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Presented by Google: Playbook is POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the day in Washington Oct 24, 2018 View in browser
By Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer and Daniel Lippman

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DRIVING THE DAY
NEW ... VP MIKE PENCE will join us next Tuesday -- OCT. 30, one week before Election Day -- for a live Playbook Interview about policy, politics and the midterm elections. Sign up for the waitlist

BREAKING ... @NBCNews: "JUST IN: Single $1.6-billion jackpot ticket sold in the state of South Carolina, says Mega Millions spokesperson."

INCOMING ... WSJ'S SANTIAGO PEREZ and JOSE DE CORDOBA in Huixtla, Mexico: "Another Migrant Caravan Gathers in Guatemala": "Even as a caravan of thousands of Honduran migrants makes its way across southern Mexico, another caravan is forming in its wake. Thousands of Honduran migrants gathered in a Guatemalan city near the border with Honduras Tuesday to prepare for a new caravan that would follow in the footsteps of a larger group currently marching to the U.S.-Mexico border, posing a fresh challenge to Guatemalan and Mexican authorities seeking to contain a surge in mass migration.

"Church-run charities assisting migrants and activists say as many as 2,500 Hondurans who crossed into Guatemala in recent days have gathered in the city of Chiquimula, near the border with Honduras.

"But estimates of the size of the new group vary widely, from that number down to a few hundred, according to Francesca Fontanini, spokeswoman for the Americas region for the United Nations office on refugees. The migrants say they plan to head to Ciudad Tecun Uman, the Guatemalan border town that was overwhelmed by a larger group of migrants who rushed into Mexico over the weekend." WSJ

SMART STORY ABOUT TRUMP'S WASHINGTON ... "'In the service of whim': Officials scramble to make Trump's false assertions real," by WaPo's Phil Rucker and Ashley Parker: "The mystery tax cut is only the latest instance of the federal government scrambling to reverse-engineer policies to meet Trump's sudden public promises - or to search for evidence buttressing his conspiracy theories and falsehoods.

"The Pentagon leaped into action to both hold a military parade and launch a 'Space Force' on the president's whims. The Commerce Department moved to create a plan for auto tariffs after Trump angrily threatened to impose them.

"And just this week, Vice President Pence, the Department of Homeland Security and the White House all rushed to try to back up Trump's unsupported claim that 'unknown Middle Easterners' were part of a migrant caravan in Central America - only to have the president admit late Tuesday that there was no proof at all." WaPo

Good Wednesday morning. SPOTTED: Ruth Bader Ginsburg voting at Judiciary Square Tuesday evening. Pic

13 DAYS until Election Day. The Red Sox beat the Dodgers last night in game one of the World Series, 8-4. Game two is tonight at 8:09 p.m. in Boston.

JON LOVETT on Colbert last night: "I love the idea that Democrats are organizing voters in Honduras when we can't even organize voters in Pennsylvania." The 6:13 video

NYT'S JONATHAN MARTIN and MAGGIE HABERMAN: "Trump Rallies for Republicans, but Finds 'Do Not Enter' Signs in Some Races": "As early voting began Monday in Florida, Senator Bill Nelson and Andrew Gillum, who is running for governor, had former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. come to Jacksonville and Tampa to urge Democrats to go to the polls in what are two of the most hard-fought races in the country.

"Early voting also started Monday in Texas, and that's where President Trump spoke in an 18,000-seat N.B.A. arena. But he was rallying support in a pair of less-competitive races: the re-election campaigns of Senator Ted Cruz and Gov. Greg Abbott.

"Conspicuously absent from the raucous festivities at Houston's Toyota Center, where thousands also congregated outside, was the local Republican congressman who is locked in a difficult campaign: John Culberson, whose well-heeled district is full of moderates who recoil from Mr. Trump.

"The split-screen between Florida and Texas - one the most crucial presidential battleground in the country, the other a pillar of conservative strength - neatly illustrated Mr. Trump's role in the fall campaign. He is often away from the center of action, shunned by many of his party's most vulnerable House candidates but still commands enthusiastic audiences on a scale rarely seen in a midterm election." NYT

-- ON THE GROUND IN FLORIDA ... MARC CAPUTO in Miami: "Rick Scott battles the pollsters in Florida Senate race": "Florida governors expect a boost in public opinion surveys after managing a natural disaster, but so far Rick Scott has received no appreciable bump after Hurricane Michael. In three consecutive Senate polls released after the governor earned wall-to-wall media coverage for managing the storm, Scott trails Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.

"Scott's team isn't buying it. His campaign excoriated Quinnipiac University's survey Monday showing Nelson with a large lead of 6 points, and argued instead that the governor is in fact leading by 5 points.

