August 6, 2024 • 25 mins
After a campaign of negativity, Democrats finally find themselves in a place of optimism. Can this energy carry us through to November? Political commentator and DNC delegate Kaivan Shroff joins to discuss.
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Speaker 1 (00:11):
Good morning, peeps, and welcome to WOKF Daily with Meet
your Girl Daniel Moody recording re recording from the home bunker, Folks.
I'm taking a little bit of a respite as we
gear up for the DNC, but as always, I leave
you with really good episodes and conversations to dig into
while I'm gone up. Next, this week, we have our friend,
(00:35):
Democratic contributor and DNC delegate Kaivon Schroff, who is here
to talk to us about the VP's momentum, about where
we see this campaign going, the pivots and pitfalls of
the Trump dvance ticket, and you know where we think
(00:56):
we're headed in less than one hundred days? Are we
about to save democracy? The a meme? Can we gather
and keep people interested with less than one hundred days
to go? Kayvon and I get into this and more
on the next episode, Folks. I am so happy to
(01:18):
welcome back to OKF Daily friend of the show Kivian Schroff,
who is a Democratic contributor and a DNC delegate and
the person that I go to whose tiktoks go off
the charts when you are covering anything that has to
do with politics and where we are since I last
(01:39):
saw you, since we last spoke, there has been a
seismic shift in this election cycle, with Joe Biden stepping aside,
VP Kamala Harris stepping in. I want to get your
thoughts on, just like, how are you feeling? We are
you know, less than one hundred days until the election,
(01:59):
How are you feeling about the vibe shift?
Speaker 2 (02:03):
You know? I got to say, I am feeling excited
by all the new people that seem engaged and the
texts I've been getting from friends who don't pay a
lot of attention to politics. At the same time, I
am deeply skeptical, and I think that this is going
to be a really hard fight and people are kind
of taking their eye off the ball a little bit.
I don't think Vice President Harris or the campaign are
(02:25):
taking that approach, but I think certainly the people I'm
seeing respond to this news don't necessarily know what's about
to come, So I think we all have to be
all hands on deck for this. You know, a lot
of my friends are like, oh, Kaivon, aren't you so
excited by this new you know premise? And I think
there's a lot of reason folks, myself included, really did
feel that Biden had a strong chance, or as strong
(02:48):
a chance as anyone for the last several years, to
win this election because there's a lot of structural barriers
in this country that don't change overnight.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
You know, I think that that's right, and I think
it's important for us to realize. And you know, look,
the Vice President said it recently at the sizeable rally
that she had in Atlanta, Georgia, And we'll get to
that in a moment, but she said, look, I'm excited,
you're excited, but the road ahead is going to be
a hard one. We are the underdogs. So talk to
(03:17):
me about you know, the difference in terms of how
the Harris campaign is kind of seeing themselves in this
moment with less than one hundred days to go, and
maybe how some folks in your orbit are kind of
seeing this moment.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Well, I think the Harris campaign, I mean, just the
incredibly impressive pivot we saw from Biden being at the
top of the ticket to her being at the top
of the ticket has been extraordinary. And I think, you know,
people will talk about this throughout history no matter the outcome.
But I think the people I'm seeing in my orbit,
and this is really going to be a one for
one sort of situation where certainly some people are about
(04:00):
Harris's candidacy. You know, I'm hearing from classmates who really
felt tired of the Biden Trump dynamic, felt like they
weren't represented, felt like it was two old white guys,
and it didn't resonate. And I think one of the
most exciting things I'm seeing from folks now, especially in
the digital space, is just that energy coming back and
the hope. And I think really the difference is that politics,
(04:25):
as you know, has been digital for quite some time,
and I think strategically the Biden campaign knew that, and
they've elevated former digital folks to senior leadership in the campaign.
All of that already happened. But the reality is Joe
Biden was still, you know, an eighty year old dude.
