POLITICO NIGHTLY: Biden’s unpleasant welcome-home gift

 

BY MICHAEL GRUNWALD Presented by Facebook LEFT HOOK — As President Joe Biden returns from his tense summit with Vladimir Putin to try to cobble together a bipartisan infrastructure agreement, progressive Democrats will greet him with a frustrated message: No Climate, No Deal. These Democrats in Congress see climate change as an emergency for humanity, and while they cheered the clean energy investments in Biden’s $2.5 trillion American Jobs Plan, they’re pressuring him not to sacrifice those climate priorities to secure Republican support for a more modest bricks-and-mortar bill. “There is little appetite in our caucus for an infrastructure plan that ignores the greatest crisis, the most existential crisis that we face,” Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said last week. This is the headache that awaits the president after he gets back from Europe, and there’s no simple political Excedrin that can relieve it. The climate crisis may be urgent, but like the Covid crisis and the democracy crisis and the border crisis and anything else that politicians deem a crisis, addressing it through legislation requires rounding up the votes. That’s not so easy to do when Democrats have such tiny majorities in Congress. The all-powerful centrist Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has been just as adamant about a bipartisan process as Heinrich and other liberals have been about a climate-conscious outcome. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has demanded “an absolute unbreakable guarantee that climate has to be at the center of any infrastructure deal that we cut,” but if Manchin doesn’t want to give that guarantee, there isn’t much that Markey or Biden or anyone else can do about it. The problem, of course, is that climate change is a real crisis. Atmospheric carbon levels just hit the highest level in recorded human history, and the International Energy Agency just warned that humans need to end oil and gas exploration now, sales of fossil-fueled boilers by 2025 and sales of internal combustion engines by 2035 to reach the emissions targets of the Paris accord. The climate didn’t care about congressional gridlock when President Barack Obama failed to pass a climate bill in 2009, and it doesn’t care now. Crises do not have the power to force politicians to solve them. But they do have the power to force politicians to reveal their priorities. President Donald Trump often talked about America’s infrastructure crisis, but it clearly wasn’t a top priority for him or his party, because Republicans never did anything about it when they were in power, despite the Trump administration's series of comically overhyped “Infrastructure Weeks.” By contrast, Trump really did care about his border wall, so much so that when Congress refused to fund it, he diverted billions of dollars from the Pentagon to the wall. Climate is clearly a priority for Biden. He’s set far-reaching climate targets, hired a Dream Team of climate hawks, and made a series of aggressive climate announcements. But it’s not yet clear whether it’s as urgent a priority for him as restoring bipartisanship, or fixing more traditional infrastructure, or indulging Joe Manchin. And no matter how loud the left screams, he might not have a path to a climate bill that doesn’t require him to let the elaborate Washington choreography of bipartisan negotiations play out until Republicans find an excuse to drop out. Then Manchin and other jittery Democrats might agree to pass something green — or at least greenish. Progressives talk a lot these days about learning the lessons of 2009, by which they mean Biden shouldn’t compromise his ambitions the way they think Obama did. But when I interviewed Biden a decade ago about the lessons of 2009, he said the left was crazy to blame Obama for failing to get a bigger stimulus or a more generous health care bill. He thought he and Obama had moved the ball down the field, taking what the defense had given them. He believed they had made things better, and better was better than worse. Perfect wasn't on the menu, so they had tried for good. “Give me a break,” he told me. “I’ve been doing this my whole career. I’m going to say something outrageous: I don’t know anybody who counts votes better than me in the Senate. I love the left saying, Oh, you could’ve done better. Come on. You tell me how you get the votes!” When Biden comes home from Switzerland, he’ll have to try to get the votes again. Whether the bipartisan negotiations on the Hill produce a deal, whether Democrats pursue their own bill that requires only 50 votes, the president won’t get everything he wants for the climate. But it’s quite likely that he’ll get something. And then the left will have to decide whether that’s better than nothing. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. If you’re opening this the second it hits your inbox (and we know you are), go here to tune into the second half of the NYC Democratic Mayoral Debate, co-moderated by POLITICO’s own Sally Goldenberg . We’ll have analysis from our New York team running alongside. Reach out with news, tips and ideas for us at mgrunwald@politico.com, or on Twitter at @MikeGrunwald. Programming note: Nightly won’t be publishing Friday, June 18. We’ll be back and better than ever on Monday, June 21. A message from Facebook: The internet has changed a lot since 1996 - internet regulations should too It's been 25 years since comprehensive internet regulations passed. See why we support updated regulations on key issues, including: – Protecting people’s privacy – Enabling safe and easy data portability between platforms – Preventing election interference – Reforming Section 230   AROUND THE WORLD NO CUSSIN’, LIL’ FUSSIN’, SOME BACKTALKIN’ — Aviators and a crystal bison. “Stable and predictable.” Tolstoy quotes. There was a little something for everyone on the shores of Lake Geneva, as the U.S.-Russia summit capped Biden’s European trip. — ‘This is not about trust’: Biden and Putin both described their highly anticipated meeting as an amicable and constructive affair, but they offered few signs of progress in the U.S.-Russia relationship and made clear there was little trust between the two countries, Anita Kumar and Quint Forgey write. At a pair of solo news conferences, Biden and Putin claimed to have gotten along fairly well during their hours of conversation with senior aides. Still, Biden emphasized that only Russia’s future actions would prove whether Putin heard the message the American president traveled to Geneva to deliver. “It was important to meet in person so there could be no mistake about or misrepresentations about what I wanted to communicate. I did what I came to do,” Biden said. “This is not about trust. This is about self-interest and verification of self-interest,” he added, later citing an expression to paraphrase his post-summit outlook: “The proof of the pudding is in the eating. We're going to know shortly.” — Hack back tack for future cyber whack? Biden said he warned Putin that the U.S. would use offensive cyber operations in the future unless the Kremlin clamps down on cyber strikes against the U.S., including ransomware attacks and election interference. — ‘That’s a ridiculous comparison’: Biden flatly rejected Putin’s attempt to deflect from Russia’s treatment of human rights by pointing out America’s perceived shortcomings at home and abroad. Following the hourslong meeting with Biden, Putin dodged a question about Russia’s jailing and unsparing treatment of political dissidents by pointing to the months of unrest last summer in the wake of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. — Paging embassy cleaning crews: The U.S. and Russia said they would return their ambassadors to Moscow and D.C. , respectively, following the summit. The ambassadors’ return was an anticipated topic of discussion at the summit in Geneva. Russia’s U.S. ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, was called back by the Kremlin in March after Biden called Putin a “killer.” The U.S. ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, left Moscow in April, publicly stating that the reason for his return to the U.S. was “consultations” with American officials. His departure from Russia came after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russia and expelled 10 Russian diplomats — and Russia, in turn, expelled 10 U.S. diplomats.   