Principals

1. U.S., China talks
2. Musk antisemitism fallout
3. Santos won’t run for reelection
4. Nikki Haley’s secret weapon
5. Israel continues al-Shifa search
6. Iran nuclear fears

PDB: Poll: 76% of American Jews approve of Biden’s Israel-Gaza response

Biden meets Mexico’s López Obrador … Paul Pelosi attacker found guilty … FT: Trump “really could win”

— edited by Benjy Sarlin, Jordan Weissmann and Morgan Chalfant

Soothing U.S.-China talk in San Francisco

President Biden stressed to a CEO gathering in San Francisco Thursday that the U.S. is not “decoupling” from China. Days earlier, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said untying the world’s two largest economies would be “damaging” and “destabilizing.” Chinese leader Xi Jinping, facing his own domestic economic pressures, told business executives that China is a “partner and friend of the U.S.” Across this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, business leaders and officials alike seem united in at least one belief: That the U.S. and China should not separate their economies, and that doing so would be dangerous for the globe. “A stable relationship between the U.S. and China is a win-win situation for everyone,” said APEC’s Carlos Kuriyama. The rhetoric is far hotter in Congress and on the 2024 campaign trail, where Republican Nikki Haley has called for revoking normal trade relations with China over the fentanyl crisis, Semafor’s Morgan Chalfant writes from San Francisco. But despite the soothing rhetoric in San Francisco — and happy talk in the Chinese state media — the Biden administration is still pursuing a strategy of “de-risking” the U.S. economy by blocking some technology and investment from China. And while U.S. trade with China remains still high, Mexico has replaced the People’s Republic as the top U.S. trade partner.

Elon Musk skips APEC after antisemitic bender

Notably missing among the business leaders at APEC: Elon Musk, who dropped out of a CEO summit at the last second. While the official explanation was a scheduling conflict, his absence came after he endorsed an antisemitic X user on Wednesday who accused Jewish communities of “hatred against whites,” echoing the conspiracy theories that inspired the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue shooter. The American Jewish Committee called Musk’s rhetoric “incredibly dangerous.” As if X’s CEO going full Kanye wasn’t challenging enough for the company, IBM canceled a $1 million advertising campaign over a report by the left-wing group Media Matters that promotions were appearing next to neo-Nazi accounts. X has long struggled to keep advertisers amid recurring concerns about Musk’s personal behavior as well as his decision to open the site to previously banned extremist accounts. Without directly addressing Musk — or anything, really — X CEO Linda Yaccarino issued a vague statement on Thursday “that discrimination by everyone should STOP across the board,” the only sign of an official response to the fallout.

Santos bows out following brutal ethics report

The curtain is finally coming down on GOP Rep. George Santos’ brief and theatrical turn as a member of Congress. The, uh, creative Long Islander told Semafor’s Kadia Goba on Thursday that he would not run for reelection next year, shortly after the House Ethics Committee released a lacerating report detailing how he lied to donors and stole from his own political campaign, while seeking “to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.” Santos, who is already facing federal indictments, allegedly spent campaign funds on payments on OnlyFans, purchases at Hermes and Sephora, Botox treatments, and a trip to Las Vegas. Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest, R-Miss. said he would file a new motion to expel Santos by Friday, and previously hesitant lawmakers from both parties quickly told reporters they’re ready to boot him. Democrat Tom Suozzi, who previously represented the district, is among those who have already filed to run for the seat in 2024. The GOP’s razor-thin majority might just get a little tighter.

Why Nikki Haley is ready for this ugly media moment

Nikki Haley’s path to the nomination is looking just a bit wider this week, with a new CNN/UNH poll finding her at 20% in New Hampshire with plenty of votes left to consolidate. She’s begun to reel in Tim Scott donors, and if she can ride a solid Iowa performance to a breakout in the Granite State, she could have a direct shot at Trump. Semafor’s Ben Smith argues not to underestimate her ability to take him on based on his experience covering her 2010 gubernatorial run, which featured an ugly fight in which a former press aide and lobbyist each claimed she had cheated on her husband with them, which she denied. As Smith writes, “Haley didn’t just survive the allegations. She turned them, ferociously, on her opponents.” In a masterful display of political jiu-jitsu she teamed up with Sarah Palin to turn the allegations into proof of an “old boys club” out to tear down reformers like herself by any means necessary. “I’ve never seen a politician better than Haley at turning a smear directed at her into a weapon,” Smith writes.

Israel’s high-stakes hospital search

All eyes are on Gaza, where the Financial Times reports that Israel is handing out leaflets in southern Gaza asking residents in some areas to evacuate — suggesting the Israeli military is preparing an operation there and widening the offensive. Israel’s military is still combing through Gaza’s largest hospital for proof that it sits above a massive underground Hamas command center. So far, it has only turned up modest evidence of its claim. On Thursday, the IDF released photos and video of what it called an “operational tunnel shaft” inside the al-Shifa hospital complex, as well as a booby-trapped pickup truck that had contained a large number of weapons. It also said searchers recovered nearby the body of a woman taken hostage during the Oct. 7 attack. A day earlier, it touted a cache of guns and other equipment soldiers found near an M.R.I. machine. Capturing the medical center was one of Israel’s primary war aims, and proving it was a Hamas stronghold is a key goal for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government as it attempts to assuage allies anxious about aggressive military tactics that have cost more than 11,000 lives in Gaza so far. Still, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. had its “own intelligence that convinces us that Hamas was using al-Shifa as a command and control node and most likely as well as a storage facility.”