And I think that Vice President Harris just lends herself
to the digital moment much more easily, and I think,
(04:49):
you know, much more easily than Donald Trump too, So
it's a huge advantage. And of course she's always had
that prosecutor skill set where I think a lot of
voters were introduced to her for the first time when
she was going viral at those state hearings, going after
Brett Kavanaugh, calling out you know, Bill Barr. So this
is really her wheelhouse, and it happens to be a
perfect fit for the realities of campaigning and social media
(05:11):
and our information ecosystems today.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
I think that that's right. I think that, you know,
the digital nature of her campaign, the memeable nature of
this campaign is what is driving excitement. Now, there are
some folks right older generations like myself, who will say
things like, well, that doesn't equal you know, the excitement
and the memes don't equal votes and consistent engagement that
(05:38):
we need to carry us, you know, the next ninety
some odd days until the election. But yet I don't
think that people understand that the virality that social media
has and how we can gin up support is something
that is important that, like you said, the Biden campaign
(05:59):
didn't have. Now, while I didn't want I was one
of the people that didn't want Biden to step aside
if in fact we were going to have a chaotic
open primary. I just thought it was going to be
a disaster that didn't happen. But I think that there
is something to show the youthfulness and the freshness of
this campaign versus what we've seen in the past. I mean,
(06:21):
I'm old enough to remember Barack Obama being the first
to come out and kind of show this connection between
politics and culture, which I think is necessary in order
to connect people to the moment that we're in.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Absolutely, and I know you mentioned that Georgia rally, and
I think that's exactly what the campaign is doing and
they really understand that. So to take that energy and
excitement and the youth engagement that is happening online and
then have exciting people like Meg the Stallion, you know,
not only show their talent and their cultural relevance, but
connect it to the actual issues on the table, like
(06:56):
obviously she spoke about reproductive rights and autonomy over your
own boss, and obviously she has that song Body, you know,
like that's that's a great moment. So I think finding
ways to make those touch points and understanding and obviously
this campaign is sophisticated and they do understand this. It's
just about executing it. Is that the excitement, the means.
The internet's a touch point, it's an access point, but
(07:18):
how do you actually get those people to then go
volunteer to do something offline, to donate, to show up
and vote. And I think they've already done some things,
like I know they've launched a youth the newsletter to
keep people engaged and updated on the actual policy commitments
and accomplishments of both the Biden Harris administration, but also
what a Harris administration would look like. So those are
(07:39):
the important ways to keep people engaged and make sure
to manage that community in an actually effective way.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Yeah, so let's dig into what we saw. You know,
at the time of this recording, we're coming off of
the heels of the Georgia rally, right, we're coming off
of the heels of the call out that the Vice
president did directly to Donald Trump for now his I
loved it. I thought it was a moment when she's
just like, you know, you have something to say, say
it to my face because they're flapping their gums all
(08:08):
over the place. But you saw, like you said, Meg
the Stalin, we saw Quevo, We see you know, politicians,
we see the viral moment of the head of the
Young Democrats dancing to not like us, right, Like, there
are moments that we see long lines that were formed,
you know, across a highway of people trying to get
(08:28):
into the event. And so when you see these things,
what is it conjure for you? And what do you
think it is doing to help write us understand like
the importance and the impact of this moment and really
what we're fighting for.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Well, I think that Kamla Harris has been underestimated for
her tenure as vice president and one of the sort
of blessings I would say, and there's a lot to
be said about I think some really unproductive, unhelpful voices
trying to you know, run with and I told you so,
as if they had predicted that Trump would be shot
at and Biden would get COVID and five million things
that nobody could predicted that have led us to this
(09:06):
moment have happened. And it's just I think the reality
is that that did lead those voices, though those same
unhelpful voices, the never Trumpers, the podcast grows that you know,
a year ago, if you go look at July of
twenty twenty three, the media class was calling for Joe
Biden to replace Vice President Harris on the ticket. If
you remember, I know memories can be short, but that
(09:29):
was very much the take. And now you look a
year later, and suddenly, because they wanted to undermine Joe Biden, frankly,
all those never trumpers, all those people that were underestimating
her were forced to actually acknowledge that actually, she would
be a great candidate, and she is a great candidate,
and she does have the background and she is ready
on day one. So that's been a huge shift in
(09:49):
the narrative around Vice President Harris. And then you look
at just who she is, not only on a symbolic level,
the history making potential of all of this, but the
reality that that has been her whole life and the
power of that, and how she has definitely handled that,
and how the last few weeks have shown just how
ready for this moment she is and nobody can take
(10:11):
that away from her. And I think that when you
see those lines and you see the excitement for those rallies,
she is reinventing what politics means to people, just like
Obama did. To your point, it's something my generation, I think,
I'm a very very end of millennials missed. We weren't
part of that moment, so even folks my age are
having that moment. I'm thirty now, but certainly gen Z
(10:32):
is having that moment, that opportunity to be part of
something bigger and not feel like nothing can be done
and nothing can be changed and we're trapped and limited.