"The poll-truthing, however, revealed a deeper concern that's long gnawed at some Republicans - including GOP donors from Scott's well-heeled hometown of Naples: Scott should be doing far better given his cash advantage over Nelson." POLITICO

SCOTT gave his Senate campaign another $7.4 million yesterday, per a filing with the FEC.

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THE BIG PICTURE ... AP'S STEVE PEOPLES, TOM BEAUMONT and LISA MASCARO: "Senate slipping away as Dems fight to preserve blue wave": "Top operatives in both political parties concede that Democrats' narrow path to the Senate majority has essentially disappeared, a casualty of surging Republican enthusiasm across GOP strongholds. At the same time, leading Democrats now fear the battle for the House majority will be decided by just a handful of seats." AP

THE KHASHOGGI SAGA ...

-- REPERCUSSIONS ... ALENA SADIQ and NAHAL TOOSI: "U.S. to revoke visas of Saudi officials linked to Khashoggi death": "The U.S. will revoke visas of some of the Saudi officials allegedly responsible for the death of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday.

"It is the first significant step the U.S. has taken to punish Saudi Arabia over the Khashoggi case. Pompeo said the U.S. would work with Congress and its allies to hold accountable 'those responsible' for the death of Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident who was a critic of the country's crown prince. He said the State Department was working with the Treasury Department to determine whether to impose sanctions on individuals under a law known as the Global Magnitsky Act." POLITICO

-- WSJ GETS OVAL OFFICE INTERVIEW ... PETER NICHOLAS, COURTNEY MCBRIDE and MARGHERITA STANCATI: "In Washington, President Trump said Saudi Arabia bungled the handling of Mr. Khashoggi's killing from 'beginning to end,' though he made clear he doesn't want to cancel lucrative U.S. contracts with the kingdom in reprisal.

"In an interview with The Wall Street Journal in the Oval Office, Mr. Trump gave a harsh assessment of Saudi Arabia in light of Mr. Khashoggi's death, saying he said he was convinced King Salman didn't know about the killing in advance. Asked about Prince Mohammed bin Salman's possible involvement, Mr. Trump said: 'Well, the prince is running things over there more so at this stage. He's running things and so if anybody were going to be, it would be him.'" WSJ

-- NYT'S ALAN RAPPEPORT in Riyadh: "Standing Ovation for Saudi Crown Prince Thrusts Conference Attendees Into Limelight": "Bankers kept their name tags obscured behind ties. Many tried to keep a low profile and avoided talking to the news media. But those hoping to escape any tarnish from attending Saudi Arabia's global investment conference in the wake of a dissident journalist's killing were foiled when the crown prince himself, Mohammed bin Salman, appeared at the summit meeting and received a standing ovation. ...

"'I'm not doing any media,' said Ken Moelis, the founder and chief executive of Moelis & Company, an investment bank. 'It'll have to be 'no comment.'" NYT

NOTE: Eric Cantor is the vice chairman and managing director of Moelis & Co.

-- PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP, speaking at a dinner with military leaders, per pooler Tal Kopan of the S.F. Chronicle: The murder of Jamal Khashoggi was a "total fiasco." "However they talked about it, nothing that they've done has gone well. ... They did a bad job of execution and they did a bad job of talking about it or covering it up. ... I'm saying they should have never thought about it. Once they thought about it, everything else they did was bad too. ... It should have never happened."

-- TRUMP on Khashoggi, via The Hill's Jordan Fabian: "They had a very bad original concept. It was carried out poorly and the cover-up was one of the worst cover-ups in the history of cover-ups. Very simple. Bad deal, should have never been thought of. Somebody really messed up."

AD WARS ... ALEX ISENSTADT: "RNC moves millions to House and Senate campaign arms": "The [RNC] has transferred $3.5 million apiece to the GOP's House and Senate campaign arms. The last-minute infusion, which was confirmed by a person with knowledge, is designed to help the congressional committees combat a wave of Democratic spending." POLITICO

-- ELENA SCHNEIDER: "Trump fades to background of House ad wars"

-- The JOB CREATORS NETWORK is running an ad comparing Democratic rule in D.C. to a haunted house. The buy is $350,000 on D.C. cable and digital in the following districts: Reps. Dave Brat (R-Va.), Scott Taylor (R-Va.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Randy Hultgren (R-Ill.) and Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.). The 30-second ad

-- NBC'S HEIDI PRZYBYLA: "Exclusive: Priorities USA launches new ad campaign targeting McConnell entitlement talk": "Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is quickly becoming the vessel for the Democratic Party's closing argument to midterm voters, a push punctuated by a new ad shared with NBC News.

