POLITICO Nightly: The comeback tours that no one wants

By Calder McHugh Former President Joe Biden participates in a bilateral meeting with Canada's former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada on March 24, 2023. | Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images EXIT STAGE LEFT — Over the course of just a few months this winter, two of North America’s most recognizable and longest-serving political leaders were unceremoniously shuttled off stage. Now they’re back in the news cycle — and at particularly inopportune moments for the parties that they once led. Today, former U.S. President Joe Biden was scheduled to offer the first significant formal remarks of his post-presidency, addressing the conference of the Advocates, Counselors and Representatives for the Disabled in Chicago. Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will likewise return to the spotlight tonight in an exit interview he taped with legendary Canadian broadcaster Valerie Pringle shortly before he left office. Their respective returns aren’t necessarily by popular demand. By the time each left office — Biden in January and Trudeau in March — polls showed each leader with little public support. Biden’s Democratic Party remains underwater; the party’s approval rating was an anemic 37% in March . In Canada, Trudeau’s Liberal Party looks likely to retain control of parliament during their April 28 elections, in spite of the former prime minister. At one point near the end of his tenure, Conservatives held a 25-point polling advantage. Now, thanks in large part to Canadian anger over President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and his demeaning 51st state rhetoric, Liberals have had a stunning reversal of fortune. Trudeau’s replacement, Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney, has hammered home the concept of Canadian nationalism and toughness in the face of threats from Trump, adopting the slogan “elbows up” for his campaign. Both for Democrats and Liberals, Biden and Trudeau are reminders of a recent past that the two parties are looking to put behind them. Directly after former Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat in November, top Democrats raged at Biden , blaming him for losing the presidency because he refused to drop out of the race sooner. In Canada, Trudeau steadily lost support as public anger rose over a housing shortage and rising prices. Infighting among the Liberals caused his finance minister Chrystia Freeland, once tapped as a potential future prime minister, to resign in anger in December. Their return to television screens this evening only complicates their parties’ efforts to move on. Biden and Trudeau are naturally interested in restoring some of their luster and burnishing their political legacies. Party leaders and strategists, on the other hand, are eager to craft a new image free of their unpopular former standard bearers. Biden is surely aware of his political isolation, which stands in contrast to the president he once served. Former President Barack Obama remains an eminence grise within the party, with Democrats still desperate for his seal of approval and solicitous of his presence on the national stage. By contrast, Biden’s ignominious exit has left him out of favor. “I haven’t heard of one person who has communicated with him,” one Democratic member of Congress told CNN . Biden has additional incentive for returning to the fray: a slew of books describing his time in the White House, his disastrous debate performance and his decision to step down from the top of the ticket last summer are set to publish in the next few weeks . Those books are likely to renew the debate over the extent of his decline in office, a storyline the former president will be desperate to push back against with a show of vigor. So once again, Biden will take the stage attempting to prove to doubters that he remains a cogent figure who can deliver a strong anti-Trump message. His Chicago speech focused on threats to Social Security from the Trump administration — familiar terrain for him and a message all Democrats can get behind. Up north, Canadian voters will also be reminded of Trudeau’s long shadow less than two weeks before they go to vote for a new government. A preview of the Trudeau interview that was released to POLITICO in advance offered insight into how both men think about their complicated legacies. The former prime minister was asked very simply: why did he stay on as prime minister as long as he did? Canadian election law would have allowed Trudeau to exit the stage quietly as his disapproval ratings grew. His candid answer speaks to why both he and Biden are hanging around, even when people in their own parties might wish to clear them out of public life. “I was not ready to leave,” said Trudeau. “I still have more to do.” Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at cmchugh@politico.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @calder_mchugh .   POLITICO IS BACK AT THE 2025 MILKEN GLOBAL CONFERENCE: From May 4–7, California Playbook will deliver exclusive, on-the-ground coverage from the 28th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference. Get behind-the-scenes buzz, standout moments, and insights from leaders in AI, finance, health, philanthropy, geopolitics, and more. Subscribe now for your front-row seat to the conversations shaping our world.     What'd I Miss? ****DAN CALDWELL**** — Top Pentagon adviser placed on leave in leak probe: The Pentagon placed a top adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth under administrative leave today after a probe into potential leaks of sensitive information, according to a defense official. Dan Caldwell was escorted out of the Pentagon by security officers and had his building access suspended pending further investigation, according to the official, who was granted anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.  ****TRUMP MANDATED IRRATIONAL & ILLEGAL CONTROL FUNDING CUTS WERE FOR MEDICAL  RESEARCH THAT WILL HAVE SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS  THANK YOU HARVARD FOR STANDING UP! TRUMP HATES FREE SPEECH & DIFFERENCES OF OPINIONS!  