“THE MORNING MEETING” DAYBOOK
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2024
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“2WAY Tonight” is preempted this evening so we may bring you a special holiday edition of “The Muppets Take Manhattan.”
I will be back Monday night at 6pm ET for the next episode.
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DAYBOOK, all Eastern Time unless otherwise noted
JOE BIDEN
No known public events at this time.
KAMALA HARRIS
DONALD TRUMP
Records “Meet the Press,” with clips expected to unfurl today.
JD VANCE
No known public events at this time.
CONGRESS
10am: Hakeem Jeffries holds weekly news conference.
“The Morning Meeting” topics:
* Has Pete Hegseth revived his nomination chances?
* The meaning of David Sacks going into the government.
* The meaning of the Khanna-Lipinski exchange.
ESSENTIAL READING/VIEWING
* * Per a close DC observer to the Wide World of News on the Hegseth nomination:
Goals of the week were three fold:
1) AVOID THE FAILURE OF A NOMINEE PAST: Matt Gaetz hated Senators, and couldn’t even bring himself to pretend otherwise. Instead, a likeable and engaging Pete blitzed multiple Senators in their own offices face to face, so they could meet him, hear his plans, and answer every question. Then those Senators told their colleagues he has a DoD vision and qualities they could support. This boosted Senate backing, and didn’t let control of the nomination shift to The Town’s nonstop bitching and the downfall doom mongers in the media.
2) WIN DC FIGHT CLUB? BREAK THE FIRST RULE: Nominees are always told to say nothing publicly during their confirmations. That’s just the DC version of assisted suicide. A mute nominee barraged by hostile reporters tempts any President to just go ahead with a mercy killing once he decides you’re weak or going to lose. Being out front strongly on your own behalf while not trashing Senators or their process shut down the Senate Kevorkians while showing the President and his team strength, courage, and grit.
3) CAPTURE THE MAR A LAGO FLAG: Fighting through the rough terrain of Palm Beach with a forward deployment of credible voices to the President that Pete is a great nominee in much better shape than he had been hearing—Senators and other key influencers—helped turn the volume up for Pete and drown out voices pushing other names. A unified offense for Pete against a fragmented set of alternatives found success.
BOTTOM LINE? HATERS GONNA HATE HATE HATE…Pete ends the week without any Senator saying no. There are many more meetings and a ton of work left to do, but his nomination is very much alive. He can fight on, and fight to win.
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Watch it here:
* New York Times, true to form:
President-elect Donald J. Trump and his allies have declared that his incoming administration has an “unprecedented” and “historic” mandate. While he won the popular vote by only a small margin, it’s true that voters shifted in his favor across the country and sent him back to the White House. But does that equate to a full-throated endorsement of his policy proposals?
Broadly speaking, polls show most Americans do want change in many of the areas where Mr. Trump has promised sweeping reform, including the economy and immigration. But when asked about specific policies and the effects on their daily lives, Americans, including many who voted for Mr. Trump, aren’t always as supportive and often have mixed opinions.
“You go down the line of all these policies and you find high levels of opposition, and it reflects that, for many Americans, they weren’t voting on specific policies,” said Prof. Tatishe Nteta, the director of the UMass Poll.
That’s not to say that polling suggests all of Mr. Trump’s plans are unpopular — but they aren’t all broadly popular, either. Instead, polling reveals that many Americans hold nuanced views on some of the issues Mr. Trump plans to tackle or are unsure how they feel about them.
* For Sean, Shania Twain performing "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" and "Santa Baby"
* For the world, Paul McCartney at Paris La Defense Arena singing “Lady Madonna”: