Jack Blanchard

1 week ago | politico.com | Jack Blanchard

With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany IrvineGood Thursday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, genuinely excited to hear (via the NYT and others) that we’ve found possible signs of life on a distant planet. “This is a revolutionary moment,” said Nikku Madhusudhan, the Cambridge University astronomer who made the discovery. “It’s the first time humanity has seen potential biosignatures on a habitable planet.” So — how long before Planet K2-18b gets slapped with a 10 percent tariff?

1 week ago | politico.com | Jack Blanchard

Jack Blanchard is managing editor and author of Playbook, writing and overseeing POLITICO's flagship politics newsletter for Washington D.C.Playbook has been the go-to morning newsletter covering U.S. politics for almost two decades, a comprehensive and incisive 6 a.m. read which tees up the day ahead for the most powerful decision-makers in the country.

1 week ago | politico.com | Jack Blanchard

With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany IrvineGood Tuesday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, wishing a happy Tax Day to all who celebrate. WHAT TRUMP DOES AT 3 A.M.: It seems your Playbook author is not the only nerd in Washington obsessing over political minutiae at three o’clock in the morning. A reader emails in to note that President Donald Trump, once the “audience of one” for pundits and guests on Fox News, appears to have migrated to C-SPAN.

1 week ago | politico.com | Jack Blanchard

With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany IrvineGood Monday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, enjoying the brief return of springtime in D.C. — and some sun-drenched okonomiyaki at the Sakura Matsuri on Pennsylvania Ave. yesterday. A perfect Sunday afternoon. Praying for more clear skies today: Jeff Bezos, who hopes to send an all-female rocket crew including pop star Katy Perry, CBS’ Gayle King and his own fiancée Lauren Sánchez into space.

2 weeks ago | politico.com | Jack Blanchard

With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany IrvineGood Thursday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, crawling like a broken man toward the end of the week. How the president saw it: “What a day, but more great days coming!!!” Donald Trump posted on Truth Social at 12.45 a.m. this morning. That’s one way of putting it. In today’s Playbook …— Another day, another trade war. — How the deed was (un)done: Why Trump bottled it. — The next crisis: GOP budget rebellion in full swing.