THIS IS FASCISM! ***** — Trump threatens to remove Harvard’s tax-exempt status: President Donald Trump threatened to eliminate Harvard University’s tax-exempt status , following the Ivy League school’s refusal to implement policy changes demanded by his administration. “Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting ‘Sickness?’” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Tuesday. He added: “Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!” ****MUSKRAT & DOGsH*t don't even comprehend what those they fire do!***** — Pentagon’s ‘SWAT team of nerds’ resigns en masse : Under pressure from the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, nearly all the staff of the Defense Digital Service — the Pentagon’s fast-track tech development arm — are resigning over the coming month, according to the director and three other current members of the office, granted anonymity to discuss their job status freely, as well as internal emails. The resignations will effectively shut down the decade-old program after the end of April. ****ICE ABUSE ILLEGALLY DEPORTED INNOCENT PEOPLE - INCLUDING WOMEN! NO DUE PROCESS! NO CRIMINAL CHECKS!***** —  Judge launches inquiry into Trump administration’s refusal to seek return of wrongly deported man: A federal judge ordered an “intense” two-week inquiry into the Trump administration’s refusal to seek the return of a man who was wrongly deported from Maryland to a notorious prison in El Salvador. “To date, what the record shows is that nothing has been done. Nothing,” U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said at a court hearing Tuesday. ****DANNY WERFEL WORKED TO IMPROVE THE IRS, SIMPLIFIED ON LINE FILING & AUDITED WEALTHY TAX CHEATS! THERE'S ALWAYS ANOTHER INCOMPETENT TRUMP LACKEY TO NOMINATE!***** — IRS faces mass exodus of workers : The IRS could see a mass exodus of up to 40 percent of its workforce through a combination of buyouts offered by the Trump administration and widespread layoffs, according to an internal memo obtained by POLITICO. The memo outlines the agency’s plans to reduce its workforce to between 60,000 to 70,000 employees, down from a previous headcount of roughly 100,000. Notices of “reductions in force” will start going out this week, the memo says, specifying that “taxpayer services and compliance will need to be trimmed.”   Cut through policy complexity and turn intelligence into action with POLITICO’s Policy Intelligence Assistant—a new suite of tools designed to save you time and demonstrate your impact more easily than ever—available only to Pro subscribers. Save hours, uncover critical insights instantly, and stay ahead of the next big shift. Power your strategy today— learn more .     AROUND THE WORLD Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the White House on April 7, 2025 in Washington, D.C. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images ****NETANYAHU DOES NOT WANT PEACE! HE IS PURSUING A PATH TO ETHNIC CLEANSING WITH UNCONDITIONAL US SUPPORT!**** ‘HUGE PRIZE FOR TERRORISM’ — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told French President Emmanuel Macron today that recognizing Palestine as a state would be a victory for Hamas and Iran . During a phone call with Macron today, Netanyahu “expressed fierce opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state, and said that this would constitute a huge prize for terrorism,” his office said in a statement. According to the Israeli leader, “a Palestinian state established a few minutes away from Israeli cities would become an Iranian stronghold of terrorism,” his office said. Last Wednesday, Macron said France could recognize a Palestinian state in the coming months. “I’m not doing it for unity, or to please this or that person. I’m doing it because at some point it will be fair,” Macron said during an interview with a French broadcaster. TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT — Officials in Canberra are scrambling to stop Russia from using an Indonesian air force base that would put its jets within striking range of the Australian mainland. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday his government was “seeking further clarification” from Jakarta about Moscow’s request to access the Manuhua Air Force Base , which was first reported by American military website Janes. Apparently confirming that the Kremlin asked to house its long-range aircraft at the base, Defense Minister Richard Marles said Tuesday that Indonesia had “not responded” to the request and that Canberra was engaging with Jakarta “at a senior level” on the matter. Although Indonesia has long maintained strategic neutrality, it has deepened security and defense ties with Russia since President Prabowo Subianto was elected last year. Manuhua Air Force Base sits in the province of West Papua, about 1,300 kilometers from Darwin, a city on Australia’s northern tip. Australia and the United States frequently conduct military exercises in the area. Nightly Number 286 The number of Chinese companies, with a total value of $1.1 trillion, listed on American stock exchanges as of March 7, according to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Trump administration officials and the president’s supporters are leaning further into the prospect of delisting these companies that trade on U.S. exchanges. RADAR SWEEP THE POWER OF BEES — Writer Emily Polk has been obsessed with bees since childhood, and, after learning bees were thought to pass messages between the living and dead in folklore, she turned to the pollinators’ interior lives to understand the grief of losing her daughter. “Can bees feel sad?” she asks. “Do they feel angst?” For Emergence Magazine, Polk explores the role of female undertaker bees, whose job it is to remove dead bees from hives, and realizes that humans aren’t that different from the tiny creatures. Parting Image On this date in 1959: Cuba's Fidel Castro reaches over the heads of well-wishers to shake the hands extended toward him after his arrival at National Airport in Washington while on an unofficial visit to the United States. | Henry Burroughs/AP Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here .   Follow us on X Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh   Follow us

POLITICO 1000 Wilson Blvd Arlington, VA, 22209, USA