The Playbook Podcast

Eight days remain until Election Day. Despite the off-year slate, a handful of races around the country are making headlines in tightening gubernatorial races and redistricting efforts. Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and White House reporter Megan Messerly discuss what voting in Virginia, New York, New Jersey and California could tell us about how both parties are approaching next year’s midterms — and beyond. Plus, President Donald Trump is in Japan to meet with the new prime minister.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is known for being a firebrand when it comes to his conservative, small-government principles. He’s also known for being a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump, despite taking issue with some of the president’s policies. But Paul takes issue with being what he says is the only Republican willing to stand up to Trump and his latest moves which, according to Senator Paul, fly in the face of GOP principles and campaign promises. Most recently, he was concerned over his Republican colleagues’ hesitation to confront Trump about his now-former nominee to lead Office of the Special Counsel, Paul Ingrassia. Ingrassia withdrew from the Senate confirmation process earlier this week after POLITICO’s reporting on texts that showed him making racist and antisemitic remarks. “I hear a lot of flack from Republicans and they want me to do it. They say, ‘Oh, well, you're not afraid of the president. You go tell him his nominee can't make it,’ says Paul, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Committee. “I'm just tired of always being the whipping boy.” In this week’s episode of The Conversation, Paul joins POLITICO’s Dasha Burns — just hours after he was snubbed from a presidential luncheon — to talk about this GOP fear of confronting Trump, support for House colleague Rep. Thomas Massie, the administration's latest foreign policy moves, the Epstein files and a “farmageddon” that may be on the horizon. “If I'm given the choice of President Trump versus Harris or versus Biden, without question, I choose President Trump over and over again,” says Paul. But that doesn't mean I'm going to sit back and just say, ‘Oh, I'm leaving all my beliefs on the doorstep. I'm no longer going to be for free trade. I'm no longer going to be for balanced budgets. I'm no longer going to be opposed to killing people without trials, without naming them, without evidence.’ No, I have to remain who I am.” Later in the show, Dasha speaks to epidemiologist and public health professor Katelyn Jetelina, the founder of the Substack “Your Local Epidemiologist." They discuss what it’s like being a health communicator in the time of MAHA and why she thinks public health is nearing ‘system collapse.’

President Donald Trump is headed to Asia later today for a trip filled with a host of meetings on the agenda. Most notably, Trump will meet in person with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week for the first time since 2019. Playbook’s Adam Wren and White House reporter Megan Messerly discuss what to expect, and what makes this trip the riskiest of Trump’s second term.

President Donald Trump finds himself in the middle of two dizzying news cycles — one abroad and one back home. The White House has leveled new sanctions against Russia, with the goal of ending the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Trump is demolishing the East Wing of the White House to build his grandiose ballroom as he reshapes Washington in his own image. Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns discuss how each of these moves underlines the extent of Trump’s unique position and power during his second presidency.

Paul Ingrassia’s nomination to lead the Office of Special Counsel is off. The withdrawal of Ingrassia’s nomination comes after POLITICO reported on text messages that showed Ingrassia say he has “a Nazi streak,” and that the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday should be “tossed into the seventh circle of hell” — which quickly caused several Republican lawmakers to voice their opposition. It marks one of the very few instances when the Senate has stood up to Trump. Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and White House reporter Megan Messerly discuss what the episode means for Trump and what it could tell us about the rest of the Republican Party.

President Donald Trump is once again testing the limits of the Justice Department. Today, lawyers representing Rep. LaMonica McIver will attempt to have the case against the New Jersey Democrat thrown out. McIver’s legal team is calling the charges political prosecution and saying she qualifies for legislative immunity — which is exactly what the Supreme Court granted Trump last year. Will Trump tally another unprecedented legal win? Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns discuss the implications. Plus, Hill Republicans are set to flock to the White House today for lunch with the president on day 21 of the government shutdown, and Trump’s pick to lead the Office of Special Counsel is in hot water.

President Donald Trump is set to meet with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House today — but that is far from his only order of foreign policy business this week. The push to end Russia’s war in Ukraine is ramping up, the work on holding the Gaza peace deal together continues and Trump’s going further in the Caribbean. Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns cover the range of affairs that continue to test Trump 2.0’s diplomatic mettle. Plus, the government shutdown stretches to the 20-day mark.

Nationwide, state and local officials are pushing back against President Trump’s plans to send the National Guard into various Democratic-run cities for crime and immigration enforcement support. One of the top Democrats leading the resistance is Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Trump has recently said that he believes Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson should be arrested for what he believes is mismanagement of the Windy City. “Should we have a president who is threatening to jail his political opponents with no evidence of any wrongdoing, just that we oppose what he's trying to do to our country, which is to militarize our cities and turn us into an authoritarian regime?” Pritzker says. “I don't think that any American thinks that we ought to be jailing people just for their views.” In this week’s episode of The Conversation, Pritzker joins POLITICO’s Dasha Burns to denounce the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement strategy, combat the administration’s narratives surrounding cities like Chicago, and discuss the future of the Democratic Party. Plus, Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich comes on to talk about the difference between covering the Trump and Biden administrations, her role on the White House Correspondents Association board and the Pentagon’s attempts to impose new restrictions on reporters there.

President Donald Trump today is meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with the two expected to discuss arms as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues. The meeting follows a phone call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which the two leaders agreed to soon meet again in person. Playbook’s Adam Wren and POLITICO White House and foreign affairs correspondent Eli Stokols discuss what to watch out of the Zelenskyy meeting, plus what DNC Chair Ken Martin told Adam about the Democratic Party and how Zohran Mamdani fared in last night’s New York City mayoral debate.