DON'T MISS THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT: POLITICO will feature a special edition of our Future Pulse newsletter at the 2021 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of global health industry leaders and innovators who are turning lessons learned from the past year into a healthier, more resilient and more equitable future. Covid-19 threatened our health and well-being, while simultaneously leading to extraordinary coordination to improve pandemic preparedness, disease prevention, diversity in clinical trials, mental health resources, food access and more. SUBSCRIBE TODAY to receive exclusive coverage from June 22-24.     FROM THE HEALTH DESK THE MAINSTREAMING OF ANTI-VAXXERS — Before the pandemic, anti-vaxxers were mostly fringe groups, falsely claiming that shots could cause autism in children. Now, Covid culture wars and red state laws to restrict vaccine mandates are reinvigorating the anti-vaccine movement nationwide — and that's a problem for ending the pandemic, Lauren Gardner reports in the latest POLITICO Dispatch. Listen to the latest POLITICO Dispatch podcast       WHAT'D I MISS? — Manchin privately strategizes with GOP on his party's stalled elections bill: As progressives hammer Manchin for opposing Democrats’ ethics and election reform bill, the West Virginian is busy working behind the scenes. Manchin organized a Zoom meeting on Monday with civil rights groups and a handful of Republican senators to discuss his party's proposals on voting rights and policing, both of which are currently stuck in the upper chamber as Democrats search for the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. — DOJ watchdog: Marshals Service has ‘inadequate’ resources to protect judges: The U.S. Marshals Service doesn’t have the resources it needs to keep federal judges safe, according to a new report from an internal watchdog. The agency doesn’t have sufficient capabilities to monitor threats made on social media, the report found, and the home security system it provides for its protectees offers “limited or outdated equipment.” — Senate will vote to repeal Iraq War authorization, Schumer says: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced his support for repealing the 2002 war authorization for Iraq , vowing to hold a vote on scrapping the outdated measure later this year. The announcement from Schumer comes as the House is expected to pass Rep. Barbara Lee’s (D-Calif.) bill on Thursday that would repeal the 2002 law, which served as the legal basis for several military operations in Iraq. — EU to open up travel to unvaccinated US citizens: Restrictions on travel to Europe from the United States are set to be eased after EU ambassadors reached an agreement on additions to the EU’s approved travel list, national officials told POLITICO. Countries today agreed to expand the list to include the U.S., North Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, Taiwan and Lebanon, with a formal sign-off expected at the end of the week.   SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel.     NIGHTLY NUMBER 25 million The number of interactions involving critical race theory on Facebook, according to a DNC analysis. The academic concept of civil rights scholars was barely a blip on social media in 2020. The increase in interest illustrates how rampant disinformation has become during the Biden era. PARTING IMAGE Eric Adams in Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn. | Mark Ostow for POLITICO Magazine SCENES FROM A SURREAL MAYOR’S RACE — Coming Thursday in POLITICO: For five days, photographer Mark Ostow followed some of the top New York City mayoral contenders as they pressed their case to voters, block by block. His intimate, almost off-the-cuff style, and his knack for catching politicians and the people around them in unguarded moments, seemed perfectly suited to this most unusual campaign — and to capturing every corner of the city, from Broadway to Brooklyn bodegas. This first look for Nightly readers is of Eric Adams, who has topped most recent polls, in Brooklyn’s Cadman Plaza this past weekend. A message from Facebook: Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations 2021 is the 25th anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the last major update to internet regulation. It’s time for an update to set clear rules for addressing today's toughest challenges. See how we’re taking action on key issues and why we support updated internet regulations.   Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter Renuka Rayasam @renurayasam Chris Suellentrop @suellentrop Tyler Weyant @tweyant Myah Ward @myahward   FOLLOW US

