John Morgan unloads on Biden debate prep

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Good morning and welcome to Wednesday.

Prominent Florida trial attorney and Democratic megadonor John Morgan is exasperated with the team that prepared President Joe Biden for his debate with former President Donald Trump.

In a recent phone call with Playbook, Morgan ticked off several things that he thought went wrong for the president, whom he still stands staunchly behind. He instead blamed the debate debacle on three longtime hands: senior communications adviser Anita Dunn, Biden personal lawyer Bob Bauer and former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain.

Morgan, who’s done tons of TV ads for his legal practice, especially took issue with the optics of the debate. He said Biden “came in looking like a skeleton and sounding like a ghost” and asked whether the team had checked out the set and lighting, and adjusted the president’s makeup.

Morgan was particularly frustrated when he tuned into Biden’s North Carolina campaign speech the next day, when he said the president looked “tan and fit.” He concluded CNN’s no-audience and sometimes muted-mics debate format — which the Biden team demanded — helped Trump. (In response, Trump campaign senior adviser Brian Hughes called Biden’s debate performance “the personification of the weakness and failure we’ve seen for the last 3.5 years.”)

“We all saw what we saw,” Morgan acknowledged. “It cannot be unseen, and I’m not gonna lie about that. But then I saw him the next day and it was totally different.”

Another mistake, Morgan said, was tucking Biden away at Camp David for days of debate prep, saying it resulted in tiring out the president by “cramming him full of information” and causing him to have a hoarse voice. (The campaign said Biden had a cold, though the president didn’t sound hoarse during the North Carolina rally.)

How much blame, percentage-wise, does Morgan give the staff? He paused for several seconds before answering, “Eighty percent.” Biden himself, however, told his top aides that he didn’t blame them for his debate performance, POLITICO previously reported.

Morgan did not expect Biden’s delivery to be as it was. The president was as “sharp as a tack” when Morgan saw him just a year earlier at the White House’s state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then again at a Christmas party. He thought the February State of the Union was “fantastic.” But Morgan described himself as “horrified” when he watched last week’s presidential debate.

“I couldn’t believe what I was watching, because it wasn’t anywhere near what I expected or had ever seen. It was just jarring,” Morgan said. “What pisses me off is that I think it was 100 percent preventable.”

Morgan also stressed that he thought Dunn was no match for Susie Wiles, the Trump campaign’s top adviser who has deep roots and allegiances in Florida. Three times he called Wiles the “smartest political operative in America” (emphasis his).

Morgan said he’ll take the campaign at its word that the president’s debate performance was a one off. He plans to host a fundraiser for the president in August or September, when he expects to max out to the joint fundraising committee by contributing just under $1 million. He said Biden should be doing lots more appearances in the meantime. (On Friday, Biden does plan to sit down with ABC and to do a campaign rally in Wisconsin.)

And if Biden’s debate performance has a repeat? “If it keeps happening, that’s a bigger problem,” Morgan said. “If it keeps happening, then you know, Houston, we have a problem.”

COMING UP: Playbook will be on the ground at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Send tips to [email protected] about Florida-focused get togethers, speaking slots and anything else of interest to our readers.

Programming note: We’ll be off this Thursday and Friday for the Fourth of July but will be back in your inboxes on Monday.

... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ...

ANOTHER ONE — A second former Florida Department of Law Enforcement employee involved in a dispute over public records has filed a lawsuit alleging that the agency and Gov. Ron DeSantis wrongfully retaliated against her.

Patricia Carpenter was deputy chief of staff at FDLE until she was fired in December 2023. Her lawsuit alleges she was terminated two days after she filed a complaint that outlined how the governor’s office told FDLE to withhold records being sought by The Washington Post and to force the Post to sue if they wanted them. The Post is suing and is challenging the constitutionality of a law passed last year to shield the governor’s travel records.

Carpenter’s allegations have already previous surfaced in filings connected to the Post lawsuit. Her lawsuit comes shortly after one filed by Shane Desguin, the former FDLE chief of staff. Desguin’s lawsuit also alleges he was ousted because he called out “unlawful, improper and illegal practices” including over how top officials in the DeSantis administration pushed to transport migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard.