"Priorities USA Action, the largest Democratic Party super PAC, is launching on a $2 million national television campaign Thursday highlighting the Kentucky Republican's comments blaming entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare for the rising federal debt despite two decades worth of tax cuts." NBC

THE SUNSHINE STATE ... MATT DIXON and AREK SARKISSIAN in Tallahassee: "Undercover FBI agent got Gillum 'Hamilton' tickets, texts show": "Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee and Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum accepted tickets to the Broadway show 'Hamilton' from an undercover FBI agent leading a probe into the city's economic development agency, according to 150 pages of documents turned over to the Florida Commission on Ethics.

"The records, released two weeks ahead of Election Day, are from Adam Corey, a lobbyist and longtime ally of Gillum. ... Also on the August 2016 New York trip was a man identified as Mike Miller, a person now believed to be an FBI agent leading an investigation into Tallahassee's Community Redevelopment Agency.

"'Just checking in with you. Mike Miller and the crew have tickets for us for Hamilton tonight at 8 p.m.,' Corey texted Gillum on Aug. 10, 2016. Gillum's text message reply: 'awesome news about Hamilton.' On Tuesday, Gillum explained that he believed the tickets from the undercover agent were reserved for him but that his brother, Marcus, had paid for him -- a notion Republicans mocked." POLITICO

NEW VIDEO ... In the second installment of our new series "The Midterm View," POLITICO's Eugene Daniels and Mary Newman explore how suburban voters may tip the scales in the midterms. POLITICO


TRUMP'S WEDNESDAY ... THE PRESIDENT will speak at an opioid event at 2 p.m. At 4:50 p.m., he is scheduled to leave the White House for Andrews, where he'll fly to Mosinee, Wis. He will hold a political rally at 7:30 p.m., D.C. time. He'll fly back to D.C. around 8 p.m., and arrive at the White House around 11:15 p.m.

VP MIKE PENCE is flying to Scranton, Pa., for an event with John Chrin, who is running against Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.). He will then fly to Lancaster, Pa., for an event benefiting Pennsylvania GOP Reps. Scott Perry and Lloyd Smucker. At 3:35 p.m., Pence will fly to Norfolk, Va., for a rally with Rep. Scott Taylor (R-Va.).

JOIN ANNA and JAKE for a special Playbook Elections event in Philadelphia Monday with REP. BRENDAN BOYLE (D-PA.) and REP. RYAN COSTELLO (R-PA.) to discuss the 2018 midterm cycle and issues shaping the races. Doors open 8 a.m. RSVP

PLAYBOOK ELECTION CHALLENGE: The president says a red wave is coming on Election Day. Is he right, or will the tide turn blue? Compete against the nation's top political minds in the POLITICO Playbook Election Challenge, by correctly picking the winning candidates in some of the most competitive House, Senate and gubernatorial races in the country. Sign up today!
PLAYBOOK READS


PHOTO DU JOUR: Honduran migrants taking part in a caravan heading to the U.S. sit in a makeshift camp during a stop in Huixtla, Mexico, on Tuesday. | Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images

NEW WOMEN RULE PODCAST -- ANNA spoke with MICHELLE FREEMAN, a real estate magnate and partner at MONUMENTAL SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT, which owns the Capital One Arena, the Washington Capitals, the Wizards and the D.C. WNBA team the Mystics. Freeman, who previously had been more private about her political views, threw her support behind NFL player Colin Kaepernick and other players engaging in protests.

"I support athletes like Colin Kaepernick who use a peaceful demonstration like kneeling to raise our consciousness as Americans to say, 'Hey, there's something that we have to look at,'" Freeman said. "I know that I'm a patriot. I know that I support our military, financially. ... I look at that man and others and I say, 'Isn't that what we did as a society every time we moved forward, whether it was sitting at lunch counter, whether it was peacefully protesting by walking over a bridge, or moving our seat on a bus?'" Listen and subscribe

FINALLY! -- "Facebook And Twitter Are Taking Steps To Help States Keep Bogus Election Information Off Their Sites," by BuzzFeed's Kevin Collier: "[F]or the 2018 election, the sites have created a system that, at least in theory, anyone who sees false election claims online can use to alert state governments, which in turn can notify the platforms, which have teams in place to remove posts or, if appropriate, ban users.