So it's an exciting time.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
I think that it's really important this idea of what
you just said of feeling hopeful instead of trapped and limited,
because I think that you know, while again respected what
Biden was doing with trying to save the soul of
the nation and the rhetoric that he was using it
was incredibly heavy, there are multiple ways that we can
talk about democracy, that we can talk about freedom, and
(11:07):
you can see that just even the usage of Beyonce's
Freedom as her campaign song, right and that first video
that went out, you still see the importance of what
we're talking about of family, of the economy, of community,
of connectedness, of racial diversity, of all of the values
that we have that Biden and how A share, but
(11:28):
the way that they're able to use imagery and messaging
to convey that message. One came from a place of fear,
I think, and rightfully so, but the other comes from
a place of optimism. And I think that for young people,
especially when you tell folks that are just entering into
the workforce, that are just entering into finding their footing
(11:49):
in a place of the power structure, right that to
tell them that the opportunities have come and gone is
not what's going to galvanize them.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
I totally agree. And it's funny because they actually a
while ago wrote a piece saying that young voters really
expect Democrats to go to the mat against this corrupt
Supreme Court that we've been seeing. And I feel like
leaders like Dick Durbin, all these folks have really dropped
the ball. And it's been disappointing to watch when there's
one thing about corruption after the next coming out and
(12:19):
it's a tweet from Dick Durbin that's the response, and
it's not acceptable. And now I know there's been change,
and Sheldon Whitehouse and folks have really been pushing it.
But Joe Biden himself has come out right and endorsed
these reforms. Vice President Harris has endorsed these reforms. And
I was just in DC and a bunch of focusing, well,
why did they even do that? Everyone says it'll never pass,
and how are we going to get a constitutional amendment?
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Through.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
First of all, I think it's just so uncreative. My
con law professor in law school would always say she
felt the amendment process is one of the most overlooked
tools for change that we have in this country, and
that people just always take it as a given that
you can't get it done. And yet how many do
we have, you know, so it can be done. So
I think that's inspiring and it's worth taking those big
swings because to your point, young people especially are coming
(13:04):
up in a world where every institution seems to be failing.
All the precedents and norms have been thrown out the window.
You have a felon you know, who might be the
president of the United States again. And at the same time,
they're being told, well, you can't do it this way,
this is not how it's done. That doesn't make any
sense to anyone who's paying attention. So let's try new things.
Let's get new things done, a whole bunch of new stuff.
(13:25):
A lot of it bad has been happening over the
last several years. So let's try some new good things,
and that's how you get people engaged.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Let's talk about where we see the Trump campaign right now.
The Trump dance ticket Right now, so many folks that
I know are saying that Trump has basically heaped and
is now just you know, bottoming out right. That usually
coming off of the convention, you have the momentum of
(13:55):
the media, of people talking about you. But Biden took
the wind out of those sales immediately the convention closed,
and then boom that following Sunday he announces that he
is dropping out and Kamala is coming in. Since then,
we have seen video after video after video of jd
(14:16):
vance like dehumanizing women. The misogyny knows no bounds, the
hatefulness knows no bounds. We are seeing Donald Trump drop
out of the debate, as we said, calling a whole
bunch of names. They don't seem to have found their footing.
They don't seem to know where to pivot right now.
(14:38):
What do you make of where the Trump dance ticket
is in this current moment?