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POLITICO NIGHTLY: It's V-V Day! Or is it?

 

BY MYAH WARD Presented by Facebook DON’T GET COCKY, KID — The White House announced plans today to host a July 4 “independence from virus” bash , encouraging the nation to celebrate the country’s success in tackling the virus after 16 months of pandemic disruption. The states are already celebrating. California — the first state to shut down because of the pandemic last year — lifted most of its restrictions today. Gov. Gavin Newsom marked the reopening with a mascot-laden press conference at Universal Studios, where he announced the winners of the state’s vaccine lottery. Maryland announced plans today to lift its state of emergency on July 1. And New York is setting off fireworks across the state tonight to celebrate freedom from Covid. California Gov. Gavin Newsom talks during a news conference at Universal Studios in Universal City, Calif. | AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu It’s true that 2021 has been a marked improvement over 2020 in the U.S. But maybe the champagne flutes are out a little too early. The country likely won’t meet President Joe Biden’s goal of getting 70 percent of adults vaccinated by July 4, and the regional vaccine gap is stark. There’s also yet another new, more contagious variant spreading across the country. To decide whether it’s time to ask the coronavirus to concede defeat on the deck of the USS Harry S Truman, Nightly called two of our go-to experts and asked them the same questions, separately, about everything from variants and vaccines to what Covid may look like next winter. This conversation has been edited. How dangerous is the Delta variant? Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security: The Delta variant is more contagious and will likely find it easy to infect unvaccinated individuals who have no prior immunity from natural infection. But it depends upon who these individuals are. Are they high-risk for severe consequences? Remember, even in the face of the Delta variant, if the high-risk population is fully vaccinated or has immunity, you’re not likely to see an increase in deaths reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine: Mother Nature has already told us what she has in store for us. We saw what happened in India when the Delta variant emerged that swept over South Asia, the Indian subcontinent. Then, when it hit the U.K., it out-competed even the B117 variant. And now it’s here. About 6 to 10 percent of U.S. cases are Delta and so the prediction is, as we move into the summer, we’re gonna see a big surge in the South, just like we saw last year after the July 4 holiday. That’s my big worry. And it’s going to look different because if you’re fully immunized, two doses, then you do pretty well in terms of cases and illness. But if you only had a single vaccination or if you’re unvaccinated, you’re highly vulnerable. What are the chances of a vaccine-resistant variant emerging? Adalja: I think it’s very low. I think it’s very difficult for the virus to develop, to mutate into a variant that completely evades all vaccine protection. And remember the goal of vaccines wasn’t to get to Covid zero. Hotez: I think of course, it’s possible, but I doubt we’ll see that. I think what we’ll see is — we already know if you look at variants like the P1 or the South African variant — that there are more breakthrough infections. So I think that’s a possibility down the line. And I think the way you manage it is you give a booster. What’s your biggest concern with unvaccinated regions of the U.S.? Adalja: I have less concern about cases, more concern about hospitalizations. In parts of the country where vaccination rates are very low, like Mississippi, they are going to continue to have more circulation until they reach a high level of population immunity through a combination of whoever’s vaccinated and natural infection. Hotez: I worry about two Covid nations emerging, the North and the South, the blue and the red. I mean it looks like a Civil War map of the Union and the Confederacy, that’s how awful it looks. Adalja: I think we’re gonna still top out at what Michigan looked like in the late winter, when they were having an increase in cases and hospitalizations in their unvaccinated populations. Hotez: Yes, I think that’s fair to say it won’t be as terrible, but it still could be pretty terrible. And so I think what’s going to happen is Delta is going to finish the job that the others, that the original lineages started — pretty much anyone who’s been left uninfected and unvaccinated is going to get infected over the next few months with Delta. How much natural immunity exists in the U.S.? Adalja: I know that we probably underestimated. Because if you look at the models — the CDC ensemble models didn’t predict as much of a decline in cases, and I think it might have to do with underestimating natural immunity. I know that, for example, Mississippi got hit hard in the summer of last year. There have been less mitigation measures in places like Mississippi, which probably means they’ve had more people get infected and they have, I would suspect, on a per capita basis maybe more natural immunity than other states. I haven’t seen that data though. That’s a hypothesis. Hotez: It’s hard to know. And you don’t know with this Delta variant how much it will respect that