Vice President Kamala Harris' deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty recently noted that Democrats are increasingly losing their relevancy as Americans shift their attention to podcasts over traditional media sources. Flaherty acknowledged the impact of prominent sports figures like Steph Curry and LeBron James supporting Democratic causes. However, he noted that sports culture's alignment with conservative values has complicated outreach efforts.
President-elect Donald Trump successfully leveraged podcasts to rally support, especially among young men who have increasingly leaned to the right. UFC CEO Dana White thanked various podcasters, including Joe Rogan and the Nelk Boys, for their support on election night.
Trump's podcast appearances particularly allowed him the chance to share about his personal life. He discussed his golf game, favorite songs, and criticisms over the Biden administration's COVID response.
The "Send the Vote" initiative, backed by the Nelk Boys, aimed to mobilize young voters. They ultimately reached over 140 million people through various platforms.
Flaherty stated that Democrats are currently "losing hold of culture," adding, "Campaigns, in many ways, are last-mile marketers that exist on terrain that is set by culture, and the institutions by which Democrats have historically had the ability to influence culture are losing relevance."
Harris and President-elect Donald Trump both sought to connect with audiences through podcasts and nontraditional media ahead of the 2024 election. Flaherty noted the difficulty of booking Harris on sports podcasts, as athletes were hesitant to engage in politics.
Flaherty said, "Sports and culture have sort of merged together, and as sports and culture became more publicly and sort of natively associated with this Trump-conservative set of values, it got more complicated for athletes to come out in favor of us."
Harris avoiding interviews
Harris campaign aides criticized media coverage of their campaign, claiming it was unfairly scrutinized compared to Trump’s coverage. Jen O'Malley Dillon said that misconceptions about Harris avoiding interviews hindered outreach efforts.
I think that was a problem
Dillon said, "Real people heard, in some way, that we were not going to have interviews, which was both not true and also so counter to any kind of standard that was put on Trump, that I think that was a problem."
President-elect Donald Trump successfully leveraged podcasts to rally support, especially among young men who have increasingly leaned to the right. UFC CEO Dana White thanked various podcasters, including Joe Rogan and the Nelk Boys, for their support on election night.
Trump's podcast appearances particularly allowed him the chance to share about his personal life. He discussed his golf game, favorite songs, and criticisms over the Biden administration's COVID response.
The "Send the Vote" initiative, backed by the Nelk Boys, aimed to mobilize young voters. They ultimately reached over 140 million people through various platforms.
Flaherty stated that Democrats are currently "losing hold of culture," adding, "Campaigns, in many ways, are last-mile marketers that exist on terrain that is set by culture, and the institutions by which Democrats have historically had the ability to influence culture are losing relevance."
Harris and President-elect Donald Trump both sought to connect with audiences through podcasts and nontraditional media ahead of the 2024 election. Flaherty noted the difficulty of booking Harris on sports podcasts, as athletes were hesitant to engage in politics.
Flaherty said, "Sports and culture have sort of merged together, and as sports and culture became more publicly and sort of natively associated with this Trump-conservative set of values, it got more complicated for athletes to come out in favor of us."
Harris avoiding interviews
Harris campaign aides criticized media coverage of their campaign, claiming it was unfairly scrutinized compared to Trump’s coverage. Jen O'Malley Dillon said that misconceptions about Harris avoiding interviews hindered outreach efforts.
I think that was a problem
Dillon said, "Real people heard, in some way, that we were not going to have interviews, which was both not true and also so counter to any kind of standard that was put on Trump, that I think that was a problem."