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Well, it's funny. I was doing the live the R
and Z coverage for ABC, and I remember when they
announced the pick and everything. My immediate response, because that
was a rough time to be a democratic commentator those
weeks after the debate for Biden, I said, This was
the first piece of good news democrats have gotten. And
it's really born out because I knew right away. I've
(15:03):
followed this guy for a long time since obviously Hillbilly elogy,
and it was sort of this nonsense takeaway of quote
unquote economic anxiety in twenty sixteen that really media used
to silence discussions about sexism and racism that were really
the reason a lot of people did support Trump. And
I think you look at this moment, and he really
is Ron Desante's two point zero even worse. Perhaps he's
(15:25):
a ivy leaguer costplaying maga, talking about how much he
loves to drink mountain dew, clapping for himself, weird stories
about the couch. None of it resonates, and he certainly
doesn't have the charisma and the shamelessness and the money,
frankly and the decades long reputation that Trump allows him
to get away with it all. Sort of That's been
Trump's gift, is that, you know, people really do buy
(15:48):
into the fact that he's an entertainer. Jade Vance is
so fickle and frankly on the record, so hypocritical, and
obviously really was telling the truth. A couple years ago
about who Trump was and sort of called him right
an opioid that these Maga folks were addicted to. And
he just now has decided, well, it's his turn to
get power. And you know how disgusting. I'm an Indian
(16:10):
American and I'm very excited about the premise of Kamala
Harris being our first South Asian president. But you look
at Usha Vance, the wife of JD. Vance. First of all,
what kind of pathetic husband came then his wife against
the disgusting racist attacks from the white supremacists and the
Maga movement. Well that's because that's their voting base. So
(16:31):
he's not going to stand up for his wife's talk
about being alpha. They love to say that, right, like
they're the definition of what a man should be. I
think a man should be able to defend his wife's
race as she's being smeared and attacked by the disgusting
people he hope supports him. So that's one thing. But
I think the second thing is that JD. Vance is
a hodgepodge of whatever Peter Thiel and Elon Musk and
(16:54):
the sort of weird is the word. Yes, it is
Ali Browse who were never probably socialized who surround themselves
with yes men for forever who are weird and obviously,
I mean we can just see that from from even
you know, the more quote unquote progressive is one like Zuckerberg.
I mean, these are odd kids, and so they have
all of these personal vendettas and you know, opinions that
(17:17):
really don't add up and don't really reflect the larger electorate.
And now they've hand selected Jade Vance is Donald Trump's
running me, and it's a mismatch, and of course Donald
Trump has no self control, so it's becoming so apparent
that he's pissed and that you know, he regrets the choice,
and they're not going to have the chemistry that you
do need those folks to have to run on a
successful ticket and all of that so a huge disaster
(17:39):
and mistake, and luckily the media has acknowledged it now.
But my concern is that obviously media has a short
attention span, and I do think an agenda. You know,
I saw a pretty peace that was saying media and
reporters are feeling rejuvenated and energized over the swap out
of Biden for Harris. Well, first of all, that's totally inappropriate.
(18:01):
They're supposed to report the news, not create exciting things
for them to cover by interfering and pushing narratives so
aggressively and strongly. But yes, Kamala is new to them.
I mean she shouldn't because they should have been covering
her as the important impact vil vice president she's been
for the last four years. But they suddenly started paying attention.
And they'll get over that, though, and they'll want to
take her down and they'll want to criticize you know,
(18:22):
I guarantee that, you know, as the campaign develops, they
will find the issues that they can criticize her on,
whether or not they're real or manufactured, and some of
them will be legitimate. But you know, certainly my concern
is that right now Kamala is going viral for all
the right reasons, and Janieans is going viral for all
the wrong reasons. That's a gift, but of course there's
(18:45):
going to be ups and downs in that, and I
think one of the things that the virality of Harris
right now does is it creates a reset moment and
a permission structure, particularly for young folks who felt ailing
and needed from the process, or maybe felt like you know,
the cool kids on campus had one set of political
(19:05):
views and they should align with those. Because Harris has
made politics more fun and engagement engaging, and also because
they've all seen their friends and folks post on social
media about it, they feel probably more empowered to be
voting Democrat, to say they're voting Democrat, to show up
and actually do that, because at the end of the day,
these folks understand that their rights are on the line,
(19:26):
that our future is on the line, and so I
do think that reset and exhale moment is important no
matter what happens down the road.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
What are you, you know, as we are making our
way to convention, you are a DNC delegate, What are
you excited to see? What are you hoping to see
of this, you know, multi day extravaganza when we officially,
you know, make Kamala Harris our Democratic nominee.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
I am excited to see the reality show. And I
don't use that in a negative way. You know, you
have the attention of the press, you have the attention
of the American people. Use it, engage them, entertain them.
Reflect what we just talked about, which are all the
upsides of vice president Harris's candidacy, making it fun, making
(20:18):
it engaging, make it different. I'm expecting to see, though
also a real focus on the policy, but presented as
we've seen through as we saw through the deepstakes. You know,
I think one of the again silver linings of all
of this for Democrats has been showing the deep bench
that we of leadership, making those cable heads and communicating
(20:38):
in a bunch of different ways. But you know, I
think a lot of people sort of typecast how Democrats message,
and it's really not true when you go look at
all these governors that we're speaking out about what the
party's done and what they stand for, and how do
we do represent the working class and the middle class
and what the deliverables have been economically in an engaging way,
in an honest, regular way. It's not like all these folks,
(21:01):
you know, have been over consulted in our spewing talking points.
