By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; mallen@politico.com) and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; dlippman@politico.com)
Good Saturday morning. Spring lands at 12:30 a.m. ET, 9:30 p.m. PT.
SUNDAY STANDINGS: Bruce Mehlman, a founder of lobby shop Mehlman Castagnetti Rosen & Thomas, points out that since announcing, Trump has been on a Sunday show more times (66, through last week – 39 Sundays) than “Meet” moderator Chuck Todd (39). Trump’s Sunday breakdown: ABC and CBS, 16 each; NBC 15, CNN 12, Fox 7. The others: Sanders 58, Kasich 41, Rubio 36, Carson 29, Cruz 26, Christie 20, Fiorina 19, Hillary 18, Graham 17, Jeb 15. Bruce’s graphic http://bit.ly/1R72Bm1 ... USA Today’s data http://usat.ly/1pSAIoX
POPE JOINS INSTAGRAM as Franciscus (verified): “Pope Francis: ‘I want to walk with you along the way of God’s mercy and tenderness.’ (Official Account. Copyright L’Osservatore Romano.)” http://bit.ly/1T0ClvX
BREAKING – AP’s Julie Bykowicz: “Jeb Bush kept his struggling presidential campaign afloat with a $250,000 personal loan — barely enough to keep the campaign from plunging into debt. ... [He] raised about $1 million in February, ... [and] wrapped up with $13,127 more in cash than debts. ... Christie ... raised about $420,000 in February. ... ended with roughly $200,000 more in debts than available cash.” http://apne.ws/1Zd321e
**SUBSCRIBE to Playbook: http://politi.co/1M75UbX
INSIDE THE CAMPAIGNS – “Cruz’s bid to conquer Rubioworld: Cruz’s team is making a full-court press for former Rubio donors and supporters,” by Katie Glueck: “Trump has 678 delegates, Cruz has 413, and the Northeastern and industrial Midwestern-heavy map going forward is not natural Cruz territory. Still, he has far more delegates than does Kasich, who has only 143 after winning only Ohio—his home state—outright.
“The Cruz campaign’s hope is twofold: that the calendar going forward, which features many closed primaries in which only Republicans can vote, will be friendly terrain as they seek to mobilize conservatives; and that he will be boosted by an influx of supporters who previously backed other candidates, like Rubio.
“Yet it’s unclear how much of a groundswell of ex-Rubio support he can expect. There has been no rush in the Senate—where Rubio enjoyed plenty of endorsements-- to get behind Cruz: he currently has support from only two of his colleagues, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and the virulently anti-Trump Lindsey Graham. And some Rubio donors are planning to either focus on House and Senate races or simply stay out of politics for the moment, as many of Rubio's key advisers also remain on the sidelines for now.” http://politi.co/1puyThk
MONEY HONEYS – WashPost A1, “Mystery firms pipe millions to super PACs: ‘Ghost corporations’ skirt election law and operate with impunity, critics say,” by Matea Gold and Anu Narayanswamy: 12% of “dollars collected by super PACs this election cycle have come from corporate coffers [was 10% in 2012] ... Many corporate givers ... are ... hedge funds, energy companies and real estate firms. But a significant share ... is coming from newly formed LLCs with cryptic names that offer few clues about their backers.” http://wapo.st/1MtjzGR
ABC’s DAVID MUIR gets Obama exclusive during POTUS trip to Havana – ABC’s Van Scott: “‘World News Tonight’ Anchor David Muir will meet twice with President Obama in Havana ... during ... the first visit of a United States President to Cuba since President Calvin Coolidge in 1928. ... The first conversation with the President will air on Monda ... on ‘Good Morning America’ ... Muir will anchor ‘World News Tonight’ from Havana Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.” With pic of Muir anchoring from Havana last year http://abcn.ws/1R717bh
DAVID MARANISS and Robert Samuels on WashPost A1, “LONGING FOR SOMETHING LOST,” Part 2 of “Looking for America” (jumps to 2 strip pages inside): “At every stop, someone thanked Kasich for running a positive campaign. ... And at every stop, someone also proved Kasich’s point about loneliness and the desire to connect. These are competing human impulses — to disconnect and differentiate from the other, and to connect and feel the commonality of humans. They coexist in most people, and in the body politic this year more than ever. A week and a half later, a video of Kasich hugging a young man would go viral and be seen by millions. He did that every day in New Hampshire. ...