The dual lawsuits come after FDLE wrapped up its own investigation into both Desguin and Carpenter, which concluded that the former employees violated state rules regarding insubordination, ethics, and workplace conduct. Investigators also contend there was enough evidence to suggest the two were involved in an improper “romantic relationship.” The lawyer representing Desguin and Carpenter has said the investigation was intended to smear her clients.

FDLE has asserted that the two “created workplace chaos, endangered the safety of other employees, and acted dishonestly and unprofessionally.

— Gary Fineout

— “TECO files testimony to counter arguments its rate hike is excessive,” reports POLITICO’s Bruce Ritchie.

SERVER ISSUES — “Birth, death certificates affected by Florida health system outage,” reports Tampa Bay Times’ Romy Ellenbogen. “State tax collectors’ offices and funeral homes say they haven’t been able to access the online system needed to issue certificates since last week. They say the issue has created added stress for family members needing to bury or cremate loved ones and for residents trying to get official documents to complete applications and forms.”

‘BELOW EXPECTATIONS’ — “Homebuilders cut on ‘sluggish’ housing market, Florida woes,” reports Bloomberg’s Bre Bradham. “Homebuilder-stock analysts are increasingly worried about signs of softening in key hot spots like Florida and Texas. Lennar Corp. and D.R. Horton Inc. were downgraded by Citigroup Inc. analyst Anthony Pettinari on concerns the housing market could stay ‘sluggish’ in the second half of the year. Raymond James Financial Inc.’s Buck Horne also cut his recommendation on Lennar to market perform from outperform, particularly pointing to the company’s ‘outsized exposure’ to Florida.”

— “Florida Republicans protected insurance companies from competition. Florida homeowners are now paying higher prices,” by Seeking Rents Jason Garcia.

STRETCHED THIN — “Minimum wage workers in Florida must work nearly 100 hours a week to afford housing: report,” by WFLA’s Kaycee Sloan. “The report shows that minimum-wage workers aren’t making enough to afford the cost of living in Florida. While the state’s minimum wage is $12 an hour, the report said renters would need to make nearly triple that to afford a two-bedroom home.”

DIVING IN — “60 people have drowned in Florida so far in 2024. Here’s what officials are doing about it,” by USA Today Network — Florida’s Ana Goñi-Lessan. “This April, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that allocates $500,000 for free swimming lessons for low-income families with children 4 and under. The ‘Swimming Lesson Voucher Program’ (SB 544) requires the Florida Department of Health to create a program to establish a network of swimming lesson instructors in each county and offer vouchers for free swimming lessons to low-income families.”

PENINSULA AND BEYOND

WSJ EXCLUSIVE — “Satellite images show expansion of suspected Chinese spy bases in Cuba,” reports the Wall Street Journal’s Warren P. Strobel. “Images captured from space show the growth of Cuba’s electronic eavesdropping stations that are believed to be linked to China, including new construction at a previously unreported site about 70 miles from the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, according to a new report. The study from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, follows reporting last year by The Wall Street Journal that China and Cuba were negotiating closer defense and intelligence ties, including establishing a new joint military training facility on the island and an eavesdropping facility.”

— “15 Cuban migrants make landfall in Key West,” by 7News’ Tynisa Senior.

FLORIDA FRAUD — “Fake Florida therapist fooled hundreds online until she died, state records say,” by Brett Kelman of KFF Health News. “Hundreds of Americans may have unknowingly received therapy from an untrained impostor who masqueraded as an online therapist, possibly for as long as two years, and the deception crumbled only when she died, according to state health department records.Peggy A. Randolph, a social worker from Manatee County who was licensed in Florida and Tennessee and formerly worked for Brightside Health, a nationwide online therapy company, is accused of helping her wife impersonate her in online sessions, according to an investigation report from the Florida Department of Health.”

— “‘I will get justice’: How a deck of cards may help solve South Florida cold cases,” by the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Angie Dimichele.

— “Judge dismisses ‘shakedown’ lawsuit allegations against Alex Díaz de la Portilla,” reports the Miami Herald’s Tess Riski.

...HURRICANE HOLE...

DEVASTATION — “‘The situation is grim.’ Hurricane Beryl shreds Caribbean islands, kills at least 4,” by the Miami Herald’s Jacqueline Charles. “On the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique — ground zero for Hurricane Beryl’s 150-mph eye — the toll is catastrophic: an estimated 95 percent of the homes are heavily damaged and likely uninhabitable. A day after the monster hurricane ripped through the Southern Caribbean, residents and governments started to come to grips with staggering losses to property and businesses and a growing death toll. In Grenada, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell on Tuesday also announced two fatalities in Carriacou and another in Grenada with the possibility of more fatalities a reality.”

