Dems asking donors to 'reopen their wallets' to fund new way to defeat Trump
Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at a "Fight Oligarchy" rally. REUTERS/Rebecca Noble
Michael Hardaway, former Spokesman and Communications Director for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffrie (D-N.Y.), said Wednesday Democrats need to be forward-looking and aggressive in terms of how they communicate.
"Podcasts are great but they have to be authentic. That's why Joe Rogen works, particularly for young men. It's an authentic conversation," Hardaway said during an appearance on MSNBC.
The segment discussed the New York Times's Tuesday report that Democrats are initiating a multi-million dollar effort to challenge President Donald Trump’s strong online presence.
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According to the report, the scale of these plans aims to motivate disheartened donors and convince them that with sufficient financial backing, they can rival Trump’s cultural influence.
Many Democrats believe they need to adopt more innovative strategies to generate online excitement for their candidates —especially through less overtly political platforms like sports or lifestyle podcasts, per the report.
"At donor retreats and in pitch documents seen by The New York Times, liberal strategists are pushing the party’s rich backers to reopen their wallets for a cavalcade of projects to help Democrats, as the cliché now goes, 'find the next Joe Rogan.'," the report says.
Reporter Theodore Schleifer further noted in the piece that this initiative represents a bold gamble that Democrats can essentially purchase greater cultural influence on the internet, even though popular right-leaning platforms like Joe Rogan’s podcast grew organically and not through political funding.
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During the MSNBC segment Wednesday, Schleifer said there is a belief among Democrats that "Democratic donors and investors need to basically jumpstart a rival program to what has happened on the right."
"The belief is that President Trump marshalled the energy behind the right-leaning creators," he added.
However, some skeptical progressives fear the buzz could lead to investments in underdeveloped or poorly planned ventures, per the Times report.
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