“There was a bit of deja vu to what Kasich was doing and saying. It was reminiscent of another governor, or in this case a former governor, who moved through New Hampshire trying to feel people’s pain. Bill Clinton in 1992. And now the former president was back, a silhouette of his former self, at the side of his wife. ...
“Bill Clinton was approaching 70 now, and was a vegan, and had endured heart surgery, and looked more brittle and slower than he used to, both in his mannerisms and in his analysis. He had lived the life of a survivor [!], his career alternately riding along waves of hope and against currents of dispute. So much of the chaos and anger and disruption of this year had been building for the quarter-century since he staked his ambitions in a New Hampshire comeback.” http://wapo.st/21AvZUv
OK! WE GET IT -- N.Y. Post, Thursday, “Donald Trump speaks at a fourth-grade reading level” http://nyp.st/1pxZB9q ... HuffPost, Wednesday, “Trump’s Speeches Are At A Middle-School Reading Level, Study Says” http://huff.to/1PfL8U3 ... Salon, Jan. 10, “Donald Trump talks at a fourth-grade level. Maybe that’s why the Fox News audience loves him” http://bit.ly/1R3E8xQ ... USA Today, Oct. 21, “Analysis: Donald Trump talks to voters at a fourth-grade level” http://usat.ly/258iwaR ... Newsweek, Aug. 14, “Donald Trump Talks Like a 4th Grader: Report” http://bit.ly/1PfLfit ... Politico’s Jack Shafer, Aug. 13, “Donald Trump Talks Like a Third-Grader” http://politi.co/1UapAkc
SPOTTED: Secretary Kerry on Harbour Island in the Bahamas, where he had dinner on Thursday night with his wife Teresa Heinz at Rockhouse and lunch on Friday at Sip Sip ... Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark) on Friday, walking up 5th Ave in NYC (near 43rd Street). Our tipster: “He was alone. I’m always impressed when I see elected officials (let alone a US Senator) without staff.” ... Gov. Chris Christie at March Madness last night supporting Notre Dame at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn
LIZ CHENEY’s CAMPAIGN -- Per Politico Influence: “Liz Cheney’s Wyoming congressional campaign is getting a boost at the Capitol Hill Club next Wednesday. Those who contribute $5,400 get a private dinner after the reception. The invitation ... names Lynne and Dick Cheney, former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, former Rep. Bill Paxon (R-N.Y.) of Akin Gump, Cesar Conda of Navigators Global, Robbie Aiken of Pinnacle West Capital, former White House chief of staff Josh Bolten, Red Cavaney, Amy Allman Dean, Mike Duncan, Debbie and Rick Hohlt, Joel Kaplan, Ron Kaufman, Donna and Dave Keene, Mary Matalin, Brian McCormack, Terry O’Donnell, Jack Oliver, Geoff Verhoff and Candi Wolff.” See the invite. http://politi.co/1nV898D
TOP TALKER – “The return of doctor house calls: Convenient, but at what cost?” by L.A. Times public-health reporter Soumya Karlamangla: “At-home visits have ... become a sort of novelty service for the wealthy, known as concierge medicine. ... On-demand doctors [through apps] are one of several ways entrepreneurs are trying to make healthcare easier to access. But experts say that unlike other innovations, doctor house calls don't appear to decrease overhead or use cheaper medical providers to cut costs.” http://lat.ms/1Mh8RbI
CLICKER – “The nation’s cartoonists on the week in politics,” edited by Matt Wuerker – 11 keepers http://politi.co/1ptioCf
PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION – “Report of rape at Sidwell school,” by WashPost’s Peter Hermann and Clarence Williams (ran as the last local brief, at bottom of p. B3 of Friday paper): “D.C. police are investigating a report that a female student at Sidwell Friends school was raped Monday by a male student on the campus ... The female student and the alleged attacker had a prior sexual relationship, according to the police report. A police spokesman said the female student is in her ‘upper teens.’” http://wapo.st/1puyUSh
