BREAKING -- Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will appear together TUESDAY morning at a rally at Portsmouth High School to “discuss their commitment to building an America that is stronger together and an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top,” per the Clinton campaign.
HAPPENING TOMORROW -- OBAMA, BIDEN and BUSH will all appear at an “interfaith memorial service at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center” Tuesday in Dallas. President Obama will meet with “families of the fallen police officers and those who were injured to personally express the nation’s support and gratitude for their service and sacrifice.” Obama and former President George W. Bush will speak. SCOOPLET: Catching a ride on Air Force One with Obama: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
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THE PLAYBOOK INTERVIEW: SPEAKER PAUL RYAN
EXCLUSIVE: House Speaker Paul Ryan, who has at times been a foil to Donald Trump, will address the 2016 Republican Convention next week in Cleveland. The major speech -- which Ryan said he is writing himself -- will be 10 minutes long, and will focus on the House Republican agenda and “the sharp contrast between Republican ideas and four more years of Obama-like progressive policies; and the need for conservatives to unite around Republican candidates in advance of a critical election,” per an aide to the speaker. Ryan’s staff has been in discussions with the RNC and the Trump campaign over the past 10 days, and the deal was finalized on Thursday after Trump spoke to the House GOP.
--RYAN during an interview in his office said, “I want to talk about our ideas, our solutions and how our party should unite…around our common principles and how we apply those principles to problems.”
--Notes for Jake Tapper: Ryan is spending this week touting the House Republican policy agenda -- a set of proposals he sees as key to the party’s future. Here’s what Ryan will say during his CNN town hall tomorrow night: “[W]e have a better way for solving problems. And that we have ideas, and here are our ideas. I just think people are hungry for substance and solutions. Hungry for it. And we want to provide that. I think – it’s what I always wanted presidential elections to be about. It’s what I always wanted all elections to be about. And so, I think we’re in a position where we can help do that.”
--On gun control: “I just think we need to settle it down, and think things through. We’re working on our legislation – we want to make sure we get it right. I don’t want to just add fuel to populism fires and then have more venues for divisiveness.”
--On whether Clinton perjured herself: “I think we need to figure it out. I don’t want to get ahead of that … [House Republicans] have to ask [FBI Director James] Comey to look at that. So I don’t know the answer to that, but that’s something we should look at.”
--On whether he can work with Clinton: “I think she is actually a liberal progressive. I don’t think she’s faking it. I think she is a liberal progressive. And I think she’s sitting atop a party that’s now run by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. This is not the Erskine Bowles 1996 Democratic Party. This is not Alice Rivlin, Erskine Bowles, or Bill Clinton in 1996. This is a Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders party. Our party has moved right, their party has moved really left. I think the common ground, say that you had in the early 90s when I was here as a staffer is nothing like the common ground you have right now.”
Will Trump cost Republicans seats in Congress? Ryan smiled, and said, “I don’t know, we’ll see.”
--Click here for more of the Playbook Interview — on what Ryan thinks about Clinton, the scope of congressional probes into the Democratic nominee and prospects for legislating. http://politi.co/29J6uiA
PICS, courtesy the Speaker’s office – Ryan in conversation with us http://bit.ly/29ygWcN ... Ryan examining our fancy audio recorder -- he jokingly asked whether one could go Scuba diving with the gadget http://bit.ly/29ItKg0
FOR YOUR RADAR -- This is Congress’s last week in session for the summer. http://politi.co/29HxiCp
GOOD MONDAY MORNING! 7 days until Cleveland. 14 days until Philadelphia. 120 days until the election. We’re excited to finally be at the wheel and thankful for the opportunity. A special thanks to Mike Allen for creating Playbook and being supportive of our dreams, John Harris for trusting us, Robert Allbritton and Jim VandeHei for creating Politico. Please be in touch — we want to make sure you’re always getting what you want out of Playbook.
