Politico Playbook Is ‘Presented by’ Pro-Choice Progressive Activist Group Planned Parenthood
(Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision for Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project/AP Images)
For the past two days, Politico’s flagship newsletter has been sponsored by Planned Parenthood, the country’s largest abortion provider and a supporter of Democratic candidates up and down the ballot.
The sponsorship has been advertised at the top of the last two morning newsletters, as well as Monday evening’s “PM edition.”
Inside and at the end of the newsletter, there are graphics for the controversial organization that read “Everyone Should Have The Power to Control Their Own Body and Future” and “I’m For Planned Parenthood.”
The sponsorship is notable given Politico’s presentation of itself as a dispassionate, neutral news source and Planned Parenthood’s explicit ties to the Democratic Party.
Other recent sponsors of the newsletter include Amazon, Instagram, the National Association of Realtors, the National Retail Federation, and Comcast — none of which are as politically-charged as Planned Parenthood.
The banner of the organization’s political arm’s endorsement page is a picture of former vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris with a graphic indicating that she received its endorsement in last year’s race for the White House. On the same webpage, the organization provides flattering descriptions of a number of Democratic candidates for Senate as well as an extensive list of Democrats it endorsed across the country in 2024.
In a video produced by the organization, Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson offered a full-throated endorsement of Harris, remarking “Let me tell you how we are going to get our freedom back: It starts with sending Kamala Harris to the White House.”
The sponsorship of the Politico newsletter is also notable given conservatives’ view of the outlet’s coverage of the abortion issue. Ramesh Ponnuru of National Review and The Washington Post, for example, has repeatedly accused it of bias, citing everything from its questionable editorial choices in describing the nature of Planned Parenthood’s advocacy to its alleged misrepresentations of American history.
Politico has not responded to a request for comment.