They're speaking from the heart and it's resonating. So keep
doing that, but also show the diversity and the excitement
and the energy that to your point, right, Democrats do
have the culture on our side, as we always have,
but particularly in this moment, all they have is a
bunch of random wrestlers and kid rock at the RNC.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Right, go forget Paul Kulgan right.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Exactly, random wife beaters basically, or alleged wife beaters, right,
anyone who would be willing to show up. That's who
they had. We have every major person that has contributed
to American culture over the last several decades supporting this ticket.
So use that effectively. And you know, we don't need
to see or hear from George Clotie. How about somebody younger,
somebody exciting. So I think definitely that what I'm looking
(21:48):
to not see, honestly is I do think the opportunity
with young voters for this campaign is now a different opportunity.
And no shade to anyone doing the organizing work for Biden,
but I do feel like the youth support that was
touted and spoken about, and I know the campaign was
really engaged on sort of did feel a little top down,
(22:09):
and it did feel a little like sort of the
nerds from like model un in high school understanding that
Democrats needed youth voices and youth support and so they
could be the one on CNN or the one writing
the op ed or going viral on Twitter among a
bunch of six year olds who wish that young voters
thought that way, and that's not to be knocked and
it does have an impact, and good for those people.
(22:29):
I think they believe what they're saying. But the reality
is they didn't represent the energy or the voice of
gen Z accurately. That's not true and the poll showed
that and everybody knows that. So when you look and
you see the excitement at the Georgia reality, when you
look at the means online and TikTok, it really is
much more grassroots, much more genuine and real. It's not
folks thinking, oh, if I make this thing go viral,
(22:51):
maybe a producer will reach out to me and I'll
get to do a hit, or maybe I'll get a
job with some campaign. It's just like, oh, my friends
are now excited about this new thing happened the news.
It is a cultural moment and I want to be
part of it. And so I would suggest tapping much
more into that energy. And then you know, having David Hogg,
who again maybe he should speak, but he can't be
the only young speaker and only young voice for gen Z. Again,
(23:14):
not a knock on him. He's done great work. He's
been a great leader. I just think a lot of
folks who haven't felt represented so far that are now
engaged in this process are not going to respond to
what feels like more of an institutionalist voice now at
this point, despite being young. So how do they tap
into that? It's very easy. There's all sorts of voices
(23:34):
and Christ there's.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
I mean, yeah, I think that there is a range
of talent, there's a range of perspective. I think that
what we are seeing, you know, just again to harken
back to the Atlanta rally, which is where we really
got to see, you know, who is coming out behind Kamala,
I think that there are lots of different voices, different perspectives.
(23:56):
You know, you had the you know Kamala you know
is bread like you have all of these things you
know that are coming up. And so I'm excited because
I feel like in some ways that this shift has
kind of taken the shackles off of the Democratic Party
and there is really a torch passing that has happened.
And I think that if we can continue to galvanize
(24:19):
that energy and continue with all of these amazing calls
that are raising millions and millions of dollars and engaging
people in every corner you know, of the demographics that
we need to hit that we will win. And you know,
I hope Kivon, that we get to talk to you
again when either when you're at convention or right when
you return, because I think it would be really great
(24:41):
to hear from you again.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Yes, for sure, tell people how they can follow you.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Yes, So I'm Kivon frout hey AI V A N
s h R O F F on all socials though
you can catch me on there, and I'm you know,
every week on ABC Live so you can catch my
commentary there as well.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Amazing. Thank you. That is it for me today, dear
friends on woke f as always, Power to the people
and to all the people. Power, get woke and stay
woke as fuck.
Good morning, peeps, and welcome to WOKF Daily with Meet
your Girl Daniel Moody recording re recording from the home bunker, Folks.