THRUSH PODCAST -- We joined Glenn Thrush for this week’s “Off Message” podcast for a candid conversation about what’s in store for Playbook. Glenn’s story http://politi.co/29GJTnS … Listen. http://apple.co/1KRm0m0
YOU’RE INVITED! -- Join Mike Allen, Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman this Wednesday for a special Playbook Breakfast featuring Education Secretary John King. Doors open at 7:30 a.m. at The W Hotel (515 15th Street, NW).RSVP: http://bit.ly/29AVCmq. The Playbook Breakfast series is sponsored by Bank of America.
TRAILWATCH: “Donald J. Trump in Westfield, Indiana,” tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.
EXCLUSIVE -- “Trump Campaign Announces Expansion of Communications Team” -- forthcoming release: “The campaign has enlisted the services of Bryan Lanza, who will serve as the Deputy Communications Director for Surrogates. ... Mr. Lanza has served as a Chief of Staff for members of the California State Assembly and Senate. Most recently, Mr. Lanza served as Communications Director of the non-profit Citizens United. ... The campaign has also brought aboard Steven Cheung, who will serve as the campaign’s Director of Rapid Response. ... Cheung has worked in communications on several Senate and gubernatorial campaigns, as well as the 2008 McCain-Palin presidential campaign. Mr. Cheung most recently served as the Director of Communications and Public Affairs for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.”
--FIRST LOOK: House Veterans Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) will introduce Trump in Virginia Beach this morning. Trump will give a “ten-step plan to ensure quality, timely care for every veteran in America.” Trump will say the “scandals that have occurred” at the VA “on this Administration’s watch are widespread and inexcusable … Fixing this corruption will be one of my highest priorities – and it will happen. It will be fixed.”
DAILY DONALD -- “After Outbreaks of Violence, Donald Trump Strains to Project Leadership,” by NYT’s Alex Burns and Maggie Haberman: “During a weekend fund-raiser at the Hamptons retreat of Wilbur L. Ross, a billionaire New York investor, Mr. Trump focused on reassuring the business-minded Republicans in attendance that he was a safe choice for president. Mr. Trump stressed that he did not consider himself ‘anti-trade’ or ‘an isolationist’ ... He polled the 60 or so attendees about who he should choose as vice president, and assessed some of the suggestions. … In one discussion, he mused that Stanley A. McChrystal, the former commander of forces in Afghanistan, might make a good running mate.” http://nyti.ms/29GFZLU
--@ShaneGoldmacher: “Intentional or not, pretty remarkable that @johndickerson’s Face the Nation today didn’t mention the words ‘Clinton’ or ‘Trump.’”
DICKERSON tells us why: “As we were putting together the show we kept thinking what’s happening? What does it mean? What are the voices? Who will help us understand and put things in context but also what are the range of opinions. That’s what we try to do every week but things kept changing. By the time we tried to answer all those questions and try to find some solutions there wasn’t room for politics. We could have done two shows … One other thing I should note. The team was still working on guests as late as Sunday morning if for no other reason than that DeRay McKesson was arrested overnight!”