Monday will mark nine months since Inauguration Day, and President Donald Trump’s second term is only gaining momentum. Since January, Trump has bent the justice system to his will, sent the military into U.S. cities and challenged seemingly every precedent. Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns discuss how Trump has wielded power so far, and what to expect in the months ahead.

The Supreme Court today will hear arguments in a case that could gut the Voting Rights Act, which would drastically reshape next year’s midterms. Some conservatives argue that consideration of race in drawing district lines is discriminatory and unconstitutional. But advocates warn that without the Voting Rights Act, minority populations would not have adequate representation in American politics. Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and White House reporter Megan Messerly walk through the potential outcomes, and what they mean. Plus, the latest on the Middle East ceasefire and the disappearing Pentagon press pool.

President Donald Trump is back in Washington today after a visit to Israel, where he delivered a speech touting the ceasefire that he helped broker. Now that the groundwork is laid, what’s next? Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and White House reporter Megan Messerly walk through the path forward for the region, with much of the hard work still left to sort out. Plus, the latest phase of the U.S.-China trade war kicks in as of this morning, and on the 14th day of the government shutdown, significant movement (still) looks unlikely.

Dan Rayfield is Oregon’s attorney general — and the latest state-level politician to be thrust into the national spotlight by a legal clash with the Trump administration. In this instance, it’s over the federal government ordering troops into Portland, where protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement have been deemed rebellion by the president. I would invite anybody to come to Oregon and I think it's pretty clear that there isn't an invasion going on in Oregon,” Rayfield says. “Sometimes I'll joke the only rebellion going on right now is when I tried to feed my son a vegetable.” The AG explained that his opposition to Trump’s proposed deployment is because, in his view, the president’s stated reasons for doing so aren’t based on the facts — or in the best interest of the people of Oregon.“If you want to deploy the military, if you want to federalize the National Guard, I'm okay with that if you have the right facts for it.,” Rayfield says. “We should give any president some deference, but when you have zero facts to base it on, that's when you've got to draw the line.” In this week’s episode of The Conversation, Rayfield talks with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns about how he’s trying to defend states rights by fending off the Trump administration’s attempted National Guard incursion in Portland, the reality of what’s happening in the city, freedom of speech and how progressive policies have drawn outside attention to the state in recent years. Plus, blogger and activist Vani Hari — better known as “The Food Babe” — joins the show to talk about her influence on HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and how she hopes to help the MAHA agenda become reality.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas based on the Middle East peace plan pushed by President Donald Trump was ultimately landed after Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff joined the key negotiators this week to push the plan over the finish line. Playbook’s Adam Wren and POLITICO national security reporter Eric Bazail-Eimil walk through how it all came together, what to watch in the days and weeks to come and how things could still fall apart.

President Donald Trump last night announced that Israel and Hamas both signed off on the first phase of his peace plan. This isn’t just a momentous occasion for the people of Israel and Gaza, but it is also an opportunity for Trump to take a victory lap. White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns spoke with Trump last night and joins Playbook’s Jack Blanchard to discuss the implications and what comes next.

Former FBI Director James Comey is set to be arraigned this morning. The move, though hardly unexpected, marks a defining moment in the history of the justice system after President Donald Trump repeatedly pressed for Comey’s prosecution. Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns break down where things go from here. Plus, National Guard troops are poised to deploy to another major U.S. city. And on the eighth day of the government shutdown, do Democrats have the upper hand?

Attorney General Pam Bondi is on Capitol Hill today for a high-profile hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Among those poised to grill Bondi is Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who claims he is being targeted as an enemy of President Donald Trump. Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns walk through what to watch from Bondi’s appearance. Plus, Trump says he’s not wholly opposed to invoking the Insurrection Act, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will be at the White House today.

Communities in Chicago and Portland spent the weekend adjusting to President Donald Trump’s decision to send in the National Guard — but some of his moves are hanging in legal limbo. In Egypt, representatives from Hamas, Israel and the U.S. are set to hold talks on a Middle East ceasefire. Back in D.C., signs of a shutdown resolution are nowhere to be found as it stretches to six days. Playbook’s Jack Blanchard and White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns unpack it all.

Kevin Hassett is the director of the National Economic Council and arguably the economist closest to President Donald Trump. Right now, he’s also one of the top advisers tasked with explaining the economic fallout of the government shutdown and forging a path forward. Hassett joins POLITICO’s Dasha Burns for this week’s episode of The Conversation, where he talks about the shutdown standoff on Capitol Hill, when Americans should start feeling the benefits of Trump’s big tax bill and how the trade wars may affect the midterms. “The really striking thing is that the place where the tariff policy effects should be the worst is the time right now where we have almost 4 percent growth and low inflation,” Hassett says. “We're very, very optimistic about how this policy is working and what it's gonna look like.” And, Hassett digs into the buzz surrounding whether or not he will be Trump’s pick to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Plus, Shark Tank judge and investor Kevin O’Leary comes on the show to explain why he’s bullish on the TikTok deal news, bearish on the federal government’s investment in Intel and how he’s grading Trump 2.0’s economic performance so far.

It’s day three of the federal shutdown, and the Democrats are struggling to come up with a coherent and unifying message. Meanwhile, Republicans are encountering a shutdown-inspired divide of their own — this one centering on the role of OMB Director Russ Vought, and the political popularity (or lack thereof) of some of his undertakings. Playbook’s Adam Wren and POLITICO White House reporter Megan Messerly discuss the state of play as the shutdown shows no signs of abating.