Playbook Deep Dive
Welcome to Playbook Deep Dive, the stories behind the power. From Congress and the White House to bar stools and back rooms, POLITICO Playbook’s team brings you interviews with the most compelling and important figures who explain what’s really going on in Washington.
Episodes
May 9, 2025 • 24 mins
Fox News anchor Bret Baier joins POLITICO’s Dasha Burns to discuss his unique position in President Donald Trump's Washington. The wide-ranging conversation covers Baier's golf outings with Trump, his interviews with global leaders like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron, the media's problem of declining trust, his upcoming coverage of Trump's high-stakes trip to the Middle East, and more.
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May 2, 2025 • 44 mins
Former Nancy Pelosi and Kamala Harris adviser Ashley Etienne joins Rachael Bade to assess House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ first 100 days leading his caucus. They also discuss what Democratic kingmakers need to do to win back voters—from building a better ground game, to ditching attention-grabbing stunts, to coordinating their messaging so they can finally land some punches on Trump.
Rachael Bade is Capitol Bureau Chie...
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April 18, 2025 • 36 mins
Longtime Democratic strategist Doug Sosnik joins Deep Dive host Dasha Burns to discuss the current identity crisis within the Democratic Party. Sosnik discusses insights from a presentation he’s shared exclusively with Playbook that details the path forward for the Democrats, including how to connect with voters, elevate the right new leaders, and whether or not to oppose Trump or work with him.
Dasha Burns is the White House Bur...
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April 11, 2025 • 36 mins
Robert Doar, the President of the American Enterprise Institute, joins host Rachael Bade to discuss how an institution long dedicated to promoting ideas such as free trade and strong American global leadership, is asserting itself in a Trump administration that often does not prioritize those views.
In this episode, they discuss who in the White House is receptive to these values; how AEI is trying to influence an administration t...
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April 4, 2025 • 39 mins
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is making some big shakeups at the Department of Health and Human Services — and Calley Means is one of his key strategists. In this episode, POLITICO White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns sits down with Means to break down the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, and how Secretary Kennedy is planning to channel its energy into policy goals.
Dasha Burns is the White House Bureau Chief for POLITICO.
Cal...
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March 28, 2025 • 29 mins
Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton joins POLITICO's Rachael Bade to discuss the Signalgate controversy and the broader battle over who will define Donald Trump’s foreign policy — Reagan-era hawks or America First types and isolationists — and who might take the fall for this national security scandal.
Rachael Bade is Capitol Bureau Chief and Senior Washington Correspondent for POLITICO.
John Bolton is a former Tru...
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March 22, 2025 • 41 mins
White House deputy chief of staff James Blair is one of the most important people in politics you’ve never heard of — yet. On this week’s episode of Deep Dive, he talks with POLITICO Capitol Bureau Chief and Senior Washington Columnist Rachael Bade to pull back the curtain on how Trump 2.0 has managed to do so much in just two months; Susie Wiles’s style as chief of staff; the White House reaction to the latest Democratic dysfuncti...
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March 22, 2025 • 35 mins
Chris LaCivita co-managed Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign. On this episode of Deep Dive, he’s sharing some of his secrets about Trump’s inner circle, as well as where he thinks Trump’s presidency is headed next. He joins POLITICO White House Bureau Chief Dasha Burns to discuss the truths about Project 2025 and Donald Trump; what actual power Elon Musk has; some spicy tidbits about Trump’s plans to redevelop Gaza and who he thinks will...
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March 7, 2025 • 42 mins
House Budget Committee ranking member Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) joins the show to discuss how his Democratic colleagues should respond to California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent pivot on trans athletes in sports, President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress, the looming government shutdown and the GOP’s possible cuts to Medicaid in reconciliation.
Rachael Bade is Capitol Bureau Chief and Senior Washington Correspondent for POLITIC...
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February 28, 2025 • 29 mins
Trump’s rapid-fire approach to governing is shaking up Washington. But is he moving too fast for his own good? In this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host Eugene Daniels talks with POLITICO’s senior Congress editor Mike DeBonis and West Wing Playbook co-author Sophia Cai to break down the risks of Trump’s high-speed strategy and what it means for the weeks ahead.