NEW HILLARY VIDEO – Per a Clinton official: “In advance of Trump’s speech on Veterans in Virginia Beach, Hillary for America will release a new [1-min.] web video raising the question of what type of leader Donald Trump would be when he praises the leadership of Kim Jong Un, Muammar Gaddafi, Vladimir Putin, and Saddam Hussein.” http://bit.ly/29qMp2v
EZRA KLEIN interviews HILLARY – She tells Klein in a 40-minute video interview: “[O]ne of the biggest complaints I hear around the country is how callous and insensitive American corporations have become to American workers who have skills that are ones that should make them employable. The many stories of people training their replacements from some foreign country are heartbreaking, and it is obviously a cost-cutting measure to be able to pay people less than you would pay an American worker.” Full interview http://bit.ly/29HhvDK ... Ezra’s essay http://bit.ly/29umOkh
PULLING BACK THE CAMERA -- “Seeing the Real Dallas: The city is not a hot bed of racial tension. It is a culturally relevant urban center with innovative policing—and other cities should learn from it,” by Richard Parker, author of “Lone Star Nation: How Texas Will Transform America,” in TheAtlantic.com: “Once maligned as the ‘City of Hate,’ after the assassination of John F. Kennedy more than 50 years ago, Dallas has come a long way. Today’s Dallas is diverse, Democratic, and pioneering in its policing. Its once bombed-out-looking downtown is filling in with people, restaurants, and businesses.” http://theatln.tc/2a1hTJt
--“Dallas Police Killer Took a Sudden, Violent Turn,” by WSJ’s Dan Frosch, Arian Campo-Flores and Alexandra Berzon: Alleged Dallas police killer Micah Johnson “planned to carry out a larger attack involving explosives that would have had ‘devastating effects throughout our city,’ Chief Brown said.” http://on.wsj.com/29HpUas
--“Amid healing words in Dallas, Abbott was suffering from severe burns,” by Austin American-Statesman’s Jonathan Tilove: “Late Thursday afternoon, Gov. Greg Abbott’s office found itself dealing with a traumatic and wholly unexpected situation. The governor, who was on vacation with his family in Jackson Hole, Wyo., was on his way to St. John’s Hospital. He had been accidentally scalded with hot water and had extensive second- and third-degree burns on both legs below the knees and both feet.” http://atxne.ws/29s5OeK
CLEVELAND WATCH -- “Draft GOP platform calls for ‘America first’ trade policy, drops call for marriage amendment,” by CNN’s Tal Kopan: “A first draft of ... the GOP platform at this year’s Republican convention sticks to Donald Trump’s tough talk on trade, but leaves the long-time party position opposing abortion rights relatively unchanged. And in a major shift, the platform would drop the pursuit of a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman, opting instead to oppose the Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage and calling on the matter to be decided by the states.” http://cnn.it/29ADQS4
--WashPost Style cover, “Kasich lost GOP nomination, but now he’s finding a moment,” by Lois Romano: “Soon, he’ll head to New York to pitch to publishers a book proposal about the 2016 campaign and his message of ‘Two Paths,’ contrasting Trump’s doomsday talk with his positive approach. The plan is to roll out the book in town halls across the country. ... [N]ext week in Cleveland, he will be quite conspicuous — zipping to events and doing ample media in his parallel political universe. .... On Tuesday, Kasich will throw his own high-profile party at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his supporters.” http://wapo.st/29C6otO
SNEAK PEEK – “Concerts for Cause ... and political marketing firm The Lukens Company are rolling out a series of five exclusive pint glasses to commemorate the 2016 Convention. Each pint glass displays a meme starring a Republican luminary of past and present and the glasses will be distributed as a memento in limited quantities. Pic of its “Drinking Lincoln” glass http://bit.ly/29yBrVP
RARE OP-ED by Clinton consigliere David Kendall, “Whitewater was no close call for prosecutors”: “Putting aside significant ethical questions about the propriety of prosecutors casually reminiscing, decades later, about the potential guilt of subjects who were never charged, the facts speak for themselves. While independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr and his staff may have secretly hoped for and ruminated about the possibility of bringing a criminal case against Clinton, they never even presented an indictment to the many grand juries they used.” http://wapo.st/29wCrh8
CAMPAIGN AUTOPSIES -- “What Might Have Been: How Bernie Sanders Lost Black Voters,” by Fusion’s Terrell Starr: “Bernie Sanders lost the Democratic primary in large part because he failed to win the hearts of black progressives. It didn’t have to be that way. But his campaign never explained how black people fit into his vision of a radically changed America. And, according to a series of Fusion interviews with former staff members, campaign leadership didn’t really see the point in trying.” http://fus.in/29y6jWo
--RICK PERRY: Trump can’t build a wall -- The former Texas governor spoke to Snapchat’s Head of News Peter Hamby on Episode 6 of “Good Luck America.” Perry: “I’m for Donald Trump, and he says I’m going to build a wall and the Mexicans are gonna pay for it.” Hamby: “That’s not going to happen.” Perry: “Well, it’s not. It’s a wall. But it’s a technological wall. It’s a digital wall. There are some that hear, ‘This is going to be 1,200 miles from Brownsville to El Paso. 30 feet high.’ And listen, I know you can’t do that.”
