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Axios AM

By Mike Allen · Dec 23, 2023

Happy Christmas Eve eve! Smart Brevity™ count: 1,157 words ... 4½ mins. Edited by Mark Robinson.

🍿 1 big thing: Former aide breaks Biden code

A White House photo has pride of place atop Michael LaRosa's X feed. An unusual load of West Wing dirty laundry is being aired about a former staffer, giving a vivid look at one of the cultural pillars of Bidenworld and President Biden himself, Axios' Alex Thompson reports. A shocking number of President Biden's current and former aides — at least six — lined up to tell backstairs tales to the Daily Mail, a London tabloid with racy online U.S. coverage that frequently stars Hunter Biden. The Biden sources are all talking because the former staffer, Michael LaRosa — former press secretary to First Lady Jill Biden, and special assistant to the president — broke the Biden code of silence, and has repeatedly mocked Biden's campaign strategy on cable TV and social media. For months, many of LaRosa's former colleagues seethed as he went on CNN, MSNBC and other outlets to second-guess the Biden team. Then kaboom! — a rare Biden spectacle. 💭 LaRosa told Axios: "I don't believe there is a world in which this first lady is pleased with her husband's team seeking out the same British tabloid that regularly smears and lies about her son, to do the same to her former press secretary, who traveled by her side for three years." A White House official said: "As Axios knows, having White House officials quoted on background in an unauthorized way does not mean the White House spent time on something." Via X 🔎 Between the lines: Loyalty is a vital currency in Bidenworld. Perceived disloyalty, fair or not, is a quick way to get exiled. Some former aides, when they left the White House, were struck by how their superiors would praise them for their "loyalty." They took it as a compliment — but also a warning not to stray. Current and former Biden aides told the Daily Mail that LaRosa exaggerated his White House role after he left in 2022. A former White House colleague told the paper: "This whole idea that he was this very senior insider and was like very close to the president or First Lady, and focused on the campaign and political strategy, that could not be farther from the truth." The bottom line: LaRosa told Axios that "Democrats with far greater platforms than I have been much harsher, in my opinion. It's also not my role to be their flack." Share this story.

2. 🗳️ Biden plan to boost Black, Hispanic support

President Biden listens as First Lady Jill Biden reads "The Night Before Christmas" at Children's National Hospital in Washington yesterday. Photo: Julia Nikhinson/Sipa via Getty Images President Biden is scrambling to reverse a potentially catastrophic weakness with Black and Hispanic voters, with plans for more surgical trips to minority communities in 2024, Axios' Hans Nichols reports. Why it matters: Biden will use the trappings of the presidency, including Air Force One sorties, to deliver his message directly to minority communities. The emerging strategy was on display this week when Biden traveled to Milwaukee to highlight his administration's investment in Black-owned businesses. The White House announced yesterday that Biden is granting clemency to 11 people serving "disproportionately long sentences" for nonviolent drug offenses, including crack cocaine convictions — a priority for the Congressional Black Caucus and civil rights groups. Top Biden officials hosted Black male leaders at the White House this month for a strategy session on improving Biden's standing with Black voters. Next year, the campaign's ad budget will include "investments into African American and Hispanic media," Julie Chávez Rodríguez, Biden's campaign manager, wrote in a memo Thursday. 🧮 By the numbers: To reassemble his winning coalition from 2020, Biden needs to dramatically improve his standing with Black, Hispanic and young voters. Several recent surveys put Biden's level of Black support in the low 60% range, a shocking development for a demographic that supported Biden with 92% of the vote in the last election. His approval rating among Hispanics is even lower, at 33% in a recent Pew survey. Former President Trump leads Biden by five percentage points in the demographic, according to a new CNBC survey. In 2016, Biden won 59% of the Latino vote, according to exit poll data. 📺 On the air: Earlier this month, the Biden campaign released a new ad, first previewed by The Root, highlighting the administration's efforts to help Black farmers. In September, the campaign debuted a racial-equality ad during a football game between the University of Colorado, coached by Deion Sanders, and the University of Southern California. In October, Biden went up with radio ads on Hispanic-owned radio stations. He also is relying on social media influencers to tout his record and micro-target his message to reach young voters. Watch a Biden ad ... Share this story.

3. 🇮🇷 WSJ: Iranian spy ship aids Red Sea attacks

USS Carney, a destroyer, fires a missile to defeat a combination of Houthi missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles in the Red Sea in October. Photo: U.S. Navy Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Aaron Lau via Reuters A Red Sea surveillance vessel controlled by Iran's paramilitary forces is giving tracking information to Yemen's Houthi rebels, who have used it to attack commercial vessels, The Wall Street Journal reports. Western and regional security officials tell the paper that Iran is "providing real-time intelligence and weaponry, including drones and missiles," to the rebels — who then target ships in the Red Sea. 🇺🇸 National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said yesterday that Iranian support has enabled Houthis to launch attacks against Israel and maritime targets, though Iran has often deferred operational decision-making authority to the Houthis.

A MESSAGE FROM BP

Biogas or natural gas? One top energy investor is doing both

bp added more than $70 billion to the U.S. economy last year. We did it by making investments from coast to coast — like acquiring America’s largest biogas producer, Archaea Energy, and producing natural gas with fewer emissions in the Permian Basin. See how else bp is investing in America.

4. 🦾 Open AI on track to be second richest startup

Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios

After a chaotic year, OpenAI is in early discussions to raise a fresh round of funding at a valuation at or above $100 billion — "a deal that would cement the ChatGPT maker as one of the world's most valuable startups," Bloomberg reports. Why it matters: That would make OpenAI the second-most valuable U.S. startup, after Elon Musk's SpaceX. OpenAI is set to complete a tender offer in early January that allows employees to sell shares at a valuation of $86 billion, per Bloomberg. List of unicorns.

5. Catch me up: War in Gaza

Data: AP reports, Critical Threats Project of the Institute for the Study of War and AEI. Damage analysis data: Corey Scher of CUNY Graduate Center and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University. Map: AP

6. 📚 What Obama is reading

Via X "As I usually do during this time of year," former President Obama posted on X yesterday, "I wanted to share my favorite books, movies, and music of 2023." "First up, here are the books I've enjoyed reading. If you're looking for a new book over the holidays, give one of them a try. And if you can, shop at an independent bookstore or check them out at your local library."

7. 🎂 200 yrs. old today: "Night Before Christmas"

1918 lithograph by William Roger Snow for "The Night Before Christmas." Image: GraphicaArtis via Getty Images "A Visit from St. Nicholas" — a.k.a. "The Night Before Christmas" — was published anonymously in the Troy (N.Y.) Sentinel, on Dec. 23, 1823. The author remained unknown as the tale soared in popularity. Years later, it was finally credited to wealthy Manhattan biblical scholar Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863). Why it matters: The vivid poem established the modern visualization of Santa. More poem history ... Authorship dispute ... Full text.

8. 🖼️ 1 fun thing: Reader pet portraits

Photo: Barbara Hoblitzell In Baltimore, Scout — a Great Pyrenees — asks Santa for croissants from Pâtisserie Poupon and his very own corned beef. Why it matters: While Scout is very French, he enjoys the heck out of St. Patrick's Day, according to his human, Barbara Hoblitzell, the Education Department's deputy assistant secretary for higher ed.

A MESSAGE FROM BP

Developing more lower carbon energy and keeping oil & gas flowing

bp’s U.S. workforce — our largest in the world — is keeping oil and gas flowing with fewer operational emissions and developing more lower carbon energy. It’s our “and, not or” approach at work. See how doing both drives our investment in America.