAGA and Trump administration officials calling it an “omen” and deriving some symbolic meaning from the result. .
President Donald Trump dodged questions about whether he’s required to uphold the Constitution. Running again in 2028, he said, is not something he’s “looking to do.” He sought to take credit for the “good parts” of the economy and disown the “bad parts.” And he acknowledged tariffs could be permanent.Those were among the highlights of a newsy interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that aired this morning. Though it didn’t reach Terry Moran-level of contentiousness, Trump and host Kristen Welker went back and forth on a number of hot-button topics that yielded some revealing answers.When pressed by Welker on whether citizens and noncitizens deserved due process, Trump said, “I don’t know. I’m not, I’m not a lawyer.” Reminded of the Fifth Amendment by Welker, Trump lamented that “we’d have to have a million or 2 million or 3 million trials. We have thousands of people that are some murderers and some drug dealers and some of the worst people on Earth.”Asked whether he needed to “uphold the Constitution of the United States as president,” Trump simply said: “I have to respond by saying, again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me, and they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said.”We checked in with our resident Supreme Court watcher and Rules of Law columnist Ankush Khadori on this point, and he underscored that in an April 7 decision, the court already weighed in on the Fifth Amendment. “The Supreme Court clearly said that the 5th Amendment entitles everyone, including aliens, to due process,” Ankush told us.One through line of the interview: the Constitution. That word appears 17 times in the rush transcript.
— Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) on whether Rubio can simultaneously serve as secretary of State and national security adviser, on CNN’s “State of the Union”: “Maybe slimming down some of that portfolio could make sense, but I don’t see how any individual could do both of those. … Even for a Marco Rubio, I think it’s too much.”On Trump’sCabinet meeting this week: “It was something that, frankly, I would have expected out of North Korea, maybe not out of a Cabinet meeting in America.”On Mike Waltz’s confirmation hearing as ambassador to the U.N.: “I think it will be a brutal confirmation hearing. … I think he’s going to have tough questions not only from Democrats, but from Republicans.”— Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) on whether cuts to Medicaid will be needed for the House Republicans’ spending megabill, on “Fox News Sunday”: “We can save over $1.5 trillion without touching a dime of the benefit funding. So the question is, will we be susceptible to the fear-mongering and the false rhetoric [from House Democrats]? And this is the same tired play they run. And unfortunately, Republicans haven’t collectively leaned in and just done the right thing.”— DNC Chair Ken Martin on DNC Vice Chair David Hogg’s push to primary Democrats, on “Fox News Sunday”: “I like David Hogg a lot. I think he’s an amazing young leader. But for me, you know this has always been about making sure that no party boss ever puts its thumb on the scale. In our party primary process, we should stay out. Our job is to be the referee, to call the balls and strikes, to make sure that we actually have a fair and level playing field.”
TOP-EDS: A roundup of the week’s must-read opinion pieces.
1.FIRST IN PLAYBOOK:“Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law has seen role diminished since the transition,” by POLITICO’s Felicia Schwartz and Robbie Gramer: Massad Boulos “telegraphed during the transition that he would hold significant sway on the Trump administration’s foreign policy,” but so far has “struggled from the start to attain much influence, even as he has found some unexpected success along the way.”Rubbing the wrong way: “POLITICO spoke to 10 people familiar with Boulos’ interactions, all of whom were granted anonymity to speak freely about internal administration workings. They described a man who has been given formal titles without clear responsibilities and kept out of key discussions, or been brought into negotiations after much of the work has already been completed. Four of them said the White House and State Department have been frustrated by his freelancing efforts, and a number of cumulative incidents have soured Boulos’ relationships across parts of the administration.”2. THE AGE-OLD QUESTION: In February 2024, months before the issue of former President Joe Biden’s age and acuity upended the campaign, “his top White House aides debated having him undergo a cognitive test to prove his fitness for a second term but ultimately decided against the move.” That’s according to a new excerpt from Tyler Pager, Josh Dawsey and Isaac Arnsdorf’s forthcoming book, “2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,” ($29.76) previewed by NYT’s Reid Epstein.Why they balked: “Mr. Biden’s aides were confident that he would pass a cognitive test, according to the book, but they worried that the mere fact of his taking one would raise new questions about his mental abilities. At the same time, Mr. Biden’s longtime doctor, Kevin O’Connor, had told aides he would not take the 81-year-old president’s political standing into consideration when treating him.” Recall: This was the same month that special counsel Robert Hur released a report calling Biden “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”3. HOW IT HAPPENED: WaPo is up with a seven-bylined account of the race inside the Trump administration to send hundreds of Venezuelans who the administration alleged were gang members within 24 hours of a March 13 announcement. The report, drawing on immigration and court records, interviews with attorneys, friends and family members, uncovers “information about more than 50 of the men believed to be imprisoned” and how the White House “pressed forward with the removals, even as Venezuela agreed to