previous infection and recovery. It seems to have some immune invasion capacity. What’s the best way to get more people vaccinated? Adalja: I think now it comes down to almost like a politician going door knocking. Just literally walking door to door, knocking on every door and saying, “Does anybody need vaccine?” Almost like one more vote. That’s how I’ve approached it with people that I’m friends with. Hotez: For a while, I was going on conservative news outlets, and I have been pretty much cut off of that of late. That’s what I was working on. The Biden administration needs to try to push for greater outreach to those groups, and the way you do that I think is identify champions that will help you in this — people who are respected by conservative groups. Will Covid be seasonal? Adalja: I do think that this is going to exhibit seasonality, that when it gets colder, when it gets less humid, when it gets less sunny, when people are doing more activities indoors, you’re going to see acceleration of transmission in the unvaccinated population. But it’s established itself in the human population. It’s not going anywhere. Many people keep thinking, “When is it going to go back to pre-pandemic?” You can go back to your pre-pandemic life, but that pre-pandemic life is going to be one in which Covid-19 is there. And that’s why we get vaccinated. Hotez: All we really have to go on is the past year of the pandemic. And what we saw last year was a big July 4 surge that lasted until September in the South, so I think we have to anticipate that. Then I think we have to anticipate a fall surge in the Upper Midwest again, in the Plains states, particularly in those unvaccinated areas of Wyoming and Idaho. And if you look at Marc Lipsitch’s models from Harvard, way back in the early part of the pandemic, he predicted annual January peaks, and he was certainly right about the last one. And that may be how this works — we’ll continue to see surges and cases at different times of the year, in different parts of the country, until everybody’s either been vaccinated or infected. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. You might’ve heard POLITICO editor Carrie Budoff Brown is headed to a new opportunity. (We hear it’s some sort of thing where it matters If It’s Sunday or not.) Congrats to CBB, and to the folks at NBC News, who are getting an incredible colleague and leader. Reach out with news, tips and ideas for us at mward@politico.com, or on Twitter at @MyahWard. A message from Facebook: The internet has changed a lot since 1996 - internet regulations should too It's been 25 years since comprehensive internet regulations passed. See why we support updated regulations on key issues, including: – Protecting people’s privacy – Enabling safe and easy data portability between platforms – Preventing election interference – Reforming Section 230   WHAT'D I MISS? — Biden nominates five new court candidates amid Democrats’ urgency: Biden announced five new candidates for the federal bench today , continuing an intense push by Democrats to fill court vacancies while they maintain the majority in the Senate. Biden’s nominees included three to the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, one to the District Court for the District of Columbia and one to the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. — GAO: Biden didn’t break the law with border wall pause: The Government Accountability Office issued a legal opinion explaining that Biden’s pause on funding for former President Donald Trump’s project amounts to a “programmatic delay,” rather than an illegal stoppage of money Congress has provided. GAO said Biden’s action cannot be equated with Trump’s decision in 2019 to freeze military assistance to Ukraine — a move that contributed to Trump’s first impeachment and GAO deemed illegal. — McCarthy pushes Pelosi to remove Omar from Foreign Affairs Committee: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy called on Speaker Nancy Pelosi to strip Rep. Ilhan Omar of her House Foreign Affairs Committee assignment — warning that Republicans would remove the Minnesota Democrat from the panel if they retook control of the chamber next year. But the House GOP leader stopped short of a direct threat to force a vote in the coming days aimed at censuring Omar or kicking her off the committee for comments that Republicans and some Democrats claimed compared war crimes committed by the U.S. and Israel to terrorist acts by Hamas and the Taliban. — Pentagon considering permanent naval task force to counter China in the Pacific: The Pentagon is considering establishing a permanent naval task force in the Pacific region as a counter to China’s growing military might, according to two people familiar with internal discussions . The plan would also involve creating a named military operation for the Pacific that would enable the defense secretary to allocate additional dollars and resources to the China problem, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss pre-decisional plans. — Biden pressed to go ‘big and bold’ to root out housing discrimination: A government-wide push by Biden to combat disparities in how homes are valued is emerging as a major test of his pledge to narrow the racial wealth gap, with fair-housing advocates saying it may require a significant disruption of the housing market. Racial inequity in home appraisals is pervasive. According to one study, homes in majority-Black neighborhoods are valued at $48,000 less on average than comparable residences in white neighborhoods, adding up to $156 billion in lost value for Black homeowners.   