White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

2016 Club Meets at Milano, Alex Castellanos and Josh Ginsberg Brief

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Franco Nuschese, owner of Cafe Milano along with More’s Betsy Fischer Martin, gathered political media for an on-the-record briefing by Alex Castellanos and Zignal Labs’ Josh Ginsberg.

Both campaign veterans addressed the Trump Tsunami and assessed the opportunities for each party as the election rolls into September. Discussion focused on two main themes: “the echo effect” within social media and rebranding conservatism in America.

Media in attendance included Jonathan Martin of The New York Times, Politico’s Ken Vogel, National Journal’s Ron Fournier, CNN’s Polson Kanneth, Matt Viser of the Boston Globe, Yahoo’s Garance Franke-Ruta, Chris Isham of CBS News, Jennifer Maguire of Tribeca/Pipeline, Lisa Desjardins of PBS Newshour, WSJ’s Jeanne Cummings, Anthony Salvanto of CBS News Surveys, and John Coale.

Read more via FishbowlDC: 2016 Club Convenes at Café Milano

David Adler, WHC Insider Co-founder, Toasted by Washington Post!

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The Washington Post recently profiled the evolving nature of the Washington, D.C. party scene as discussed at the Elevate conference for Washington event planners. Our own David Adler was feted in the Style section cover story.

“Nobody’s an attendee anymore,” says David Adler, founder of BizBash, the events media company that hosted the conference. “You’re all participants — whether you like it or not.”

The article by Roxanne Roberts explains how “the old formula of cocktails, dinner and endless speeches is giving way to artisanal menus, designer mixologists and charging stations. Plus hashtags, live Instagram feeds and anything else that will transform another boring evening into a talker.”

Read the full article on washingtonpost.com: Reinventing the Washington party: Cut the speeches, pump up the schmoozing

Zignal Labs and GWU: Trump Noise Doesn’t Equal Support

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“Donald Trump may be dominating the polls and traditional media coverage of the Republican presidential race. But a deeper, multiplatform analysis of 22 million recent campaign media mentions by a San Francisco startup shows that pervasive TV coverage of Trump’s latest insults isn’t translating into what it takes to be the party’s nominee.”

Read more via sfchronicle.com: Yes, Trump is loud, but SF startup finds message doesn’t resonate

Read more via FishbowlDC: SF Startup Sees Disconnect Between Trump Coverage and Campaign Enthusiasm

Fox News Praised for Tough Questions in First GOP Debate, Candidates Vie for Attention on Crowded Stage

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Debate PicRepublican candidates gathered together Thursday night for a highly anticipated first debate of the primary season in Cleveland, Ohio. Fox News anchors hurled tough and ambitious questions to candidates with Donald Trump starting things off by refusing to commit to not launching a third party bid, possibly undermining the future Republican nominee.

Moderator Megyn Kelly set the evening’s tone by confronting Trump about his past misogynistic comments on women, to which he responded he didn’t “have time for total political correctness.” Kelly asked Governor Scott Walker whether he could win a general election while possessing viewpoints out of the mainstream on abortion. Moderator Bret Baier confronted Senator Rand Paul on why he is “so quick to blame” his own party on foreign policy, which later incited a heated exchange between him and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on phone data collection and national security.

“When you’re sitting in a subcommittee, just blowing hot air about this, you can say things like that,” Governor Christie fired at Senator Paul, who seconds later accused the governor for fundamentally misunderstanding the Bill of Rights and hugging President Obama. Christie looked presidential in his response that the hugs he remembered are with families who have lost loved ones in the September 11 attacks.

With such a crowded stage, fighting for time to speak was an inevitable factor. According to the Washington Post, the order of minutes spoken from most to least begins with Donald Trump at 10.31 minutes spoken, former Governor Jeb Bush with 8.47, Governor John Kasich with 6.56 minutes, former Governor Mike Huckabee with 6.50 minutes, and followed by Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, Governor Chris Christie, Governor Scott Walker, and Senator Rand Paul.

When addressed for the second time, Ben Carson stated, “Well, thank you, Megyn, I wasn’t sure I was going to get to talk again.”

Ohio Governor John Kasich, who barely squeaked into the debate reserved for the top 10 polled Republican candidates, refused to be buried and presented himself as a formidable challenger. Placed on the far right side of the stage, due to his last place polling, Governor Kasich spoke to a more moderate leaning compassionate conservative. He said he would love his daughters unconditionally, even if they were gay, and defended his decision to expand Medicare in his home state. “Everybody has a right to their God-given purpose.”