Iran’s nuclear program advances

Iran’s regional neighbors continue to eye it warily as confidential reports from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog document Iran’s growing stockpile of enriched uranium to 60% purity. The reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency, Semafor’s Jay Solomon writes, add to fears among officials that Tehran could use the turmoil in the Middle East to sprint towards a nuclear weapons capability. Uranium enriched to 90% is considered weapons-grade. The Biden administration’s efforts to achieve some kind of return to a nuclear agreement with Iran seemed to be making progress before the Israel-Hamas war, Jay writes, but the conflict has exacerbated tensions between Washington and Tehran. “They don’t need to build and manufacture the nuclear weapon, because they have the design,” Olli Heinonen, a former chief IAEA weapons inspector, told Semafor.

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: The math doesn’t look good for Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., when he faces another expulsion vote next month. If all 213 Democrats vote to expel him, just 77 Republicans would have to back the measure, which now “seems very likely to happen.”

Playbook: “Idiot” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla. infuriated a colleague’s wife on a 2015 AIPAC trip to Israel with juvenile behavior.

The Early 202: President Biden’s comment referring to Chinese leader Xi Jinping as a “dictator” came as an off-script moment: Biden was slated to take four questions from reporters, but answered a fifth shouted question after he’d started walking away. (Video of the exchange showed aides visibly grimacing.)

Axios: Biden’s campaign has been privately considering whether to join TikTok in an attempt to boost his support among young voters.

White House

• Remember how there was a whole special counsel investigation into President Biden and his staff’s potential mishandling of classified documents? CNN reports that Special Counsel Robert Hur won’t be filing charges, but will write up an extensive report.
• Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit Norfolk, Va., on Sunday to host a “Friendsgiving” with U.S. service members and their families ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
• In exchange for cooperation on curbing fentanyl, the Biden administration is relaxing restrictions on China’s Ministry of Public Security’s Institute for Forensic Science, an organization accused of human rights abuses. — Bloomberg
• China’s Foreign Minister called Biden’s remark about Xi Jinping being a dictator “extremely wrong” and an “irresponsible political manipulation.”
• White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the Biden administration would “absolutely welcome” the return of pandas to the U.S., but that it’s ultimately China’s decision.
• The mother of Hunter Biden’s young daughter Navy wrote an op-ed in the Daily Mail defending him, despite their recent child support battle. “I’ve never written him off as a ‘deadbeat dad’ because I know Hunter, I’ve witnessed the kind of person he is and the love he has for his children and people in general,” writes Lunden Roberts.
• White House spokesman Andrew Bates criticized videos spreading on TikTok that promoted Osama bin Laden’s 2002 “Letter to America.” TikTok said the company is “aggressively removing” the content.

Congress

• Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich. is retiring, leaving an open swing seat next year. — Politico
• Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas will visit New Hampshire this weekend as a surrogate for former President Donald Trump, Semafor’s Kadia Goba reports. He will deliver a speech at the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women’s Empowerment Luncheon.
• The group End Citizens United is reupping its call for House Republicans to return or donate campaign funds they received from Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y. “George Santos is clearly corrupt, and anyone who holds onto his tainted money is endorsing his fraud,” Tiffany Muller, the president of ECU, said in a statement. Of the 13 members who received money from him, Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., Max Miller, R-Ohio, and Brandon Williams, R-N.Y. previously voted to expel Santos.
• Thursday’s tweet of the day undoubtedly goes to Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y. (known lover of all things Israel and regular Santos antagonist): “George Santos, who illegally spent campaign funds on porn sites and Botox, has announced he is no longer seeking re-election. I will be the sole surviving Jew-ish gay Latino Congressman from New York.”

Economy

The Treasury Department unveiled new sanctions on businesses and ships accused of violating the price cap on Russian oil.

Media

• The Los Angeles Times barred staff from covering the Gaza war for at least three months if they signed an open letter criticizing Israel’s military operations, Semafor’s Max Tani reports.
• Another Max scoop: The powerful right-wing talker Mark Levin has been boosting Ron DeSantis — without mentioning that his stepson works for the Florida governor.

Courts

• The Supreme Court declined to intervene in a case involving a Florida law restricting drag shows, meaning the law will remain blocked by a lower court.
• Paul Pelosi’s attacker, David DePape, was found guilty of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault.
• Donald Trump’s classified documents trial doesn’t look like it will begin in May 2024.

Polls

American Jews are still giving President Biden high marks. Sixty-six percent approve of his performance as president, and 76% approve of how he has responded to the Israel-Gaza war, according to a major new survey from the Jewish Electorate Institute. There is an age gap, with young adults more critical of how the president has handled the war. Still, 53% of 18-to-35-year-old Jews said they at least somewhat approved of how he’s handled the conflict.

Big Read

Qatar is in the middle of Gaza hostage talks, putting the tiny, wealthy Gulf nation again in the center of a geopolitical storm. But Qatar has long experience in this strange role, Joel Simon explains in the New Yorker: Though the country’s officials say that they are guided by humanitarian principles and a desire to reduce conflict and promote stability, they have clearly used their leverage to gain influence and visibility, a posture which they believe enhances their security in a volatile region. “That’s the double game, the gray zone,” says a French journalist whose release Qatar helped secure.

Blindspot

Stories that are being largely ignored by either left-leaning or right-leaning outlets, according to data from our partners at Ground News.

What the Left isn’t reading: FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before Congress that migrants who escape from the custody of Border Patrol agents are a matter of “great concern.”

What the Right isn’t reading: A Republican-led effort to overcome Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s, R-Ala. hold on military nominations earlier this week failed.

Principals Team

Editors: Benjy Sarlin, Jordan Weissmann, Morgan Chalfant

Editor-at-Large: Steve Clemons

Reporters: Kadia Goba, Joseph Zeballos-Roig, Shelby Talcott, David Weigel

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