MEDIAWATCH – “Judge grants restraining order blocking Tribune’s purchase of the O.C. Register,” by Andrew Khouri: “A U.S. District Court judge has approved a temporary restraining order to block Tribune Publishing’s purchase of the Orange County Register and Riverside Press-Enterprise, a decision that the owner of the Los Angeles Times has described as a ‘death-knell’ to its bid. ... U.S. District Court Judge Andre Birotte Jr. ... scheduled a hearing for March 28 to decide whether to block the sale beyond that date on antitrust concerns that the sale would harm consumers and advertisers.” http://lat.ms/1UbZwFi
GREAT WEEKEND READS, curated by Daniel Lippman, filing from Charlottesville:
--“Why Do We Work So Hard?” by Ryan Avent in the April/May issue of the new magazine 1843, whose slogan is “The Economist Unwinds”: “Our jobs have become prisons from which we don’t want to escape.” http://bit.ly/22sgkZL (h/t ALDaily.com)
--“The Journalist and the Troll,” by Dune Lawrence in Bloomberg Businessweek: “This man [a financier] spent two years trying to destroy me online.” http://bloom.bg/1R8WhYY
--“Out Here, No One Can Hear You Scream,” by Kathryn Joyce in HuffPost Highline: “The dangerous culture of male entitlement and sexual hostility hiding within America’s national parks and forests.” http://huff.to/1Ph3cNy
--“The Rest Is Advertising,” by Jacob Silverman in The Baffler: “Confessions of a sponsored content writer.” http://bit.ly/1VkoKjH
--“Secrets of a Secret Agent,” by Josh Eells in Men’s Journal: “Jason Matthews was a CIA spy for more than 30 years during the height of the Cold War, from Asia to the Caribbean to the Soviet Union. Now he’s got a new assignment: writing deadly accurate thrillers.” http://mjm.ag/1XAMY7U (h/t Longform.org)
--“How a Ragtag Gang of Retirees Pulled Off the Biggest Jewel Heist in British History,” by Mark Seal in Vanity Fair: “The police and public gasped at the audacity of the Great Hatton Garden heist of 2015, where millions in cash and jewels were taken from an underground vault in London’s diamond district. Mark Seal investigates the unorthodox daring of the perpetrators—and the high-tech investigation that snared them.” http://bit.ly/1pR13Ul
--“Five Years Later, Cutting Through the Fukushima Myths,” by radiation expert Andrew Karam in Popular Mechanics: “Karam, who covered the disaster for Popular Mechanics in 2011 and later traveled to study the site, explains everything you need to know about Fukushima’s legacy and danger five years later.” http://bit.ly/1Lvnubp (h/t TheBrowser.com)
--“Adam Neumann’s $16 Billion Neo-Utopian Play To Turn WeWork Into WeWorld,” by Sarah Kessler in Fast Company: “Can the hipster mecca for getting $#%! done live up to its staggering valuation, shush haters, & bend society to the WeWork worldview?” http://bit.ly/1Ms3Qb6 (h/t Longreads.com)
--“Marooned Among the Polar Bears,” by Justin Nobel in Popular Mechanics: “Last July, a Russian helicopter pilot had nearly completed a record-breaking trip around the globe when he crashed into the icy waters of the Arctic Circle. He never should have survived.” http://bit.ly/1Rrqi5A
MARCH MADNESS ... “TIPPING OFF: What to watch on third day of NCAA Tournament,” by AP National Writer Eddie Pells: “Here’s a quick look at what’s on tap in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, and an even quicker look back at Friday’s action: ... SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM And finally, a story about smart guys. Duke plays Yale on Saturday in a meeting between two fine universities who happen to have basketball teams. One of those teams also happens to be the defending national champion. The other is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1962. Quick quiz: Which team is which? ...