SHOT -- Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn to ABC’s Martha Raddatz on “This Week”: “I think it’s a — I think for women — and these are difficult issues, but I think women have to be able to choose what they — you know, sort of the right of choice, but I think that that’s a difficult legal decision that — and I think that women are so important in that decision-making process. … They are the ones that have to make the decision, because they’re the ones that are going to decide to bring up that child or not.”
CHASER -- Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, per Nick Gass: “General Flynn has disqualified himself from consideration as Vice President. His pro-abortion position is unacceptable and would undermine the pro-life policy commitments that Mr. Trump has made throughout the campaign.” http://politi.co/29GHwRV
MEDIAWATCH -- GABE SHERMAN in NYMag.com, “Six More Women Allege That Roger Ailes Sexually Harassed Them”: “In recent days, more than a dozen women have contacted [Gretchen] Carlson’s New Jersey-based attorney, Nancy Erika Smith, and made detailed allegations of sexual harassment by Ailes over a 25-year period dating back to the 1960s when he was a producer on The Mike Douglas Show. ... Six of the women agreed to speak with New York publicly for the first time. Two spoke on the record; the others requested anonymity for reasons that include shame and fear of retribution. ‘I didn’t tell my husband, it was so mortifying,’ said Marsha Callahan, a former model who says Ailes harassed her in the late ‘60s, shortly before he became Richard Nixon’s media adviser.” http://thecut.io/29xdaUf
--“After Ailes: It’s almost impossible to imagine Fox News without its creator and guardian, Roger Ailes. Almost,” by Peter Sterne and Kelsey Sutton: “There are some reasons to expect that these accusations will not go away as quickly as previous ones have. ... [T]he strategy her team has pursued so far that only make sense if you are pushing hard for a jury trial, something that could be disastrous for Fox News and for Ailes ... as it threatens to air for the general public any number of things about the inner workings of a network that keeps its cards close to the vest.”http://politi.co/29x9Lzn
--Black Lives Matter activist @deray after his release: “I’m thankful that more media is out tonight in #BatonRouge. I’ll be back out there in a bit.”
--BREITBART reporter Lee Stranahan (@stranahan) on being released from a Baton Rouge jail: “I can’t stress this enough: not only do I believe my imprisonment was unconstitutional but I believe the other protesters was as well.”
PIC DU JOUR: “A demonstrator protesting the shooting death of Alton Sterling is detained by law enforcement near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department in Baton Rouge.” (Reuters) http://bit.ly/29A6L8Z
VALLEY TALK – N.Y. Times Business Day cover, “Forget Beanbag Chairs. Amazon Is Giving Its Workers Treehouses,” by Nick Wingfield: “The company is constructing a collection of high-rise and low-rise buildings in downtown Seattle that will be arrayed around three striking transparent, conjoined structures that Amazon calls spheres. They will act as high-tech greenhouses ... [and] Amazon wants to use the nature on the inside to inspire employees. When they open in early 2018, the spheres will be packed with a plant collection worthy of top-notch conservatories, allowing Amazon employees to amble through tree canopies three stories off the ground, meet with colleagues in rooms with walls made from vines and eat kale Caesar salads next to an indoor creek.” http://nyti.ms/29s6Oje
FIRST LOOK – “What Does the VP Think About the Supreme Court Vacancy?” on Medium: “The We Need Nine campaign recently spoke with Vice President Joe Biden ... [who] explained how the open seat hampers the Supreme Court and urged GOP leaders to hold a hearing on Judge Garland.” http://bit.ly/29yvfNB
TV TOMORROW – PBS is airing a new documentary “The White House: Inside Story” tomorrow at 8 p.m. which “features never-before-seen archival footage and new interviews with First Family members, present and former employees, historians, members of the press and a rare informal conversation with President Obama inside the Oval Office. Preview clip http://bit.ly/29s0qJm
TOP THAT! – DAVID KRONE, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s former chief of staff, gave the Nevada Democrat a hell of a parting gift: an $11,500 watch. Reid disclosed the timepiece in his annual financial disclosure, saying Krone gave him the watch “in honor of Senator’s announced retirement.” Reid also noted it was approved by the Senate Ethics Committee. But Reid has been spotted sporting a Rolex on Capitol Hill.
