Playbook: Mike Johnson's Trump charm offensive

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

76% : The call went to voicemail, but Trump later called back as Olivia rode along and listened as the two chit-chatted about college football (Vanderbilt has just beaten No. 1 Alabama, after all).Johnson has repaid the access and attention with constant name-dropping ("I texted Trump," "I spoke to Trump the other day") and fulsome praise.
58% : The upshot from her must-read, just-posted story: Johnson is wisely keeping Trump close, realizing that the ex-president could hold the keys to his political life -- and that the two of them, within months, could have the most important governing relationship in Washington.
55% : Press secretary KARINE JEAN-PIERRE will brief at 1:30 p.m.Trump will deliver remarks in Scranton, Pennsylvania, at 3 p.m.
51% : Up the ballot, Harris and Trump are tied at 49% in the district, which Trump carried by two points in 2020.
50% : (One area where the fawning has not paid off: Trump has yet to hold a House-specific fundraiser, as he did for McCarthy.).
45% : At one rally, Johnson "took a selfie video of himself and roughly 500 people cheering" and sent it on to Trump.
43% : Worth a read: "Why the Tampa Area Is So Vulnerable to a Hurricane," by WSJ's Arian Campo-Flores, Deborah Acosta and Eric NiilerThe political backdrop: "Trump thrusts hurricane response into center of 2024 campaign," by Lisa Kashinsky and Adam CancrynFighting the good fight: "Debunking Helene Response Myths," by Rep. CHUCK EDWARDS (R-N.C.): "Hurricane Helene was NOT geoengineered by the government to seize and access lithium deposits in Chimney Rock."HE LIKES MIKE (FOR NOW) --
43% : "RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSETRUMP LEANS IN ON ANTI-TRANS MESSAGE -- Trump and a host of other Republican candidates in House and Senate races are going heavy on anti-transgender messaging in ad campaigns across the country, "returning to a message that was tried, mostly unsuccessfully, in the 2022 midterms, as they attempt to motivate their base and curb their losses with female voters repelled by the party's stance on abortion," NYT's Shane Goldmacher reports.
39% : "CASE WORK -- "Will Trump Get Jail Time?
35% : Trump ultimately held his tongue on the spending bill, and House Republicans are increasingly upbeat about keeping their majority -- and keeping the gavel in Johnson's hands.
28% : Just this past weekend, as Trump was set to return to the site of his first assassination attempt, in Butler, Pennsylvania, Johnson and GOP lawmakers called Trump to lend moral support.
28% : "FEMA leaders yesterday, without mentioning Musk or Trump, said misinformation is causing problems for Helene survivors, some of whom are being dissuaded from seeking help.
27% : "Ex-Adams official charged with witness tampering, destroying evidence," by WaPo's Shayna JacobsFOR THOSE KEEPING TRACK -- "Oklahoma amends request for Bibles that initially appeared to match only version backed by Trump," by AP's Ken Miller in Oklahoma CityJUDICIARY SQUARESCARY
23% : But despite spending years cultivating Trump's favor as other GOP leaders (including former Speaker PAUL RYAN) kept him at arm's length, Trump did little to save him last year when a group of hardcore MAGA members staged a mutiny.

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.