“Yale coach James Jones said the difference between his school and the rest of the world isn’t as stark as some might believe. (He’s talking about basketball, folks.) The Ivy League has been making strides the last few years, behind Cornell, which made the Sweet 16 in 2010, then behind Harvard, which has knocked off New Mexico and Cincinnati in the recent past, and given Michigan State and North Carolina big scares, as well.
“‘The national media and the attention that we get from the NCAA doesn't do us justice in terms of who I think we are,’ Jones said. ‘I think it was nice for some people in their brackets to do it. But none of the people, Seth Greenberg ... Charles Barkley — they all thought Yale was going to lose by 1,000.’” http://apne.ws/1T0AbwA
THE PRESIDENT’S HISTORIC WEEK AHEAD: “On Sunday ... afternoon, the First Family will travel to Havana ... The First Family’s arrival at the Jose Marti International Airport is open to pre-credentialed media. ... [T]he President and the First Lady will meet with Embassy personnel and families. There will be travel pool coverage of the President’s remarks. Afterward, the President and First Lady will take a walking tour of Old Havana. There will be travel pool coverage of the tour. The First Family will remain overnight in Havana ...
“On Monday, the President will participate in a wreath laying ceremony and take a tour of the Jose Marti Memorial. Later in the morning, the President will then take an official photo with President Raul Castro of Cuba and participate in an official welcoming ceremony at the Palace of the Revolution. Afterward, the President will hold a bilateral meeting with President Castro. In the afternoon, the President will take part in an event focused on entrepreneurships and opportunity for the Cuban people. In the evening, the President and First Lady will attend a state dinner at the Palace of the Revolution.
“On Tuesday, the President will deliver remarks to the people of Cuba at the Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso. Later in the morning, the President will meet with members of civil society. Following the President’s meeting, the First Family will attend a Major League Baseball exhibition game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban National Team at the Estadio Latinoamericano. Americans and Cubans share a love of baseball, and this is yet another powerful reminder of the kinship between our peoples as well as the progress we can achieve when we leverage those natural ties. In the afternoon, the First Family will depart Havana, Cuba and travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina where they will remain overnight.
“On Wednesday, the President will participate in a bilateral meeting with President Mauricio Macri of Argentina. In the afternoon, the President will participate in a press conference with President Macri. Afterward, the President will participate in a wreath laying ceremony at the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral. The President will then meet with the staff of the U.S. Embassy to Argentina and hold a town hall with young people to talk about the relationship between the United States and Latin America and, more broadly, the Young Latin American Leaders initiative. In the evening, the President and First Lady will attend a state dinner hosted by President Macri.
“On Thursday, the President will visit the Parque de la Memoria. In the afternoon, the First Family will depart Buenos Aires and travel to Bariloche, Argentina. The First Family will visit cultural landmarks while in Bariloche. In the evening, the First Family will depart Bariloche and return to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Later in the evening, the First Family will depart Argentina en route Washington ... On Friday, the First Family will arrive in Washington.”
THE V.P.’s WEEKEND: “On Sunday afternoon, the Vice President will depart Wilmington, Delaware en route Washington ... At 8:15 PM, the Vice President will deliver remarks to the AIPAC Policy Conference at the Verizon Center. ... On Monday, ... the Vice President will travel to Seattle, Washington to participate in a discussion on the cancer moonshot at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.”
BIRTHDAYS: Kayla Cook, the pride of Kerrville, Texas (five-gallon hat tip: Justin) ... Jill Abramson, former executive editor of The New York Times now teaching creative writing at Harvard and writing a book about the news ... film producer Harvey Weinstein is 64 ... Brent Scowcroft, former White House national security adviser, is 91 ... Trey Hardin, founder of War Room Strategies, an ABC News political analyst and Podesta Group alum (h/t Jim) … Lynda Johnson Robb, former Chair of Reading is Fundamental, daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson, and wife of former U.S. Sen. Chuck Robb (D-VA) (h/t Tom O’Donnell) ... Politico’s James Benson and Betsy Barrows ... C-SPAN is 37 – on March 19, 1979 was the first day of live gavel-to-gavel TV coverage of the House floor -- video from that day’s opening http://cs.pn/1S8HtMu ... Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Co.) ... former Politico turned producer for Bloomberg’s “With All Due Respect,” Alexander Trowbridge ...