"'I don't know of any state monitoring Facebook or Twitter looking for stuff,' Jim Condos, Vermont's secretary of state and president of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), told BuzzFeed News. 'Someone's going to probably report it to us and say, hey, is this correct?'" BuzzFeed


AP/SACRAMENTO: "Police say no sensitive items taken in Rep. McCarthy break-in": "Items taken in a burglary at a California district office of House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy did not contain sensitive information, police said Tuesday. ... 'Once inside, the suspects removed several items, none of which contained information of a sensitive nature,' [police] said. 'Among the items taken were electronics which were not connected to any federal networks, nor did they contain or store any personal or governmental information.'" AP

NYT'S ANDREW ROSS SORKIN: "Paul Volcker, at 91, Sees 'a Hell of a Mess in Every Direction'": "The memoir ["Keeping At It: The Quest for Sound Money and Good Government"] is at times a dishy tale of Mr. Volcker's years in Washington. For example, while President Trump has complained in recent months about the Fed's plan to raise interest rates, he isn't the first to try to influence the independent Federal Reserve. Mr. Volcker recounts being summoned to meet with President Ronald Reagan and his chief of staff, James Baker, in the president's library next to the Oval Office in 1984.

"Reagan 'didn't say a word,' Mr. Volcker wrote. 'Instead Baker delivered a message: 'The president is ordering you not to raise interest rates before the election.' Mr. Volcker wasn't planning to raise rates at the time. 'I was stunned,' he wrote. 'I later surmised that the library location had been chosen because, unlike the Oval Office, it probably lacked a taping system.'" NYT ... $18.30 on Amazon
PLAYBOOKERS
SPOTTED: Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.) chatting with Bob Costa on Tuesday evening outside Chick-fil-A on the concourse at Reagan airport.

MEDIAWATCH -- WaPo's Seung Min Kim is now also a political analyst at CNN.

BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): UNHCR's Matthew Reynolds, a Bush 43 State alum (hat tip: Chris McGrath) ... Bobby Burchfield (h/t Jill Moschak)

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Tim Mak, a reporter for NPR covering national security and politics. How he got his start in journalism: "I migrated to D.C. after college for a short, four-month internship with writer David Frum, now an editor at The Atlantic. As it happens, he was starting a website called FrumForum, about the conservative movement in the early Obama years. After working as his research assistant, he asked me if I wanted to be a reporter!" Playbook Plus Q&A

BIRTHDAYS: NYT deputy Washington editor Jonathan Weisman is 53 ... Marc Lotter ... Tony Podesta, who's celebrating in Rome with family and friends including James Alefantis ... Matt Lehrich, founding partner at Be Clear (h/t brother Jesse) ... Henry Schuster of "60 Minutes" is 61 ... Variety's Ted Johnson ... Melissa Luce ... POLITICO's Nancy Cook ... Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) is 64 ... Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) is 62 ... Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) is 64 ... Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) is 4-0 (h/t Matt Corridoni) ... Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.) is 59 ... Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) is 75 ... former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume is 7-0 ... Chris Wilson, CEO of WPA Intelligence ...
David Ferguson is 33 ... CQ Roll Call's Kellie Mejdrich (h/t Eli Yokley) ... Matt Thornton ... Antonia Ferrier ... Chris Tuck ... Omer Farooque ... Luke Legate ... Liz Spayd ... Andrea Drusch (h/t Kristin Roberts) ... RNC's Michael Ahrens is 3-0 (h/ts Ryan Mahoney and Steve Guest) ... NBC's Jordan Frasier ...

... Carl Cannon, Washington editor of RealClearPolitics ... former Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull is 64 ... Caitlyn Stephenson (h/t Mitchell Rivard) ... Kristine Michalson, assistant director of the House Press Gallery (h/ts Kristina Baum and Sarah Ferris) ... David Mastrangelo (h/t Abi Strayer) ... Phil McNamara (h/t Pete Boogaard) ... Jenna Schuette Talbot ... Alison Hawkins ... Sarah Hamilton ... Zephyr Teachout ... Anthony Clark Arend, professor of government and foreign service at Georgetown (h/t Ben Chang) ... Christian Whiton ... Demetrios Kouzoukas ... Kelli Arrington ... former Rep. Mary Bono (R-Calif.) is 57 (h/t Blain Rethmeier) ... Jeannette Smith ... Stacy Nam ... Mark
Massé is 66 ... Raphael Cohen-almagor ... Jason Rosenberg ... Judy Kopff ... CNN's Pamela Kirkland ... Joey Smith ... Neda Semnani ... i360's Josh Davidson ... Bonney Kapp ... Hannah Lloyd ... Nathan Riedel ... Dave Frederickson ... Rafael PiRoman ... Mike Tramontina ... Joe Parisi ... Tovah Ravitz-Meehan ... Jacqueline Williams (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)

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