DON'T MISS THE MILKEN INSTITUTE FUTURE OF HEALTH SUMMIT: POLITICO will feature a special edition of our Future Pulse newsletter at the 2021 Milken Institute Future of Health Summit. The newsletter takes readers inside one of the most influential gatherings of global health industry leaders and innovators who are turning lessons learned from the past year into a healthier, more resilient and more equitable future. Covid-19 threatened our health and well-being, while simultaneously leading to extraordinary coordination to improve pandemic preparedness, disease prevention, diversity in clinical trials, mental health resources, food access and more. SUBSCRIBE TODAY to receive exclusive coverage from June 22-24.     NIGHTLY NUMBER 69-28 The confirmation vote in the Senate today for Amazon critic and anti-monopoly advocate Lina Khan to the Federal Trade Commission. Biden plans to elevate Khan to chair the FTC today , sources familiar with the White House’s plans confirmed hours after her confirmation.       AROUND THE NATION WHAT ARE NEW YORKERS LOOKING FOR? A progressive visionary who’s willing to experiment? Or a competent manager who will guide the Five Boroughs out of the pandemic, a rising crime rate and a decimated tourism industry? With the NYC Democratic mayoral primary quickly approaching, city hall bureau chief Sally Goldenberg and national political reporter Tina Nguyen take you through what the candidates are offering, and how Covid-19 has affected the race. AROUND THE WORLD HANKS READYING TO PLAY AMBASSADOR IN MOVIE — Biden today unveiled nine nominees for ambassadorships , including for Israel, NATO and Mexico. Among the names was hero pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, whose quick thinking and deft skills saved lives when he landed a disabled plane in the Hudson River. The nominees consisted of five political appointees and four career government officials. Some had expected Biden to release the slate last month, but vetting and other issues delayed the announcement, which comes as Biden is in Europe meeting with allies and preparing to hold a summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Tom Nides, a banking executive and former deputy secretary of State will be named for the spot in Jerusalem, while Julianne Smith, a longtime foreign policy adviser to Biden, is up for the NATO position in Brussels. Ken Salazar, a former U.S. interior secretary, is up for the Mexico City job. Sullenberger will be nominated as the U.S. representative to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization. His 2009 actions, called the “Miracle on the Hudson,” led to movies and other fame. TRYING TO AVOID A SWISS MISS — The state of U.S.-Russia relations isn’t great. And Biden and Putin have a whole platter of issues to scold one another about. But as foreign affairs reporter Nahal Toosi reports in the latest POLITICO Dispatch, you shouldn’t expect much more than sharp words to come out of Wednesday’s summit. Listen to the latest POLITICO Dispatch podcast   SUBSCRIBE TO "THE RECAST" TODAY: Power is shifting in Washington and in communities across the country. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. The Recast is a twice-weekly newsletter that explores the changing power dynamics in Washington and breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics and policy in America. Get fresh insights, scoops and dispatches on this crucial intersection from across the country and hear critical new voices that challenge business as usual. Don't miss out, SUBSCRIBE . Thank you to our sponsor, Intel.     PARTING WORDS “‘Protocol, shmotocol!’ I heard this a million times when I entered my post as chief of protocol for the Obama administration. But many of these skeptics soon witnessed how the tools of protocol — location selection, arrival rituals, gift exchanges and more — allow leaders to connect from a starting point of mutual respect and broach difficult conversations without alienating each other. Protocol — whose ancient Greek etymology is a reference to the first sheet of papyrus that came at the beginning of an official missive — offers a shared blueprint everyone can follow, minimizing the possibility of disruptive surprises or missteps. When the building of diplomacy becomes wobbly, protocol is often the scaffolding that holds things together.” — CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL, CHIEF OF PROTOCOL OF THE UNITED STATES FROM 2009-2013 AND THE WHITE HOUSE SOCIAL SECRETARY FROM 1997-2001, IN POLITICO MAGAZINE’S “SURPRISE GIFTS, SECURITY DETAILS AND SECRET SMOKE BREAKS: THE ART OF PLANNING A PRESIDENTIAL SUMMIT” A message from Facebook: Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations 2021 is the 25th anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the last major update to internet regulation. It’s time for an update to set clear rules for addressing today's toughest challenges. See how we’re taking action on key issues and why we support updated internet regulations.   Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.   Follow us on Twitter Renuka Rayasam @renurayasam Chris Suellentrop @suellentrop Tyler Weyant @tweyant Myah Ward @myahward   FOLLOW US