Krone, who left Reid’s office in April 2015, is extremely wealthy from a career as a telecom executive. He and his wife – former top Obama aide Alyssa Mastromonaco, now COO at Vice Media – moved to New York.
--Stumping with Trump, investing with Romney: Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who recently pulled out of consideration to be Donald Trump’s VP, just invested as much as a half-million dollars of his personal money in Solamere Capital, a hedge fund run by Mitt Romney, his son Tagg and close confidant Spencer Zwick. The investment – which is between $250,000 and $500,000 – is a small part of Corker’s multi million-dollar fortune, which also includes the Volunteer Building in Chattanooga, Tenn., which is worth between $5 million and $25 million.
FIRST LOOK -- 2016 PLAYERS – DNC CEO AMY DACEY and RNC COS KATIE WALSH interviewed by Cindi Leive for Glamour’s “Step Into My Office” series in its August issue -- Leive: “Wait, you guys are friendly? Aren’t you supposed to hate each other?” Dacey: [Laughs.] “Katie’s a hard person not to like… We met on an overseas trip and found out we had a lot in common. The thing is, there are only two jobs like this in the country, right? And we both have them.” http://bit.ly/29y6C4D
SPOTTED – Two former secretaries of state in time zones 5 hours apart: Madeleine Albright at Heathrow, coming in from the NATO summit in Warsaw to spend a few days in the UK on business ... Colin Powell at Union Station. ... Rick Tyler in the village of Gaiole in Chianti in Tuscany ... Colin Reed and Jahan Wilcox at the Garth Brooks concert in NYC ... Sen. Claire McCaskill at CityCenter’s Centrolina on Sunday.
SEND YOUR SPOTTINGS to daniel@politico.com
TRANSITIONS -- Evan McMorris Santoro is leaving BuzzFeed at the end of July to join Vice’s HBO show. http://politi.co/29skASP
– JULIE GERMANY has been appointed executive director of The White Coat Waste Project: STOP Taxpayer-Funded Animal Experiments. She was previously COO of Generation Opportunity and head of DCI Group’s digital practice.
WEEKEND WEDDING – “Meredith Melnick, James Breitinger” – N.Y. Times: “The bride, 33, is the executive editor of health and science at The Huffington Post. She graduated from Columbia and received a master’s degree in journalism there. ... The groom, 38, is an account director at Media Arts Lab, a Los Angeles-based advertising agency, where he handles communications with clients of foundations and nonprofit organizations and groups.” With a pic http://nyti.ms/29xkpex
OUT AND ABOUT – Juleanna Glover and Ryan Wegman hosted a buffet supper of sushi on Saturday night celebrating the Afghan/American partnership and honored Dr. Hamdullah Mohib, Afghanistan’s ambassador to the U.S.
SPOTTED: Xavier Equihua, Mike and Susan Pillsbury, Elaina Plott, Erin McPike, Amb. Omar Samad, Mike Oreskes, Craig Gordon, Nihal Krishan, Dorothy Kosonski, Miss District of Columbia 2016 Cierra Jackson, Eric Lipton, Stephanie Green, Roxanne Roberts, Marcus Brauchli, Halley Toosi, Evelyn Farkas.