I'm taking a little bit of a respite as we
gear up for the DNC, but as always, I leave
you with really good episodes and conversations to dig into
while I'm gone up. Next, this week, we have our friend,
(00:35):
Democratic contributor and DNC delegate Kaivon Schroff, who is here
to talk to us about the VP's momentum, about where
we see this campaign going, the pivots and pitfalls of
the Trump dvance ticket, and you know where we think
(00:56):
we're headed in less than one hundred days? Are we
about to save democracy? The a meme? Can we gather
and keep people interested with less than one hundred days
to go? Kayvon and I get into this and more
on the next episode, Folks. I am so happy to
(01:18):
welcome back to OKF Daily friend of the show Kivian Schroff,
who is a Democratic contributor and a DNC delegate and
the person that I go to whose tiktoks go off
the charts when you are covering anything that has to
do with politics and where we are since I last
(01:39):
saw you, since we last spoke, there has been a
seismic shift in this election cycle, with Joe Biden stepping aside,
VP Kamala Harris stepping in. I want to get your
thoughts on, just like, how are you feeling? We are
you know, less than one hundred days until the election,
(01:59):
How are you feeling about the vibe shift?
Speaker 2 (02:03):
You know? I got to say, I am feeling excited
by all the new people that seem engaged and the
texts I've been getting from friends who don't pay a
lot of attention to politics. At the same time, I
am deeply skeptical, and I think that this is going
to be a really hard fight and people are kind
of taking their eye off the ball a little bit.
I don't think Vice President Harris or the campaign are
(02:25):
taking that approach, but I think certainly the people I'm
seeing respond to this news don't necessarily know what's about
to come, So I think we all have to be
all hands on deck for this. You know, a lot
of my friends are like, oh, Kaivon, aren't you so
excited by this new you know premise? And I think
there's a lot of reason folks, myself included, really did
feel that Biden had a strong chance, or as strong
(02:48):
a chance as anyone for the last several years, to
win this election because there's a lot of structural barriers
in this country that don't change overnight.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
You know, I think that that's right, and I think
it's important for us to realize. And you know, look,
the Vice President said it recently at the sizeable rally
that she had in Atlanta, Georgia, And we'll get to
that in a moment, but she said, look, I'm excited,
you're excited, but the road ahead is going to be
a hard one. We are the underdogs. So talk to
(03:17):
me about you know, the difference in terms of how
the Harris campaign is kind of seeing themselves in this
moment with less than one hundred days to go, and
maybe how some folks in your orbit are kind of
seeing this moment.
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Well, I think the Harris campaign, I mean, just the
incredibly impressive pivot we saw from Biden being at the
top of the ticket to her being at the top
of the ticket has been extraordinary. And I think, you know,
people will talk about this throughout history no matter the outcome.
But I think the people I'm seeing in my orbit,
and this is really going to be a one for
one sort of situation where certainly some people are about
(04:00):
Harris's candidacy. You know, I'm hearing from classmates who really
felt tired of the Biden Trump dynamic, felt like they
weren't represented, felt like it was two old white guys,
and it didn't resonate. And I think one of the
most exciting things I'm seeing from folks now, especially in
the digital space, is just that energy coming back and
the hope. And I think really the difference is that politics,
(04:25):
as you know, has been digital for quite some time,
and I think strategically the Biden campaign knew that, and
they've elevated former digital folks to senior leadership in the campaign.
All of that already happened. But the reality is Joe
Biden was still, you know, an eighty year old dude.
And I think that Vice President Harris just lends herself
to the digital moment much more easily, and I think,
(04:49):
you know, much more easily than Donald Trump too, So
it's a huge advantage. And of course she's always had
that prosecutor skill set where I think a lot of
voters were introduced to her for the first time when
she was going viral at those state hearings, going after
Brett Kavanaugh, calling out you know, Bill Barr. So this
is really her wheelhouse, and it happens to be a
perfect fit for the realities of campaigning and social media
(05:11):
and our information ecosystems today.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
I think that that's right. I think that, you know,
the digital nature of her campaign, the memeable nature of
this campaign is what is driving excitement. Now, there are
some folks right older generations like myself, who will say
things like, well, that doesn't equal you know, the excitement
and the memes don't equal votes and consistent engagement that
(05:38):
we need to carry us, you know, the next ninety
some odd days until the election. But yet I don't
think that people understand that the virality that social media
has and how we can gin up support is something
that is important that, like you said, the Biden campaign
(05:59):
didn't have. Now, while I didn't want I was one
of the people that didn't want Biden to step aside
if in fact we were going to have a chaotic
open primary. I just thought it was going to be
a disaster that didn't happen. But I think that there
is something to show the youthfulness and the freshness of
this campaign versus what we've seen in the past. I mean,
(06:21):
I'm old enough to remember Barack Obama being the first
to come out and kind of show this connection between
politics and culture, which I think is necessary in order
to connect people to the moment that we're in.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Absolutely, and I know you mentioned that Georgia rally, and
I think that's exactly what the campaign is doing and
they really understand that. So to take that energy and
excitement and the youth engagement that is happening online and
then have exciting people like Meg the Stallion, you know,
not only show their talent and their cultural relevance, but
connect it to the actual issues on the table, like
(06:56):
obviously she spoke about reproductive rights and autonomy over your
own boss, and obviously she has that song Body, you know,
like that's that's a great moment. So I think finding
ways to make those touch points and understanding and obviously
this campaign is sophisticated and they do understand this. It's
just about executing it. Is that the excitement, the means.