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RSN: FOCUS: Ken Klippenstein | Amazon's Twitter Army Was Handpicked for "Great Sense of Humor," Leaked Document Reveals

 

 

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FOCUS: Ken Klippenstein | Amazon's Twitter Army Was Handpicked for "Great Sense of Humor," Leaked Document Reveals

Ken Klippenstein, The Intercept
Klippenstein writes: "Amazon ambassadors were trained to defend Jeff Bezos and clap back at Bernie Sanders under a program codenamed 'Veritas.'" 

mazon’s small Twitter army of “ambassadors” was quietly conceived in 2018 under the codename “Veritas,” which sought to train and dispatch select employees to the social media trenches to defend Amazon and its CEO, Jeff Bezos, according to an internal description of the program obtained exclusively by The Intercept.

Amazon ambassadors drew attention this week as they responded to a wave of online criticism for the company’s treatment of workers amid a union drive at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama.

Anticipating criticisms of worker conditions at their fulfillment centers in particular, Amazon designed Veritas to train fulfillment center workers chosen for their “great sense of humor” to confront critics — including policymakers — on Twitter in a “blunt” manner. The document, produced as part of the pilot program in 2018 and marked “Amazon.com Confidential,” also includes examples of how its ambassadors can snarkily respond to criticisms of the company and its CEO. Several examples involve Sen. Bernie Sanders, a longtime critic of the $1 trillion firm who has been targeted by it in recent days. It also provides examples of how to defend Bezos.

“To address speculation and false assertions in social media and online forums about the quality of the FC [Fulfillment Center] associate experience, we are creating a new social team staffed with active, tenured FC employees, who will be empowered to respond in a polite—but blunt—way to every untruth,” the project description reads. “FC Ambassadors (‘FCA’) will respond to all posts and comments from customers, influencers (including policymakers), and media questioning the FC associate experience.”

Kelly Nantel, an Amazon spokesperson, said via email: “FC Ambassadors are employees who work in our fulfillment centers and choose to share their personal experience — the FC ambassador program helps show what it’s actually like inside our fulfillment centers, along with the public tours we provide.”

In 2018, Amazon admitted that the ambassadors were employees paid to “honestly share the facts” about what working in its fulfillment centers is like. Many Twitter users had at first believed the ambassadors were automated “bot” accounts due to the nearly identical format of their account bios, all of which feature the Amazon smile logo and begin with the handle “@AmazonFC.” But that format was specifically mandated by Amazon, The Intercept’s document shows. “We could also add an emoji to the username to give personality, for example a small box emoji,” the document suggests.

Sens. Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisc., tweeted last week about the company’s treatment of workers and its corporate practices. Amazon’s PR account then sent taunting replies to the lawmakers, asking Pocan, “You don’t really believe the peeing in bottles thing, do you?” As The Intercept reported the following day, many Amazon delivery drivers have indeed been forced to relieve themselves in bottles and bags in order to meet demanding quotas — and the company knew it.

Amazon also replied to Warren and Sanders, telling Sanders, “I often say we are the Bernie Sanders of employers, but that’s not quite right because we actually deliver a progressive workplace.” The tweets have vexed many in the company, some of whom feared the account had been hacked, as The Intercept reported.

Sanders, who has confronted the company over its labor practices and recently visited workers in Alabama, is referenced repeatedly in the 2018 document. In one instance, the document refers to a video interview Sanders tweeted: “Bernie Sanders interviewing Seth King on Prime Day. Seth describes feeling so depressed working at Amazon to take his own life.”

An ambassador, role-playing, then responds: “@SenSanders This job has never made me feel bad personally. If you have a job that makes you feel bad, you could leave.”

At another point, Sanders is described as having “tweeted about Jeff Bezos’ wealth.” The ambassador then replies: “Everyone should be able to enjoy the money they’ve earned/saved. It’s theirs. They should be able to do with it as they please. That includes Jeff Bezos.”

Among the program’s tenets is the promise not to offer misleading or false messages, instead exhorting ambassadors to “Tell Your Truth.” But there are some subjects they are forbidden to discuss. The document instructs employees not to respond to “contacts about the right to unionize” — one of only three cases in which they’re told not to respond. An example to ignore is provided: “@Amazon let your FC employees unionize if you have nothing to hide.”

Ambassadors were also told not to respond to media inquiries and to complicated queries where PR approval is needed. One written example of a tweet to ignore mentions Amazon’s advertising relationship with the far-right outlet Breitbart: “@Amazon why are you still advertising on breitbart?! Between that and barely paying your employees, I’m ready to quit shopping with you.”

The document also makes clear that ambassadors are far from a representative sample of workers, noting that “newer employees can be very passionate and effective,” according to their review of a small pilot group. Newer employees who haven’t yet had to pee in bottles, perhaps.

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