Eugene Daniels is the Chief Playbook Correspondent for POLITICO.
Mik...
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February 21, 2025 • 32 mins
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has an independent streak and a big job leading the National Governors Association. Here’s what he’s telling fellow governors about when to work with Trump and when to oppose him, how he thinks that Trump is hurting himself, and what the first thing Elon Musk and DOGE should cut is.
Eugene Daniels is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Jared Polis is the Governor of Colorado.
Kara Tabor is a producer for ...
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February 14, 2025 • 38 mins
Where is the Democratic “resistance” for Trump’s second term? Chief Playbook Correspondent Eugene Daniels asks Rep. Jamie Raskin, a longtime nemesis of President Trump’s and the current House Judiciary Committee ranking member, why the Democrats have been slow to counter the president’s aggressive governing, and what the plan is going forward to rebuild the party and its message.
Eugene Daniels is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO...
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February 7, 2025 • 33 mins
House Republicans are facing tough choices on reconciliation, party unity, and whether or not to look the other way when President Trump steps on their authority. In this episode, House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain gives the scoop on House leadership's hours-long meeting with the president on Thursday, and why she thinks that the House GOP is about to have a major breakthrough.
Rachael Bade is a Playbook co-author for PO...
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Trump has moved aggressively to define his second presidency. POLITICO’s top reporters have thoughts on where he’s going, and how Congress, Democrats and the courts may try to stop him.
Eugene Daniels is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Rachael Bade is the Capitol Bureau Chief and Senior Washington Columnist for POLITICO.
Ankush Khardori is a columnist and senior writer for POLITICO Magazine.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITIC...
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January 24, 2025 • 33 mins
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is the longest serving current U.S. senator and currently chairs the Judiciary Committee, which will have purview over President Donald Trump’s immigration policy. He is also the former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax policy — two big seats for the coming reconciliation bill.
On this episode, Playbook’s Eugene Daniels checks in with Grassley about reconciliati...
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January 17, 2025 • 33 mins
Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith joins the show to elaborate on his vision for reconciliation, how he’s working with the diverse factions within the GOP to achieve it and why he believes he will prevail in passing “one big beautiful bill” with major tax cuts.
Eugene Daniels is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Jason Smith is the Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
A...
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January 10, 2025 • 32 mins
Michael Froman — former U.S. Trade Representative, Deputy National Security Advisor and current president of the Council on Foreign Relations — joins Playbook co-author Eugene Daniels to discuss the state of affairs in the world that Trump is stepping into, how world leaders are watching and reacting to Trump’s every word and what he thinks Trump will do differently than Biden in global hot spots like Ukraine, Taiwan, Israel, and y...
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December 27, 2024 • 26 mins
Out with the old and in with the new or in the case of 2025, it’s back to the future with the return of Donald Trump to the White House. As America and her allies prepares for Trump 2.0, what can we be certain of in an increasingly unpredictable and fractious world?
In the final episode of Power Play this year, host Anne McElvoy is joined by POLITICO's Global Editor-in-chief John Harris and Nicholas Vinocur, editor-at-large in POL...
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December 20, 2024 • 37 mins
One thing Donald Trump loves to say is that he knows how to make a deal. And even for our allies, sometimes the “Art of the Deal” can feel like a shakedown. Ask NATO about that, and you’ll get some nods. But lately, Canada is the ally that’s been caught in Trump’s line of sight.
The president-elect has been trolling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on social media, calling him the “governor” of America’s “51st state,” and threatening...
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December 13, 2024 • 39 mins
Donald Trump’s Washington is going to be packed with heavyweights from big business such as Elon Musk, Scott Bessent and Howard Lutnick. But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which represents traditional business interests in D.C., has recently found itself estranged from its longtime allies in the Republican Party. On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, the Chamber’s top lobbyist, former Rep. Rodney Davis, joins Playbook co-author Rac...
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