accept deportation flights, in a high-stakes bid to show power and deter migrants from attempting to cross the border illegally.”The legal question: “The review shows that despite the administration’s claims, many of the immigrants sent to El Salvador had entered the United States legally and were actively complying with U.S. immigration rules,” WaPo reports. At least two “had been approved by the State Department to resettle as refugees in the U.S. after extensive vetting by federal law enforcement authorities” and at least four “had protections against removal through temporary protected status.”4. UNDER THE INFLUENCE:“What It Takes to Win — or Lose — in a Meeting With Trump,” by WSJ’s Josh Dawsey, Maggie Severns and Lindsay Ellis: “The president is far more accessible than many of his predecessors and is often happy to take meetings directly, especially with chief executives he has seen quoted in newspapers or on television, according to people who have interacted with the White House. His staff, lobbyists say, aren’t as ideological about some policy issues, and many aren’t longtime government hands with fixed views.”Red vs. blue: “Lobbyists and trade groups working with chief executives are coaching clients that it is best to bring data and specifics to meetings with the president or his staff. In particular, showing a tariff could hurt a red state or area is a popular pitch. As one GOP strategist who has coached clients put it: Make the case that you will have to lay off people in Ohio versus in a blue state like Massachusetts. Others have promised Trump the possibility of an announcement, such as jobs, that will benefit him politically.”
5. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: Israel is “planning to take control of — and severely restrict — the distribution of humanitarian aid inside the Gaza Strip, using private American security contractors, as a condition for lifting its two-month blockade of supplies into the enclave,” WaPo’s Claire Parker, Karen DeYoung, Gerry Shih and Cate Brown report from Jerusalem. “Details are expected to be finalized at a meeting of Israel’s security cabinet Sunday. The plan has support from Israel’s government and security establishment, and is expected to be put into motion before the end of the month, possibly as soon as President Donald Trump’s visit to the region in mid-May.”Hegseth hitting the road: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is planning to travel to Israel ahead of Trump’s Middle East trip, Axios’ Barak Ravid reports. “Hegseth will arrive in Israel on May 12 and meet with his counterpart Israel Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Hegseth will then travel to Saudi Arabia to join Trump’s trip to the Gulf.”6. TARIFF TALK: Despite the global upheaval that Trump’s tariff agenda has created, a handful of “small and midsize U.S. manufacturers are seeing an uptick in orders from companies looking to avoid paying new tariffs, stoking hope that the levies might boost their businesses over the longer-term,” WSJ’s Jeanne Whalen and Bob Tita report. The levies are “making these manufacturers’ goods more price competitive with imports for the first time in years, they say.”Upon further review: The White House has set up a new webpage, titled “The Trump Effect,” to tout American investments on the back of Trump’s tariffs. But a “review of the promised spending reveals that some companies committed to their investments previously, including under the Biden administration. Some are part of regular, ongoing business costs. Others lack specific commitments,” WaPo’s Daniel Gilbert, Gerrit De Vynck and Evan Halper write.7. BIG BLOWUP IN VA:“Virginia GOP roiled by controversy over sexually explicit photos,” by POLITICO’s Ben Jacobs, Andrew Howard and Liz Crampton: “The conflict centers on the political future of lieutenant governor candidate John Reid, who resisted a week of pressure from some Virginia Republican Party leaders to step aside over allegations that he maintained a social media account with sexually explicit images of men. Reid, the first openly gay candidate for statewide office in Virginia, denied that he was connected to the photos and has argued that efforts to remove him from the Republican ticket are rooted in discrimination against his sexual orientation.”The larger context: “The fallout has created a rift within the state party as it faces an uphill battle in November. President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk’s war on the federal workforce has hit hard in a state where more than 150,000 federal employees live. The controversy, Republicans conceded, could tarnish [Gov. Glenn] Youngkin’s efforts to position himself as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, and it is widely viewed as a misstep.”8. POISONED IVY: Trump’s all-out assault on the academic world has primarily targeted the Ivy League. “He is withholding, or threatening to withhold, billions of dollars in federal funding from six of the eight schools because, he says, they are citadels of antisemitism and liberal indoctrination,” NYT’s Elisabeth Bumiller writes. But Trump at various points through both of his presidencies has touted the Ivy League credentials of those who have come into his administration, proving that the elite schools remain “cultural touchstones for Mr. Trump. Beyond the politics is a complex brew of resentment and reverence that the president, an Ivy League graduate himself, has long harbored for a club that has never really accepted him.”9. MUSK READ:“Musk gets his Texas wish. SpaceX launch site is approved as the new city of Starbase,” by AP’s Valerie Gonzalez and Jim Vertuno: “A vote Saturday to formally organize Starbase as a city was approved by a lopsided margin among the small group of voters who live there and are mostly Musk’s employees at SpaceX. With all the votes in, the tally was 212 in favor to 6 against, according to results published online by the Cameron County Elections Department. Musk celebrated in a post on his social platform, X, saying it is ‘now a real city!’”
