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| By Lauren Egan, Eli Stokols and Ben Johansen | Welcome to POLITICO’s West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration and Harris campaign. Send tips | Subscribe here | Email Eli | Email Lauren On Monday, the White House Historical Association will open the doors to its brand new project: a 33,000-square-foot, three-floor interactive center at 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue that is all about the executive mansion, its history and the career staff who keep the building running. West Wing Playbook was part of a small group of reporters who got a sneak peek on Friday morning of "The People's House: A White House experience" — and we gotta hand it to the WHHA. We were truly impressed.
D.C. is full of fantastic museums. But the WHHA center stands out for its unique ability to bring the public into the room for big moments in history and reimagine the ways in which history can be taught. So if you strike out on scoring visiting family and friends an official White House tour, this might be almost as good of an experience.
First, there was the large-scale model of the White House. Then there were dollhouse-sized replicas of White House rooms with the furniture and decor. Videos of historic events that occurred in those spaces were projected onto each diorama. It’s hard to overstate how high-tech this whole experience is. There’s a recreation of the portico and the Rose Garden. And truly no detail was spared when it came to the full-scale replica of the Oval Office, which is currently decorated to match the artwork that President JOE BIDEN has displayed in the real-life Oval (the WHHA will redecorate the replica whenever a new president is inaugurated to match their decor).
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| WHHA president STEWART McLAURIN said the association got the rights from the Smithsonian to reproduce the art hanging in Biden’s office, including the Apollo Moon rock that currently sits on the president’s bookshelf. There’s even a replica of the hefty Biden family Bible used during his inauguration, with faded pages and worn down edges.
There’s a replica of the White House movie theater — red recliner seats included. In another room, tables are set like they would be for a State Dinner, and wall-to-wall projections of actors pretending like they are seated at the table with you makes it feel like… well, you really are in the room for a State Dinner.
But the Cabinet Room replica is where we truly lost our minds. Visitors can sit down at the table across from what look like hologrammed versions of past presidents and their Cabinets as they debate big decisions. We sat across from President ABRAHAM LINCOLN as he and his advisers discussed how to respond to the attack on Fort Sumter.
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Courtesy of the White House Historical Association | |
As McLaurin guided us through the education center, it was clear how proud he was that the association was able to raise enough private donations (the WHHA is all privately funded to avoid any political influence from government officials who control the purse strings) and pull off the project in under two years. He spoke about his own memories of coming to Washington as a kid and how he couldn’t wait for the center to be bursting with school groups and visitors from all over the country.
“I could work here the rest of my life and not know all there is to know. Everyday, I learn something new about the White House,” McLaurin said. “As people go through and learn and experience, I hope that their minds are piqued about subjects, about people, about issues.” McLaurin was clearly enjoying geeking out with the reporters about how the association perfected the Oval Office replica and landed MARTIN SHEEN to narrate the center’s welcome video. But as we made our way to the second floor, his fondness for the “People’s Voices Gallery” stood out. The dimly lit room features framed digital “portraits” of various members of the permanent, non-political White House staff and tells the story of their evolving role over time. There’s one on security staff, building engineers, the culinary team and long-time gardening superintendent DALE HANEY. “These are the heart and souls of White House and what makes it work day-in and day-out,” McLaurin said. MESSAGE US — Are you MARTIN SHEEN? We want to hear from you. And we’ll keep you anonymous! Email us at westwingtips@politico.com. Did someone forward this email to you? Subscribe here!
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Which president was obsessed with Fresca? (Answer at bottom.)
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Vice President Kamala Harris joins Oprah Winfrey at a 'Unite for America' live streaming rally in Farmington Hills, Michigan, on Thursday. | AFP via Getty Images/Saul Loeb | | |
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WE’RE NOT IN 2020 ANYMORE: It was a surprise when Vice President KAMALA HARRIS reminded the audience at this month’s presidential debate that she is a gun owner. And on Thursday, in an interview with OPRAH WINFREY, she was blunt with how she would use the firearm. “If someone breaks into my house, they’re getting shot,” she said. “Probably should not have said that.” CNN’s MJ LEE reports that Harris’ gun can be described as “a pistol that could fit in a small purse” and is securely stored in her Los Angeles home. ATTENTION, TAR HEELS! The Harris campaign is continuing its efforts to tie DONALD TRUMP with MARK ROBINSON, the Republican nominee for governor in North Carolina. Robinson was the subject of a disturbing CNN report on Thursday that unearthed a series of inflammatory comments on a pornography website a decade ago. The campaign’s new television ad, titled “Both Wrong,” opens with Trump calling Robinson “an unbelievable lieutenant governor” and referring to him as “better than Martin Luther King," CNN’s ALAYNA TREENE reports. COULDN’T BE ME: A longtime former leader of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, JAMES P. HOFFA, called SEAN O’BRIEN’s decision not to endorse Kamala Harris a “critical error,” WaPo’s FRANCES VINALL reports. Hoffa — who served as the Teamsters’ president for 23 years before retiring in 2022 and is the son of mid-century labor legend JIMMY HOFFA — said the election was “too important for our union to not do its duty.” The lack of an endorsement is sparking concerns among Democrats that Trump could have larger-than-expected support among rank-and-file union members, especially men, as our HOLLY OTTERBEIN and ELENA SCHNEIDER report.