The internet's a touch point, it's an access point, but
(07:18):
how do you actually get those people to then go
volunteer to do something offline, to donate, to show up
and vote. And I think they've already done some things,
like I know they've launched a youth the newsletter to
keep people engaged and updated on the actual policy commitments
and accomplishments of both the Biden Harris administration, but also
what a Harris administration would look like. So those are
(07:39):
the important ways to keep people engaged and make sure
to manage that community in an actually effective way.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Yeah, so let's dig into what we saw. You know,
at the time of this recording, we're coming off of
the heels of the Georgia rally, right, we're coming off
of the heels of the call out that the Vice
president did directly to Donald Trump for now his I
loved it. I thought it was a moment when she's
just like, you know, you have something to say, say
it to my face because they're flapping their gums all
(08:08):
over the place. But you saw, like you said, Meg
the Stalin, we saw Quevo, We see you know, politicians,
we see the viral moment of the head of the
Young Democrats dancing to not like us, right, Like, there
are moments that we see long lines that were formed,
you know, across a highway of people trying to get
(08:28):
into the event. And so when you see these things,
what is it conjure for you? And what do you
think it is doing to help write us understand like
the importance and the impact of this moment and really
what we're fighting for.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Well, I think that Kamla Harris has been underestimated for
her tenure as vice president and one of the sort
of blessings I would say, and there's a lot to
be said about I think some really unproductive, unhelpful voices
trying to you know, run with and I told you so,
as if they had predicted that Trump would be shot
at and Biden would get COVID and five million things
that nobody could predicted that have led us to this
(09:06):
moment have happened. And it's just I think the reality
is that that did lead those voices, though those same
unhelpful voices, the never Trumpers, the podcast grows that you know,
a year ago, if you go look at July of
twenty twenty three, the media class was calling for Joe
Biden to replace Vice President Harris on the ticket. If
you remember, I know memories can be short, but that
(09:29):
was very much the take. And now you look a
year later, and suddenly, because they wanted to undermine Joe Biden, frankly,
all those never trumpers, all those people that were underestimating
her were forced to actually acknowledge that actually, she would
be a great candidate, and she is a great candidate,
and she does have the background and she is ready
on day one. So that's been a huge shift in
(09:49):
the narrative around Vice President Harris. And then you look
at just who she is, not only on a symbolic level,
the history making potential of all of this, but the
reality that that has been her whole life and the
power of that, and how she has definitely handled that,
and how the last few weeks have shown just how
ready for this moment she is and nobody can take
(10:11):
that away from her. And I think that when you
see those lines and you see the excitement for those rallies,
she is reinventing what politics means to people, just like
Obama did. To your point, it's something my generation, I think,
I'm a very very end of millennials missed. We weren't
part of that moment, so even folks my age are
having that moment. I'm thirty now, but certainly gen Z
(10:32):
is having that moment, that opportunity to be part of
something bigger and not feel like nothing can be done
and nothing can be changed and we're trapped and limited.
So it's an exciting time.