SPOTTED at the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum in Arizona this weekend: Cindy McCain, Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), James Lankford (R-Texas) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Craig Goldman (R-Texas) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, Kyrsten Sinema, Doug Ducey, Navy Adm. Samuel Paparo, retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, Gina Raimondo, Roger Carstens, David Pressman, David Axelrod, Evelyn Farkas, Elisa Massimino, Rick Davis, Dan Twining, Damon Wilson, Ishaan Tharoor, Michael Bidwill, Demetri Sevastopulo, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Sue Gordon, Frances Fragos Townsend, Shane Harris, Ryan Tseng, Eliza Collins, Kelly O’Donnell, Jon Decker, Liz Economy, Andrew Shearer, Josh Rogin, Courtney Kube, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Alsu Kurmasheva, Maribel Pérez Wadsworth and Major Garrett.Send Playbookers tips toortext us on Signal here. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editorZack Stantonand Playbook Daily Briefing producerCallan Tansill-Suddath.
CONTINUE READING
President Donald Trump dodged questions about whether he’s required to uphold the Constitution. Running again in 2028, he said, is not something he’s “looking to do.” He sought to take credit for the “good parts” of the economy and disown the “bad parts.” And he acknowledged tariffs could be permanent.Those were among the highlights of a newsy interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that aired this morning. Though it didn’t reach Terry Moran-level of contentiousness, Trump and host Kristen Welker went back and forth on a number of hot-button topics that yielded some revealing answers.When pressed by Welker on whether citizens and noncitizens deserved due process, Trump said, “I don’t know. I’m not, I’m not a lawyer.” Reminded of the Fifth Amendment by Welker, Trump lamented that “we’d have to have a million or 2 million or 3 million trials. We have thousands of people that are some murderers and some drug dealers and some of the worst people on Earth.”Asked whether he needed to “uphold the Constitution of the United States as president,” Trump simply said: “I have to respond by saying, again, I have brilliant lawyers that work for me, and they are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said.”We checked in with our resident Supreme Court watcher and Rules of Law columnist Ankush Khadori on this point, and he underscored that in an April 7 decision, the court already weighed in on the Fifth Amendment. “The Supreme Court clearly said that the 5th Amendment entitles everyone, including aliens, to due process,” Ankush told us.One through line of the interview: the Constitution. That word appears 17 times in the rush transcript.
— Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) on whether Rubio can simultaneously serve as secretary of State and national security adviser, on CNN’s “State of the Union”: “Maybe slimming down some of that portfolio could make sense, but I don’t see how any individual could do both of those. … Even for a Marco Rubio, I think it’s too much.”On Trump’sCabinet meeting this week: “It was something that, frankly, I would have expected out of North Korea, maybe not out of a Cabinet meeting in America.”On Mike Waltz’s confirmation hearing as ambassador to the U.N.: “I think it will be a brutal confirmation hearing. … I think he’s going to have tough questions not only from Democrats, but from Republicans.”— Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) on whether cuts to Medicaid will be needed for the House Republicans’ spending megabill, on “Fox News Sunday”: “We can save over $1.5 trillion without touching a dime of the benefit funding. So the question is, will we be susceptible to the fear-mongering and the false rhetoric [from House Democrats]? And this is the same tired play they run. And unfortunately, Republicans haven’t collectively leaned in and just done the right thing.”— DNC Chair Ken Martin on DNC Vice Chair David Hogg’s push to primary Democrats, on “Fox News Sunday”: “I like David Hogg a lot. I think he’s an amazing young leader. But for me, you know this has always been about making sure that no party boss ever puts its thumb on the scale. In our party primary process, we should stay out. Our job is to be the referee, to call the balls and strikes, to make sure that we actually have a fair and level playing field.”