AND... seen last night at Jack and Susanna Quinn’s potluck family barbecue and pool party: DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), Mark Putnam, Brianna Keilar and Fernando Lujan, Matt Dornic, Bill McQuillen and Amy Alexander, Allen Gannett, Kate Bennett, Jen Bendery, Alex Wirth, Virginia Coyne.
BIRTHDAYS: Garrett Graff is 35 ... Christopher (Meow) Maloney, a Romney alum now SVP at the Black Rock Group … Arthur Bushkin (h/ts Jon Haber) ... Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is 7-0 ... Jason Recher (h/t Jeff Grappone) ... Emily Benavides, press secretary for Sen. Rob Portman and a Jeb and Romney alum ... Politico’s Sophie Read ... Olivia Chow, one-third of the DNC’s all-female digital team in Philly, is 3-0 (h/t Morgan Finkelstein) ... Lindsey Kozberg, chief comms officer at the Truth Initiative and the pride of LA (h/t Mike Schoenfeld) ... Lindsay Rapkin, who starts work at Sidwell Friends tomorrow (h/t boyfriend Sam Dorn) ... Nora Connors ... John Becker ... Georgia Godfrey, COS to Condi Rice at Stanford (profile: http://bit.ly/29uxmzD) ... Joe Wall, VP of gov’t affairs at Goldman Sachs … Josh Wachs, chief strategy officer for anti-childhood hunger nonprofit Share Our Strength ... Valery Galasso, duck lover and Biden and FCC alum (h/t Nick) ... The Daily News’ Alyssa Katz ... Kayla Capper ... Ketchum’s KayAnn Schoeneman ... Todd DeLorenzo … Stacy Merrick …
... WSJ alum Corey Boles is 39 ... Laurie Goldberg, EVP of PR at Discovery ... Jamie Stiehm, columnist at Creators Syndicate ... Ryan Van Grack, senior advisor to the SEC chair ... Scott Graves, staff director at the House Ag. Committee ... Matt Lahr, Brad Stevens doppelganger and comms director to Sen. Dan Coats … Susy Schultz, president of Public Narrative ... Donna Tappin … Zach Simon, former Senate Dems staffer ... CFPB’s Chris Vaeth … Bruce Greenstein, former head of Louisiana HHS ... Twins Anne Sokolov (L.D. for Rep. Tim Ryan) and Kate Sokolov (Googler in NYC) ... Jenn Connell Kramer of PSE&G ... Frank Kirby … Tyler Fyrst ... AMA’s Sandy Marks ... Page Gardner ... Paul Johnson ... Mike Wittenwyler ... Gracie Boatwright, the pride of Austin ... Tyler Fryst ... Linda Vilmain ... Phillip Frank (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ... Jim Anderson, founder and CEO of Wholecrowd ... Margaret Cousley Bravo ... Leon Spinks is 63 ... Suzanne Vega is 57 ... Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi) is 57 ... Lil’ Kim is 41 ... Caroline Wozniacki is 26 (h/ts AP)
DESSERT – N.Y. Times, Arts cover, “A Word With: Javier Muñoz, the New Hamilton on Broadway,” by Michael Paulson: “Already, he has a reputation and a fan base. He’s been described as the sexy Hamilton because of the swagger he brings to the role, and Mr. Miranda bestowed on him a hashtag-nickname, Javilton, that has stuck. ... He is 40, openly gay, H.I.V. positive and a cancer survivor — he had surgery and radiation last fall, missing weeks of performances in ‘Hamilton,’ but has been back in the cast for months.” http://nyti.ms/29y4ObL
-- “David Geffen now documenting luxe life on Instagram,” by Page Six’s Mara Siegler: “The mogul, who joined Instagram in May, has been posting enviable shots of his trip to Capri, including one this weekend of his 453-foot luxury yacht Rising Sun coasting through the water, lit up at night.” http://pge.sx/29B4LgA … Insta pic of his yacht, Rising Sun http://bit.ly/29s8vhg