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Good morning,
Thanks for reading The Backstory, your weekly review of the best new work from Puck.
Yes, yes, I say this every week, but only because it is so true: It was a fabulous week here at Puck! Matt Belloni analyzed Bob Iger’s political challenges, while Peter Hamby investigated the Biden backup plans. Tara Palmeri gathered the talk around town behind the president’s back, and Teddy Schleifer gauged the mounting Democratic donor fears. John Ourand offered up the freshest gossip pertaining to the NBA rights auction, and Dylan Byers revealed the secrets from the Brady Briefing Room at the White House. Meanwhile, Lauren Sherman scooped a fashion merger and Rachel Strugatz spilled the numbers on a major beauty acquisition.
Check out these stories, and others, via the links below. And stick around for the backstory on how it all came together.
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| Years ago, a restaurateur friend told me a very memorable story that has played over in my mind again and again, especially recently. This person was overseeing the Ivy, one of London’s most fashionable and chic culinary theaters, made famous by Diana, Pinter, Elton John, the West End scene, and Thatcher-era Britain’s in-crowd. One morning, right before lunch service was set to commence, my friend noticed that two seismic heavies were supposed to be coming in, separately, for lunch at 1 p.m. Naturally, both of these characters would expect to be seated at the best table in the house. And, even more naturally, both would have become apoplectic at the mere specter of the other enjoying the table. And the last thing my pal could do was seat another diner at the exalted table, lest he run the risk of pissing off both of these egomaniacs, potentially losing their business for good.
After considering all the options, my friend concocted a somewhat ingenious street hustler plan. He went down to the restaurant’s basement and picked up an industrial bucket that the busboys used to clean their mops in the evening after dinner concluded. He took this unseemly bucket and placed it atop the desired booth. As each of his well-heeled guests arrived that afternoon, he informed them that an unfortunate ceiling leak had emerged above their table and forced him to relocate their parties elsewhere in the restaurant. Both men smiled happily and, despite their monstrous vanity, remained peachy customers ever after.
This story has taken on metaphorical significance for me in recent weeks and months as the inevitability of a Trump-Biden rematch materializes before our eyes. I will spare you the familiar B matter here, since we all know the backstory by memory. For his part, Trump inspired one near coup, was impeached twice, is facing 91 felony counts, and now has to fork over a $355 million fine (on top of the $83 million he owes E. Jean Carroll for defaming her). Biden, despite an accomplished term, is plagued by age-related questions that are mounting in significant ways, and ostensibly crescendoed last week following the release of the Hur report, and its attendant partisan thrusts and ripostes. All signs point to the fact that this is the longest and least enthusiastic presidential primary in modern memory—and yet, no one is taking out the bucket.
The fallout from the Hur report became the inciting incident, to borrow the literary trope, here at Puck this week. After all, despite the lack of enthusiasm around the election, this one really does promise to be the most significant in our lifetime. My partner and The Powers That Be: Media Monday banter pal Peter Hamby wrote a characteristically brilliant portrayal of the various emotions that befell the Democrats in the days after the report’s release. Trouble in Camelot & Biden Exit Options captures all the feels—from the bedwetting to the obstinacy and all the magical thinking in between.
Meanwhile, Teddy Schleifer conveyed the view from the megabundler class. His piece, The Biden Donor Dilemma, elegantly expresses the ossified, and not entirely creative, investment thesis surrounding the president. In The Old Man & The Scene, Tara Palmeri reports on how the Hur report, and Jon Stewart’s viral monologue on the topic, unleashed uncommon venting among Democrats in the Cafe Milano crowd. In The Age of Biden, Dylan Byers surveyed what White House reporters are saying about the president off the record. Indeed, these are some of the most important conversations taking place in our republic, and I’d challenge you to find a more honest and sophisticated expression of their content.
But if you only have time to read one piece this weekend, I’d turn your attention to Bill Cohan’s brilliant bildungsroman on one of the great bankers of our era. Life & Times of Michael Klein focused on the former Citigroup and Credit Suisse deal artist, who has found himself ensnared in a peculiar and vexing legal knot all stemming from his involvement in the proposed merger between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. It’s a story that involves Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, various U.S. senators, and the unusual twist of a banking client threatening to sue (and maybe jail) an adviser. And yet, it’s also an example of how geopolitics impacts dealflow and business outcomes. In other words, it’s one of the great stories of our time, and precisely what you should expect from Puck.
Have a great weekend,
Jon |