TOP-EDS: A roundup of the week’s must-read opinion pieces.
1.FIRST IN PLAYBOOK:“Tiffany Trump’s father-in-law has seen role diminished since the transition,” by POLITICO’s Felicia Schwartz and Robbie Gramer: Massad Boulos “telegraphed during the transition that he would hold significant sway on the Trump administration’s foreign policy,” but so far has “struggled from the start to attain much influence, even as he has found some unexpected success along the way.”Rubbing the wrong way: “POLITICO spoke to 10 people familiar with Boulos’ interactions, all of whom were granted anonymity to speak freely about internal administration workings. They described a man who has been given formal titles without clear responsibilities and kept out of key discussions, or been brought into negotiations after much of the work has already been completed. Four of them said the White House and State Department have been frustrated by his freelancing efforts, and a number of cumulative incidents have soured Boulos’ relationships across parts of the administration.”2. THE AGE-OLD QUESTION: In February 2024, months before the issue of former President Joe Biden’s age and acuity upended the campaign, “his top White House aides debated having him undergo a cognitive test to prove his fitness for a second term but ultimately decided against the move.” That’s according to a new excerpt from Tyler Pager, Josh Dawsey and Isaac Arnsdorf’s forthcoming book, “2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America,” ($29.76) previewed by NYT’s Reid Epstein.Why they balked: “Mr. Biden’s aides were confident that he would pass a cognitive test, according to the book, but they worried that the mere fact of his taking one would raise new questions about his mental abilities. At the same time, Mr. Biden’s longtime doctor, Kevin O’Connor, had told aides he would not take the 81-year-old president’s political standing into consideration when treating him.” Recall: This was the same month that special counsel Robert Hur released a report calling Biden “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”3. HOW IT HAPPENED: WaPo is up with a seven-bylined account of the race inside the Trump administration to send hundreds of Venezuelans who the administration alleged were gang members within 24 hours of a March 13 announcement. The report, drawing on immigration and court records, interviews with attorneys, friends and family members, uncovers “information about more than 50 of the men believed to be imprisoned” and how the White House “pressed forward with the removals, even as Venezuela agreed to accept deportation flights, in a high-stakes bid to show power and deter migrants from attempting to cross the border illegally.”The legal question: “The review shows that despite the administration’s claims, many of the immigrants sent to El Salvador had entered the United States legally and were actively complying with U.S. immigration rules,” WaPo reports. At least two “had been approved by the State Department to resettle as refugees in the U.S. after extensive vetting by federal law enforcement authorities” and at least four “had protections against removal through temporary protected status.”4. UNDER THE INFLUENCE:“What It Takes to Win — or Lose — in a Meeting With Trump,” by WSJ’s Josh Dawsey, Maggie Severns and Lindsay Ellis: “The president is far more accessible than many of his predecessors and is often happy to take meetings directly, especially with chief executives he has seen quoted in newspapers or on television, according to people who have interacted with the White House. His staff, lobbyists say, aren’t as ideological about some policy issues, and many aren’t longtime government hands with fixed views.”Red vs. blue: “Lobbyists and trade groups working with chief executives are coaching clients that it is best to bring data and specifics to meetings with the president or his staff. In particular, showing a tariff could hurt a red state or area is a popular pitch. As one GOP strategist who has coached clients put it: Make the case that you will have to lay off people in Ohio versus in a blue state like Massachusetts. Others have promised Trump the possibility of an announcement, such as jobs, that will benefit him politically.”