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OH, FOR SUREEEE: In an interview with NBC News, first lady JILL BIDEN said she and her husband are “totally at peace” with President Biden's decision to drop out of the race. Asked whether she was relieved that the weight was lifted off of her husband’s shoulders during the rest of the campaign season, she responded, “Yeah, I guess I am.” In the interview, the first lady emphasized that America needs to see “a peaceful transfer of power,” urging Americans to “come together” amid deep political divisions. WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS: President Biden convened his Cabinet on Friday and instructed them to “sprint to the finish,” as he looks to cement his White House legacy while ensuring much of his agenda is implemented before a potential second Trump presidency, CNN’s KEVIN LIPTAK reports. It’s the first time the president has convened the entirety of the Cabinet in almost a year. “He will direct his Cabinet to get as much work done as possible – whether that is moving funding out the door, announcing new programs or policies or delivering on programs and policies we have already announced,” one White House official said. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by The Hill’s RACHEL FRAZIN, who reports that the Biden administration on Friday selected 25 battery technology projects to receive $3 billion in federal funding. The money will go toward aspects of battery production, including mineral extraction and refining, battery recycling and battery materials manufacturing. The funding will be spread across 14 states and support more than 8,000 construction and 4,000 operating jobs, according to the White House. Communications director BEN LaBOLT and deputy communications director HERBIE ZISKEND shared the piece on X. WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This piece by NYT’s REID J. EPSTEIN, who writes that on paper, Harris should be feeling good about her chances in Wisconsin. But Democrats, Republicans and state pollsters agree that they don’t trust the polling and don’t believe Harris is ahead by as much as some of the surveys say. Even though Democrats have carried 12 of the past 15 statewide elections in Wisconsin, there’s a widespread feeling that polling data should be viewed with skepticism, and that voters who are supporting Trump are quietly waiting to vote in large numbers.
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MASTER OF IMPRESSIONS: Former GEORGE W. BUSH White House deputy chief of staff and Republican political strategist KARL ROVE has his impressions down to a science. Speaking alongside DAVID AXELROD at The Atlantic Festival on Friday, Rove gave his best Trump and BILL CLINTON impressions, much to the surprise and excitement of the audience. His Trump is really good. “Don’t do it,” he said, as the crowd went crazy for his impression of Trump saying everyone should have IVF. “It just encourages me.” His Clinton was on the money, too.
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AN ESCALATION IN BEIRUT: Israeli fighter jets conducted an airstrike in a southern Beirut neighborhood on Friday, killing at least 14 people and wounding several others in what Israeli officials are saying was a strike against top Hezbollah military commanders, including the militia group’s head of operations IBRAHIM AQIL, Axios’ BARAK RAVID reports. The assassination attempt by Israel on Hezbollah leaders comes several days after the detonations of pagers that killed close to 40 people and wounded more than 3,000 others. National Security communications adviser JOHN KIRBY said the White House was not aware of any prior notice Israel gave the U.S. about the strike. And as our ERIN BANCO and ROBBIE GRAMER report, U.S. officials are bracing for fighting between Israel and Hezbollah to continue in the coming days.
| | Trump’s Chief Legal Defender Vows a ‘Reign of Terror’ — Or Is It All an Act? (POLITICO’s Adam Wren) Trump Claims Harris’ Rallies Are Smaller. We Counted (NYT’s Malika Khurana, Kalina Borkiewicz, Elena Shao, Bora Erden, Ashley Wu and Bedel Saget) Kamala Harris Says She Wants To Earn Black Men’s Votes. Here’s How She Can Do It. (The Root’s Gevin Reynolds)
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| LYNDON B. JOHNSON enjoyed Fresca so much that he had a button installed in both the Oval Office and Cabinet Room where he could press it and have the soda almost immediately delivered. Thanks to John Powers for this question! A CALL OUT! Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents, with a citation or sourcing, and we may feature it! Edited by Steve Shepard and Rishika Dugyala. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us
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