The debate wrapped up around 11 pm, after a series of concise and rehearsed closing statements from the candidates.

The “Happy Hour” debate, which consisted of the seven Republican candidates who did not make the top 10 cut, took place earlier at 5 pm. Carly Fiorina received praise for her performance from multiple experts in Politico Magazine.

The next Republican debate will be hosted by CNN and Salem Radio at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California on Wednesday, September 16. The first Democratic debate will be held on October 13 in Nevada, hosted by CNN.

Jeb Bush, Jr. on his father’s debate performance

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Betsy Fischer Martin spoke with Jeb Bush, Jr. about his father’s performance during the Republican presidential candidate debate. “Mom and I were a bit nervous. Dad’s been working really hard, we’ve all been working hard. Dad’s extremely passionate about the country and it feels like he is uniquely qualified to serve as president.”

When asked about Trump: “The guy with the crazy hair? He was good, a little entertainment, but would love to see him talk about more policy.”

A WHCInsider/Trail Talk Podcast Exclusive With Rubio’s Todd Harris

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Todd Harris, Marco Rubio Campaign Senior Adviser, gave an exclusive interview to Betsy Fischer Martin in Spin Alley following the first Republican presidential debate.

He was pleased with Rubio’s performance: “Only one candidate who had a positive vision for the future.”

He did not think Rubio should have gone after Donald Trump saying this election is about a “conversation between candidates and primary voters.”

Harris, a veteran campaign strategist, commented that he would have advised Trump to come to the debate with more substantive answers.

Q & A with Governor Bobby Jindal after the GOP Presidential Debate

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GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL: Hey how are you?

BETSY FISCHER MARTIN: What question would you ask Jeb Bush tonight?

JINDAL: I would ask him why he thinks we need to abandon our principles – why not instead embrace our principles. Why would he advocate doing that when it hasn’t worked before for the party? He said you have to be willing to lose the primary in order to win the general – that hasn’t worked. Why does he think it would actually work? Why does he think it’s smart to double down on amnesty and why does he think we need to hide our conservative beliefs – when it seems to me that voters are looking for a real alternative to this president and his path toward socialism.

BFM: And what about Trump – do you have a question for him?

JINDAL: I’ll let the moderators…maybe I shouldn’t have answered your first question. (laughter) I am sure the Fox moderators are more than capable of coming up with great questions. I’ll say this about Trump: He has tapped in folk’s frustration with political correctness. I think that the donors and party leaders in DC need to put down sharp objects, get away from the windows, they need to calm down. The reality is the American voters will pick our nominee and our president — not the donors not the party leaders — and the more they attack him, the more they strengthen him. The reality is that he has tapped into the frustration that people have with political correctness. At the end of the day, I think I am going to the be nominee and I am going to be the next president because I have that bandwidth and that backbone that voters are looking for. And any attempt to try to clear the field or appoint a candidate is going to backfire. I think that donors and party leaders just need to take a deep deep breath, relax, it’s summer – there is a long way to go in this process.

BFM: Thanks, Bobby.

Dems Announce Debate Schedule, Stepping on Tonight’s GOP Debate

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Hours away from the first Republican debate, the Democratic National Committee announced its long-awaited debate schedule for its own candidates, which will include six debates ranging from October to March.

CNN will host the first debate on October 13 in Nevada, one of the four early primary states. The second debate will take place in Iowa in early November with CBS News, The Des Moines Register and KCCI as hosts, which will be followed by a Christmas showdown in New Hampshire on December 19 by ABC News/WMUR.

NBC News and the Congressional Black Caucus Institute will host the fourth debate on January 17 in South Carolina. Tensions and excitement will be at a peak during this event, as it is the final debate before the state nomination season officially begins with the Iowa caucuses on February 1 and the New Hampshire primary on February 9. Finally, there will be two debates hosted sometime in February and March. One will be hosted by Univision and the Washington Post in Miami, Florida and the other in Wisconsin by PBS.

There are currently five Democratic candidates pursuing the nomination: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, former Virginia Senator Jim Webb and former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee. However, the DNC welcomes any new candidate who wishes to enter the race, as long as they meet the criteria of receiving at least 1% in three national polls in the six weeks leading up to the debate.

The Weekly Standard reports that insurgent Governor Martin O’Malley is already complaining about the new schedule.