... CBS News’ Kia Baskerville ... Annie Policastro, manager of public affairs at UPS ... Anatole Jenkins, an Obama alum now with Hillary for America … Ric Cunningham, producer for The Duke & The Duck ... Tara McGuinness, CAP alum now an OMB senior advisor … WashPost religion reporter Sarah Pulliam Bailey ... ABC News’ Katie Bosland, a coordinating producer at GMA … DNC’s Carla Frank, celebrating with brunch and SoulCycle this morning and then co-hosting with Sarah Gilmore 60 of their closest friends at Provision 14 (h/t Sarah) ... Grace Hoefer, scheduler extraordinaire for Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) ... Andy Wong, regional director at Gabby Giffords’ and Mark Kelly’s Americans for Responsible Solutions, and the pride of the Bay Area (h/t the ARS Team) ...
... Doug Hill, director of outreach for Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) and an Obey alum … Joel Rogers … Emma Lieberth (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ... Scott Bates, president of the Center for National Policy ... ProPublica senior reporter T. Christian Miller ... Mary Streett … Kate Gordon, vice chair of climate and sustainable urbanization at The Paulson Institute ... Elizabeth Plank, senior producer/correspondent at Vox ... Jen Gerson Uffalussy ... Rob Varsalone ... Teddy Downey … Jerry Fritz … Maria Osborn Howard ... TVNewser contributor Alissa Krinsky ... Dave Arnold of Saudi Aramco ... Cody Sigel ... Michael Makarski ... Seth Rogovoy of the Rogovoy Report ... Jen Gerson Uffalussy (h/t Mom, RoseAnn Gerson) ... theologian Hans Kung is 88 ... author Philip Roth is 83 ... Ruth Pointer (The Pointer Sisters) is 70 ... Glenn Close is 69 ... Bruce Willis is 61 ... actor Philip Bolden is 21 (h/ts AP)
THE SHOWS, from @Matt Mackowiak, filing from NCAA Tournament in Oklahoma City:
--“Fox News Sunday”: Mitch McConnell; Denis McDonough; John Kasich; roundtable: George Will, Lisa Lerer, Kristen Soltis Anderson and Bob Woodward
--NBC’s “Meet the Press”: John Kasich; Mitch McConnell; Harry Reid; Steve Schmidt and Stuart Stevens; roundtable: José Diaz-Balart, Molly Ball, Robert Costa and Joy-Ann Reid
--ABC’s “This Week”: Donald Trump; John Kasich; Mitch McConnell; Denis McDonough; Reince Priebus; roundtable: E.J. Dionne, Sara Fagen, Rich Lowry and Roland Martin
--CBS’s “Face the Nation”: John Kasich; Bernie Sanders; Lindsey Graham; Jan Crawford and Miguel Estrada; roundtable: Reihan Salam, Susan Page, Jonathan Martin and Ruth Marcus; results from a new focus group with Frank Luntz
--CNN’s “State of the Union” (9am ET / 12pm ET): John Kasich; Mitch McConnell; Reince Priebus; roundtable: SE Cupp, Bakari Sellers, Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Dick Harpootlian (substitute anchor: CNN’s Dana Bash)
--Univision’s “Al Punto” (SUN 10am ET / 1pm PT) Univision News anchor María Elena Salinas; Obama NSC senior director for Western Hemisphere Affairs Mark Feierstein; Al Cardenas; Democratic analyst Fabian Núñez; Mexico’s Institute for Competitiveness director Juan Pardinas
--Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” (10am ET / 9am CT): Trump campaign senior policy advisor Stephen Miller; Newt Gingrich; Ben Carson; Michael Mukasey; roundtable: Doug Heye, Ed Rollins and Eboni Williams