— “‘An impending disaster.’ As Beryl barrels toward Jamaica, South Florida prepares to help,” by the Miami Herald’s Syra Ortiz Blanes and Jacqueline Charles.

CAMPAIGN MODE

RESOLUTE — “Wasserman Schultz stands with Biden despite debate performance, urges doubters to stop ‘pearl-clutching,’” by the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Anthony Man. “U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is standing resolutely by President Joe Biden, even as she acknowledged ‘it was not a good performance’ in last week’s debate with former President Donald Trump … And, during an interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, the Broward Democrat dismissed the notion that Biden should drop out in favor of a Democrat who might have a better chance at defeating Trump in November.”

SWORN IN MONDAY — “Surprise, a new Hillsborough commissioner. So who is Christine Miller?” by the Tampa Bay Times’ Sue Carlton. “It’s been a whirlwind in county politics: Miller, president and CEO of the Plant City Chamber of Commerce, was already running in a busy countywide commission race. In June, board member Michael Owen, whose east and south county district stretches from Plant City to Apollo Beach, unexpectedly resigned to run for the state House. Miller quickly switched to the race to replace him. His abrupt departure left the board, which tilted Republican with four GOP members to three Democrats, at a 3-3 split. Then Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Miller, a self-described conservative Republican, to fill the seat until the November election.”

DATELINE D.C.

AFTER FLORIDA BAN — “Biden announces heat rules as climate-related deaths rise,” by POLITICO’s Ariel Wittenberg. “The long-awaited regulation, which covers an estimated 35 million workers, won’t be final until at least 2026 — midway through what could be former President Donald Trump’s second term in the White House. … The proposal would require employers to implement simple safety measures that could save workers’ lives, such as providing water and a cool place to rest once combined heat and humidity levels reach 80 degrees. Employers would also be required to ease new workers into hot jobs to help their bodies adjust.”

TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP

REVERBERATIONS — “Supreme Court immunity ruling opens door for new dismissal motion in Trump classified documents case, analysts say,” by David Lyons of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “For Special Counsel Jack Smith, one thing is certain about the case he brought against former President Donald Trump for allegedly mishandling classified government documents: The nation’s top court has served up fresh grounds for the defense to seek a dismissal. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Trump is entitled to broad immunity from prosecution on charges of trying to overturn the last presidential election.”

NO RNC FROM MAR-A-LAGO — “Trump’s sentencing in New York delayed until Sept. 18,” by POLITICO’s Erica Orden. “Donald Trump’s sentencing in his Manhattan criminal case has been delayed until Sept. 18 so that the former president can present new arguments that his conviction should be tossed out in light of Monday’s Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity. The sentencing, which had been set for July 11, will now take place less than two months before Election Day.”

ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN

POISONOUS POTLUCK — “An elite Miami Friendsgiving ended in ambulance rides. Was Tatiana Pino’s dish to blame?” by the Miami Herald’s Douglas Hanks and Tess Riski. “Several years before she raised concerns that her husband was poisoning her, Tatiana Pino joined Florida’s lieutenant governor and other high-powered members of her Miami prayer group for a potluck ‘Friendsgiving’ dinner. The meal had barely started before guests started bolting to the bathroom from an apparent wave of food poisoning that multiple attendees later concluded started with the roasted Brussels sprouts that Pino brought to the party. Guests were so sick that a squad of ambulances rushed more than a dozen women, including Pino, to the hospital from the annual backyard dinner held by Lisa Lorenzo, a close Pino friend and host of a Christian podcast.”

BIRTHDAYS: Andrew Peek of Rep. Mike Waltz’s (R-Fla.) office … (Thursday) State Rep. Tiffany Esposito ... State Rep. Randy Maggard … (Friday) State Rep. Michelle Salzman … Randy Hanna, dean and CEO of Florida State University Panama City … (Saturday) State Sen. Joe Gruters … Former state Rep. MaryLynn Magar … (Sunday) State Rep. Stan McClain … former state Sen. Janet Cruz.