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No show has captivated official Washington more in recent years than “Succession.”

The HBO drama centers around two things that people who work in this city obsess over: media melodramas and the tragicomedies of truly terrible people. But this season, the plot has pivoted more squarely into the political realm. And for it, the show’s producers hired a trio of political consultants: ERIC SCHULTZ, BEN GINSERG and JUSTIN GELDZAHLER.

Last week’s storyline (ALERT, SPOILERS AHEAD!) centered on a chaotic election night in which a television network’s morally suspect, editorially dubious decision-making effectively tips the scales. It felt vaguely real for a lot of people who lived through 2016 and 2020. But, we wanted to know, did the scenes reflect the actual lived experiences of the show’s advisers? And what lessons could the current White House draw from the plot, if any?

For that, we dialed up Schultz — publicly a loather of West Wing Playbook but, in his heart, a fan — to discuss. Below is an edited version of our conversation.

How many episodes did you consult on?

All 10.

And they couldn’t find anyone more sophisticated?

I’m sure they tried.

Was it just a budget issue?

Yes. I was all they could afford.

On a scale of 1-10, one being complete fantasy and 10 being pure reality, where did you think the depiction of election night falls?

Let me just say, the writers on the show are brilliant. They are creative and they are hilarious...

Eric. They’re not doing another season.

I stand by my observation. And what I think makes the show pop is the attention to detail in the worlds they are covering. So if you look at election night, the episode has flights of fancy and they take dramatic license. But it is all set against a backdrop that feels very credible.

Ok, so like a 7.5. But what about the relationship between a campaign and a news network? Those calls between the Roys and the campaigns seemed overly dramatized.

I don’t think so. The relationship between a campaign and a news organization, especially on election night when the stakes are so high, is going to be really lively and active.

You’re telling me there are actual promises to block mergers discussed on these election night calls?

In real life, there is a firewall between the news coverage and the business side of the outlet. In a place like Fox, that was trampled over. The writers wanted to show what happens when you turn that upside down.

But in real life, Fox made the call on Arizona. In the show, they took the other path.

Yes, Fox famously called Arizona for JOE BIDEN. But what then happened was their hands were tied because they couldn’t call any of the other states or else they would be the first ones to call him president-elect.

Does the show actually overstate the power of the press? Yeah, ATN [the fictional network] called the election for Menken [the fictional GOP candidate]. But so what? It’s one outlet. There is a legal process that will play out and other news outlets out there.

Ask anyone who has worked on a campaign or in a newsroom on election night that has gone into extra innings; the conversation in the media is one of the most important elements at stake. Look at 2008, the NORM COLEMAN-AL FRANKEN race, there is a reason Coleman went out and declared victory that night. He wanted to set the tone and agenda.

But does that matter in this balkanized media landscape?

100 percent. The perception of the election outcome can be as important as the outcome itself. History shows there are very few races where you can come back. Minnesota in 2008 happened to be one of the few.

And that was strictly because you were working for Franken.

I think that’s fair, yes. I don’t want to overstate my role but you can.

The subtext of this episode was the Democratic candidate’s discomfort working the conservative network. Is that the right approach in the real world?

I think over the years, it’s become clear that Fox News is a nakedly political platform. But they do have a massive audience. They’re how millions of people get their information. When Democrats go out there and make their case forcefully, we can win.

Do you have any space on your bookshelf for the Emmy?

I’m already preparing my speech.

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With help from the White House Historical Association

Who is responsible for creating the first rose garden, now known as the West Garden, on the White House grounds?

(Answer at bottom.)

NOT ONE OF THE NEGOTIATORS, BUT: Vice President KAMALA HARRIS is taking a more visible role in the debt ceiling negotiations, NBC News’ YAMICHE ALCINDOR, MONICA ALBA and KATHERINE DOYLE report. “After being noticeably absent at the start of the negotiations, Harris is being tasked with trying to amp up the level of national concern and make the case that the outcome could be dire if a deal isn’t reached,” they write.

On Thursday, Harris — along with National Economic Council director LAEL BRAINARD and Office of Public Engagement director STEPHEN BENJAMIN — held a virtual briefing on the debt ceiling with community leaders. Harris ran into a technical glitch that dropped her off the Zoom call during her opening remarks, but she later rejoined to encourage people to talk with their friends and family about the “real consequences” a default would have.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE WANTS YOU TO READ: This piece by WSJ’s SARAH CHANEY CAMBON and GWYNN GUILFORD about how the “tightest job market in generations is transforming the employment prospects for Black Americans in ways that could be more long-lasting than in past economic expansions.” They note that Black unemployment fell to a record low of 4.7 percent in April and “that some of the improvements could last, in part because many Black workers moved into higher-paying industries and occupations during the pandemic.” National Economic Council deputy director BHARAT RAMAMURTI shared the piece on Twitter.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: This Economist cover story criticizing the president’s global agenda: “The Biden doctrine fails to rebut the narrative of American decline and so has not resolved the tension between the country’s toxic politics and its role as the linchpin of a liberal order. Unless America looks out at the world with self-confidence, it will struggle to lead it.”