--CNN’s “Inside Politics” with John King (SUN 8am ET): Roundtable: Maggie Haberman, Ed O’Keefe, Julie Pace and MJ Lee
--CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS”: (SUN 10am ET / 1pm ET): Richard Haass and Clarissa Ward; author Thomas Frank; author Tom Wainwright; astronaut and meteorologist Piers Sellers
--CNN’s “Reliable Sources”: (SUN 11am ET): Jeff Greenfield and Amy Goodman; Jorge Ramos; Nina Totenberg; Kayleigh McEnany and David Zurawik
--Fox News’ “MediaBuzz” (11am ET / 10am CT): Heidi Przybyla; Gayle Trotter; Joe Trippi; Ashley Parker; Tamara Holder; Alex Conant; Caitlin Conant; Guy Benson
--C-SPAN: “The Communicators” (SAT 6:30pm ET): Benton Foundation policy director Amina Fazlullah and AEI’s Center for Internet, Communications and Technology Policy visiting scholar and Boston College’s Daniel Lyons, questioned by National Journal’s Brendan Sasso ... “Newsmakers” (SUN 10am ET): Alliance for Justice president Nan Aron, questioned by WSJ’s Jess Bravin and Politico’s Seung Min Kim ... “Q&A” (SUN 8pm & 11pm ET): Fix the Court executive director Gabe Roth
--MSNBC’s “PoliticsNation with Rev. Al Sharpton”: (SUN 8-9am ET): Valerie Jarrett; Ted Strickland; Cook County, IL State’s Attorney candidate Kim Foxx (D); Douglas Brinkley; Reason Magazine’s Matt Welch; Voto Latino president Maria Teresa Kumar
--MSNBC’s “The Place for Politics”: (SUN 9-10am ET): Bendixen & Amandi International executive vice president Fernand Amandi; Howard Dean
--MSNBC’s “The Place for Politics”: (SUN 10-11am ET): Dana Milbank; The Guardian’s Sabrina Siddiqui; The Nation Magazine’s Dave Zirin; John Jay College’s John Gutierrez
--MSNBC’s “The Place for Politics”: (SUN 11am-12pm ET): Time Magazine’s Jay Newton Small; Tea Party Nation founder and Cruz campaign surrogate Judson Phillips; Allan Lichtman; The Atlantic’s Steven Clemons; Miami Herald’s Carol Rosenberg; former Bush-Cheney advisor and Bipartisan Policy Center VP communications Robert Traynham
--MSNBC’s “The Place for Politics”: (SUN 12-1pm ET): Former Fiorina campaign deputy campaign manager Sarah Isgur Flores; author Ellen Fitzpatrick; Tucson, AZ vice-mayor Karin Uhlich; David Maraniss
--MSNBC’s “The Place for Politics”: (SUN 1-2pm ET): The Daily Beast’s Betsy Woodruff; Gary Johnson; author and Princeton University’s Julian Zelizer
--PBS’s “To the Contrary” with Bonnie Erbé: “The Foreign Service: In Search of Diversity”
--SiriusXM’s “No Labels Radio” (SAT 10am ET & 6pm ET, SUN 1PM ET): Host Jon Huntsman, with co-hosts Mickey Edwards and Al From, will discuss the state of the Republican and Democratic Parties. On-air guests include MSNBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald to discuss the 2016 Presidential Election, as well as Politico’s Josh Gerstein to discuss the President’s Supreme Court nominee.
--Sinclair’s “Full Measure” with Sharyl Attkisson (SUN 9:30am ET on WJLA and airing on Sinclair stations nationwide): Report on Cuba and the U.S., as the President makes his historic trip this weekend; report on the Trump factor, a candidate who was ridiculed for months, but some are having to come to terms with the phrase presumptive nominee; a visit to one U.S. town on the Mexico border that has the heavy imprint of cartel drugs, money and influence.