Playbook PM: Inside Michael Cohen’s star testimony

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THE CATCH-UP

THE TRUMP TRIAL — After weeks of buildup, the prosecution’s most important witness in the criminal hush money case against DONALD TRUMP took the stand this morning. And MICHAEL COHEN didn’t waste much time in pointing the finger directly at his former longtime boss.

“What I was doing” in helping catch and kill KAREN McDOUGAL’s allegation of an affair with Trump, Cohen said, “I was doing at the direction and for the benefit of Mr. Trump.” As Erica Orden notes, this was the first time at trial that “anyone has testified about the [McDougal] information being directly relayed to Trump, a crucial connection for prosecutors to make.”

Cohen spent much of his early testimony presenting himself as a loyal attack dog while working as Trump’s lawyer — he said he loved working for the future president, and sometimes lied and bullied people on his behalf.

Prosecutors got Cohen to provide first-hand accounts of Trump’s involvement in his business’ day-to-day operations — a key piece of trying to convince jurors that Trump would have known about the STORMY DANIELS payment. Cohen said that Trump told him when he announced his presidential campaign, “Just be prepared there’s going to be a lot of women coming forward.” He also testified that he and Trump met with National Enquirer publisher DAVID PECKER about running positive stories about Trump, and Trump was happy when they printed negative pieces about his opponents.

As prosecutors get closer to the heart of the charges against Trump, Cohen testified that he thought the “Access Hollywood” tape would damage Trump with female voters and that Daniels’ story would be “catastrophic” for the campaign. Cohen said that when he asked Trump if he’d slept with Daniels, Trump didn’t answer directly but called her “a beautiful woman.”

Of course, much of the case will hinge on how credible the jury finds Cohen, the former Trump fixer-turned-enemy who spent more than two years in prison. Kyle Cheney described Cohen this morning as “measured, soft-spoken and pretty clear-headed about the details of his exchanges with Trump and Pecker.” But expect a barrage of attacks on his motives and trustworthiness when cross-examination begins. Live updates from our colleagues

New York’s hottest club for VP contenders is the courthouse in Manhattan, where Sen. J.D. VANCE (R-Ohio) showed up today to support Trump and Sen. TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.) has thought about going, Semafor’s Shelby Talcott reports. Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-Ala.), Rep. NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS (R-N.Y.) and ERIC TRUMP were all in today’s entourage too — though none are in the VP mix. Tuberville, true to form, called the people in the courtroom “supposedly American citizens.”

Fun interview: “The Courtroom Sketch Wiz Turning Trump’s Trial Into High Art,” by The Daily Beast’s Helen Holmes, talking to ISABELLE BROURMAN.

BIG DEPARTURE — MELINDA GATES announced that she’s leaving the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation next month, and taking $12.5 billion with her for “the next chapter of my philanthropy.” More from CNBC

A CLASSIC WASHINGTON STORY — “A White-Collar Indictment Shatters a Congressman’s Blue-Collar Image,” by NYT’s Ken Vogel and Kitty Bennett: “Representative HENRY CUELLAR started from humble origins, but records show he welcomed the trappings of power afforded by his position.”

Good Monday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at [email protected].

7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. POLL POSITION: On the heels of this morning’s NYT/Siena poll showing that President JOE BIDEN is losing — badly, in some swing states — to Trump thanks to the economy and immigration, a new FT/Michigan Ross survey finds that negative economic sentiment and disapproval of Biden’s handling of the economy are on the rise again. That seems largely to be thanks to inflation that has proven more stubborn than expected this year. The share of voters who think Biden has helped the economy fell 4 points from last month, as 80 percent cited high prices as a personal financial challenge. Voters trust Trump more on the economy, 43 percent to 35 percent.

At the same time, new NYT/Siena Senate polls find Democrats leading in the crucial Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin races. Those results — which also find Democrats enjoying typical levels of support from young and Hispanic voters — suggest a surprising amount of ticket-splitting and a weakness unique to Biden that hasn’t infected the whole party brand. That could be an especially worrisome sign for the president, or an opportunity for growth. (Of course, if Republicans flip West Virginia and Trump wins, none of these Senate seats will save Dems’ majority.)

Though she’s slightly down in the polls, Arizona Republican KARI LAKE is making a big splash with a $10 million ad reservation for the fall, Axios’ Stephen Neukam reports. The first buy is $675,000 this month for ads focused on immigration and the border.

2. FITNESS FOR OFFICE: “How strength training in Washington delivered more brawn for Ukraine,” by NBC’s Peter Nicholas: “The senator and congressman who forged a rapport in the House gym quietly collaborated in a way that is making it tougher for Russia to swallow up Ukraine. … Much has been said about [Speaker MIKE] JOHNSON’s maneuvering. Less well-known is the discreet role that [Rep. JOSH] GOTTHEIMER and [Sen. MARKWAYNE] MULLIN played in pushing the deal through.”

3. REALITY CHECK: As the number of Chinese migrants arriving in the U.S. has surged, Trump and conservative media outlets have repeatedly portrayed them as an “army” that could be coming to do harm to America. From New York, AP’s Fu Ting, Ali Swenson and Didi Tang have the actual story: These single men are mostly ordinary people, inspired by social media, who are fleeing economic troubles, pandemic restrictions and political repression. Experts say the conservative conspiracy theories “build on a long history of pervasive stereotypes.”

4. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY: “How 20 Years of Same-Sex Marriage Changed America,” by WSJ’s Molly Ball: “The widespread public approval suggests most people don’t believe the horrors once forecast have resulted from same-sex marriage’s legalization, and now there is evidence to prove it. A comprehensive new research report by the Rand organization finds that the consequences of two decades of legal same-sex marriage have been broadly positive for gay and straight Americans alike.”

5. DIPPING INTO CHIPS: The latest Commerce Department announcement of a major grant for semiconductor manufacturing is $120 million for Polar Semiconductor in Minnesota, the Star Tribune’s Burl Gilyard reports. The White House says it will create more than 160 new jobs. But more broadly, Biden’s big industrial policies have failed to really break through in the public consciousness, WaPo’s David Lynch reports — and what’s more, some experts don’t really foresee them ever generating a jobs boom.

Meanwhile, Trump will head to Minnesota on Friday, AP’s Steve Karnowski previews from St. Paul, where the former president is talking a big game about expanding the map. He’ll appear at the Lincoln Reagan dinner that the state party hosts this year; Minnesota Republicans didn’t respond to questions about whether Trump would get any of the fundraising dollars.

6. TIKTOK ON THE CLOCK: “How TikTok’s slick, ‘tone-deaf’ lobbyist in Washington miscalculated as Congress passed sale-or-ban bill,” by the N.Y. Post’s Thomas Barrabi: “Beltway insiders traced the phone offensive to TikTok’s head of public policy, MICHAEL BECKERMAN — a notorious tech industry operative and ex-GOP Hill staffer … While Beckerman is seen as a charming communicator who can command a room, multiple sources said his forceful personality and flashy wardrobe can rub people the wrong way in DC. … A TikTok spokesperson said the company makes ‘no apologies for explaining the enormous benefit that TikTok brings to the American economy and thousands of small businesses.’”

7. AD IT UP: The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers are going up with a big new ad campaign slamming Biden and Democrats running for Senate, NBC’s Ben Kamisar scooped. The $6.6 million buy from the fuel industry group takes aim at new emissions standards that will hasten the transition to electric vehicles, airing in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Texas. Interestingly, Kamisar notes, “the only groups aside from pro-Trump outfits spending significant money on ads attacking Biden in recent months are related to the oil industry.”

On the flip side, the progressive United for Democracy coalition is launching a $10 million effort to criticize the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority, Rolling Stone’s Andrew Perez and Tessa Stuart report. That will include $1 million for ads in Arizona, Pennsylvania and the D.C. area, plus local events and ground-game organizing.

8. THE BUZZ IN TALLAHASSEE: A RON DeSANTIS appointment to an open Senate seat in Florida is still multiple hypotheticals away — if Trump picked Sen. MARCO RUBIO for his VP, they cleared up residency issues, and Rubio resigned mid-term. But that hasn’t stopped Florida politicos from chattering about what DeSantis would do, and how it would set up the next phase of his career, Kimberly Leonard, Gary Fineout and Mia McCarthy report. Their sources say the term-limited governor wouldn’t pick himself or first lady CASEY DeSANTIS for the seat. Instead, the top contenders are seen as Lt. Gov. JEANETTE NUÑEZ, AG ASHLEY MOODY, JOSE OLIVA and JAMES UTHMEIER.

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OUT AND ABOUT — Kate Lehrer and Walter and Ann Pincus hosted a party for Stephen Breyer’s new book, “Reading the Constitution” ($32), at Lehrer’s home. SPOTTED: Chief Justice John Roberts and Jane Roberts, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Mary Graham, Anthony Fauci and Christine Grady, Joanna Breyer, Margaret Carlson, Steve Weisman and Elisabeth Bumiller, Tom Susman, Jane Mayer, Sid Blumenthal, Molly Raiser, Jamie Gorelick, Jim Hoagland, Steve and Sally Bedell Smith, Jim Dickinson and Bob Schieffer.

MEDIA MOVES — Martin Pengelly is joining The Daily Beast as Washington bureau chief and correspondent. He previously has been Washington breaking news correspondent at the Guardian. … Shawn McCreesh is rejoining the NYT as a feature writer on the politics desk. He previously has been the media writer at N.Y. Mag.

TRANSITIONS — The Hudson Institute is adding Allie Carroll as director of media relations and Ryan Tully and Aaron MacLean as senior fellows. Carroll is an RNC alum. Tully previously was a professional staff member for the House Armed Services Committee and is a Trump NSC alum. MacLean hosts the “School of War” podcast and is a Tom Cotton alum. … Sophie Vaughan is now manager of federal advocacy comms at Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund. She most recently was at Precision Strategies. …

… Wesley Armstrong is joining the Senate Homeland Security government operations/border subcommittee as a policy adviser. He previously was a legislative assistant for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and is an American Enterprise Institute alum. … Katie Peterson is now director of operations and events at Interfaith Alliance. She previously was deputy administrative director for Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).

WEEKEND WEDDING — Natasha Bertrand, national security correspondent at CNN, and Bryan Coxwell, a software engineer at G3 Technologies, got married Saturday at Big Bear Cafe. They met in 2017 at the birthday of Bryan’s best friend, who officiated. Pic … SPOTTED: Oren Liebermann, Katie Bo Lillis, Haley Britzky, and Daniel Strauss and Claire Tonneson.

Send Playbookers tips to [email protected] or text us at 202-556-3307. Playbook couldn’t happen without our editor Mike DeBonis, deputy editor Zack Stanton and Playbook Daily Briefing producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.