EN VOGUE: Vogue editor-in-chief ANNA WINTOUR will co-host a fundraiser in Manhattan featuring Vice President Kamala Harris, our HAILEY FUCHS scoops. The May 30 event — which will take place at the home of LAUREN SANTO DOMINGO, co-founder of online fashion retailer Moda Operandi — “suggests that Harris will play a more significant role in campaign fundraising, as both she and Biden begin courting donors for their 2024 bid,” Fuchs writes.

WAYS TO WIN: Biden campaign manager JULIE CHAVEZ RODRIGUEZ struck an optimistic tone about 2024 in a recent memo, writing that the president has “a number of viable pathways to the 270 electoral votes,” AP’s WILL WEISSERT reports. Rodriguez said that the campaign will try to hold states that Biden won in 2020 while also looking to expand the map to states that President DONALD TRUMP won, including Florida and North Carolina.

DESCARTES AT DOT: Transportation Secretary PETE BUTTIGIEG spoke to WIRED about an array of topics in an article published Thursday, including the politicization of masculinity, a good cheeseburger, the philosophy of the infrastructure, and how his faith influences his work. Asked, for example, how religion infuses his job, he replied: “There’s just a lot in the scriptural tradition around journeys, around roads, right? The conversion of Saint Paul happens on the road. I think we are all nearer to our spiritual potential when we’re on the move.”

One line did stick out to us as a political bumper sticker that the Biden team may soon deploy.

“Everyone here cares about delivering on the president’s view that the way we vindicate democracy, at a time when democracy really is being challenged frontally, is we take care of the basics,” Buttigieg said (emphasis ours). Read the full interview here.

CHANGE IS HARD: The United Auto Workers labor union said earlier this month it’s withholding a Biden 2024 endorsement until he can show how the administration’s push for electric vehicles will benefit union jobs. HEATHER BOUSHEY, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, addressed the matter Thursday during POLITICO’s Energy Summit. “The transition is hard because it’s not just reducing emissions,” she said. “Our lives are all built on the production and use of energy that right now is mostly fossil fuels.”

EGG ON THE FACE: MICHAEL DELANEY, the president’s judicial nominee for the First Circuit Court of Appeals, withdrew his name from consideration after coming under criticism for defending a school in a civil lawsuit over sexual assault, our BURGESS EVERETT reports. The withdrawal is a rarity with Democrats in control of the Senate and the White House and a legit setback for the president, who is increasingly looking to the judiciary as a means of achieving progress.

PERSONNEL MOVES: LUCIAN SIKORSKYJ has joined the National Security Council as senior director for resilience and response, DANIEL LIPPMAN has learned. He recently served as the principal deputy assistant secretary for counterterrorism, threat prevention, and law enforcement at DHS and is an alum of the House Intelligence Committee and the FBI.

’TWAS A MATTER OF TIME: Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) is preparing to introduce articles of impeachment against the president related to his immigration policies, our JORDAIN CARNEY reports for Congress Minutes.

STOP THE E-CIGS: The FDA on Thursday alerted U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to reject imports of some popular unauthorized, disposable e-cigarettes like Elf Bar, Esco Bar and EonSmoke, noting the brands “do not have marketing authorizations and are therefore illegal,” KATHERINE ELLEN FOLEY reports for Pro subscribers.

‘The Driving Force’: How Brett Favre’s Demands for Cash Fueled a Scandal (Sports Illustrated’s Michael Rosenberg)

Democrats race to avoid a Biden embarrassment in New Hampshire (POLITICO’s Holly Otterbein and Lisa Kashinsky)

Accounting Error Leaves Pentagon With $3 Billion More in Arms for Ukraine, U.S. Says (WSJ’s Gordon Lubold)

First lady ELLEN AXSON WILSON called on two of America’s most famous landscape gardeners of the time, BEATRIX FARRAND and GEORGE BURNAP, to create the first rose garden, now known as the West Garden, on the White House Grounds, according to the White House Historical Association.

A CALL OUT — Do you think you have a harder trivia question? Send us your best one about the presidents with a citation and we may feature it.

Edited by Eun Kyung Kim and Sam Stein.