5. MIDDLE EAST LATEST: Israel is “planning to take control of — and severely restrict — the distribution of humanitarian aid inside the Gaza Strip, using private American security contractors, as a condition for lifting its two-month blockade of supplies into the enclave,” WaPo’s Claire Parker, Karen DeYoung, Gerry Shih and Cate Brown report from Jerusalem. “Details are expected to be finalized at a meeting of Israel’s security cabinet Sunday. The plan has support from Israel’s government and security establishment, and is expected to be put into motion before the end of the month, possibly as soon as President Donald Trump’s visit to the region in mid-May.”Hegseth hitting the road: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is planning to travel to Israel ahead of Trump’s Middle East trip, Axios’ Barak Ravid reports. “Hegseth will arrive in Israel on May 12 and meet with his counterpart Israel Katz and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Hegseth will then travel to Saudi Arabia to join Trump’s trip to the Gulf.”6. TARIFF TALK: Despite the global upheaval that Trump’s tariff agenda has created, a handful of “small and midsize U.S. manufacturers are seeing an uptick in orders from companies looking to avoid paying new tariffs, stoking hope that the levies might boost their businesses over the longer-term,” WSJ’s Jeanne Whalen and Bob Tita report. The levies are “making these manufacturers’ goods more price competitive with imports for the first time in years, they say.”Upon further review: The White House has set up a new webpage, titled “The Trump Effect,” to tout American investments on the back of Trump’s tariffs. But a “review of the promised spending reveals that some companies committed to their investments previously, including under the Biden administration. Some are part of regular, ongoing business costs. Others lack specific commitments,” WaPo’s Daniel Gilbert, Gerrit De Vynck and Evan Halper write.7. BIG BLOWUP IN VA:“Virginia GOP roiled by controversy over sexually explicit photos,” by POLITICO’s Ben Jacobs, Andrew Howard and Liz Crampton: “The conflict centers on the political future of lieutenant governor candidate John Reid, who resisted a week of pressure from some Virginia Republican Party leaders to step aside over allegations that he maintained a social media account with sexually explicit images of men. Reid, the first openly gay candidate for statewide office in Virginia, denied that he was connected to the photos and has argued that efforts to remove him from the Republican ticket are rooted in discrimination against his sexual orientation.”The larger context: “The fallout has created a rift within the state party as it faces an uphill battle in November. President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk’s war on the federal workforce has hit hard in a state where more than 150,000 federal employees live. The controversy, Republicans conceded, could tarnish [Gov. Glenn] Youngkin’s efforts to position himself as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, and it is widely viewed as a misstep.”8. POISONED IVY: Trump’s all-out assault on the academic world has primarily targeted the Ivy League. “He is withholding, or threatening to withhold, billions of dollars in federal funding from six of the eight schools because, he says, they are citadels of antisemitism and liberal indoctrination,” NYT’s Elisabeth Bumiller writes. But Trump at various points through both of his presidencies has touted the Ivy League credentials of those who have come into his administration, proving that the elite schools remain “cultural touchstones for Mr. Trump. Beyond the politics is a complex brew of resentment and reverence that the president, an Ivy League graduate himself, has long harbored for a club that has never really accepted him.”9. MUSK READ:“Musk gets his Texas wish. SpaceX launch site is approved as the new city of Starbase,” by AP’s Valerie Gonzalez and Jim Vertuno: “A vote Saturday to formally organize Starbase as a city was approved by a lopsided margin among the small group of voters who live there and are mostly Musk’s employees at SpaceX. With all the votes in, the tally was 212 in favor to 6 against, according to results published online by the Cameron County Elections Department. Musk celebrated in a post on his social platform, X, saying it is ‘now a real city!’”
SPOTTED at the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum in Arizona this weekend: Cindy McCain, Sens. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), James Lankford (R-Texas) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Reps. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Craig Goldman (R-Texas) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, Kyrsten Sinema, Doug Ducey, Navy Adm. Samuel Paparo, retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, Gina Raimondo, Roger Carstens, David Pressman, David Axelrod, Evelyn Farkas, Elisa Massimino, Rick Davis, Dan Twining, Damon Wilson, Ishaan Tharoor, Michael Bidwill, Demetri Sevastopulo, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Sue Gordon, Frances Fragos Townsend, Shane Harris, Ryan Tseng, Eliza Collins, Kelly O’Donnell, Jon Decker, Liz Economy, Andrew Shearer, Josh Rogin, Courtney Kube, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Alsu Kurmasheva, Maribel Pérez Wadsworth and Major Garrett.Send Playbookers tips toortext us on Signal here. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editorZack Stantonand Playbook Daily Briefing producerCallan Tansill-Suddath.