Speaker 1 (10:45):
I think that it's really important this idea of what
you just said of feeling hopeful instead of trapped and limited,
because I think that you know, while again respected what
Biden was doing with trying to save the soul of
the nation and the rhetoric that he was using it
was incredibly heavy, there are multiple ways that we can
talk about democracy, that we can talk about freedom, and
(11:07):
you can see that just even the usage of Beyonce's
Freedom as her campaign song, right and that first video
that went out, you still see the importance of what
we're talking about of family, of the economy, of community,
of connectedness, of racial diversity, of all of the values
that we have that Biden and how A share, but
(11:28):
the way that they're able to use imagery and messaging
to convey that message. One came from a place of fear,
I think, and rightfully so, but the other comes from
a place of optimism. And I think that for young people,
especially when you tell folks that are just entering into
the workforce, that are just entering into finding their footing
(11:49):
in a place of the power structure, right that to
tell them that the opportunities have come and gone is
not what's going to galvanize them.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
I totally agree. And it's funny because they actually a
while ago wrote a piece saying that young voters really
expect Democrats to go to the mat against this corrupt
Supreme Court that we've been seeing. And I feel like
leaders like Dick Durbin, all these folks have really dropped
the ball. And it's been disappointing to watch when there's
one thing about corruption after the next coming out and
(12:19):
it's a tweet from Dick Durbin that's the response, and
it's not acceptable. And now I know there's been change,
and Sheldon Whitehouse and folks have really been pushing it.
But Joe Biden himself has come out right and endorsed
these reforms. Vice President Harris has endorsed these reforms. And
I was just in DC and a bunch of focusing, well,
why did they even do that? Everyone says it'll never pass,
and how are we going to get a constitutional amendment?
Speaker 1 (12:40):
Through.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
First of all, I think it's just so uncreative. My
con law professor in law school would always say she
felt the amendment process is one of the most overlooked
tools for change that we have in this country, and
that people just always take it as a given that
you can't get it done. And yet how many do
we have, you know, so it can be done. So
I think that's inspiring and it's worth taking those big
swings because to your point, young people especially are coming
(13:04):
up in a world where every institution seems to be failing.
All the precedents and norms have been thrown out the window.
You have a felon you know, who might be the
president of the United States again. And at the same time,
they're being told, well, you can't do it this way,
this is not how it's done. That doesn't make any
sense to anyone who's paying attention. So let's try new things.
Let's get new things done, a whole bunch of new stuff.
(13:25):
A lot of it bad has been happening over the
last several years. So let's try some new good things,
and that's how you get people engaged.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
Let's talk about where we see the Trump campaign right now.
The Trump dance ticket Right now, so many folks that
I know are saying that Trump has basically heaped and
is now just you know, bottoming out right. That usually
coming off of the convention, you have the momentum of
(13:55):
the media, of people talking about you. But Biden took
the wind out of those sales immediately the convention closed,
and then boom that following Sunday he announces that he
is dropping out and Kamala is coming in. Since then,
we have seen video after video after video of jd
(14:16):
vance like dehumanizing women. The misogyny knows no bounds, the
hatefulness knows no bounds. We are seeing Donald Trump drop
out of the debate, as we said, calling a whole
bunch of names. They don't seem to have found their footing.
They don't seem to know where to pivot right now.
(14:38):
What do you make of where the Trump dance ticket
is in this current moment?
Speaker 2 (14:42):
Well, it's funny. I was doing the live the R
and Z coverage for ABC, and I remember when they
announced the pick and everything. My immediate response, because that
was a rough time to be a democratic commentator those
weeks after the debate for Biden, I said, This was
the first piece of good news democrats have gotten. And
it's really born out because I knew right away. I've
(15:03):
followed this guy for a long time since obviously Hillbilly elogy,
and it was sort of this nonsense takeaway of quote
unquote economic anxiety in twenty sixteen that really media used
to silence discussions about sexism and racism that were really
the reason a lot of people did support Trump. And
I think you look at this moment, and he really
is Ron Desante's two point zero even worse. Perhaps he's
(15:25):
a ivy leaguer costplaying maga, talking about how much he
loves to drink mountain dew, clapping for himself, weird stories
about the couch. None of it resonates, and he certainly
doesn't have the charisma and the shamelessness and the money,
frankly and the decades long reputation that Trump allows him
to get away with it all. Sort of That's been
Trump's gift, is that, you know, people really do buy
(15:48):
into the fact that he's an entertainer. Jade Vance is
so fickle and frankly on the record, so hypocritical, and
obviously really was telling the truth. A couple years ago
about who Trump was and sort of called him right
an opioid that these Maga folks were addicted to. And
he just now has decided, well, it's his turn to
get power. And you know how disgusting. I'm an Indian
(16:10):
American and I'm very excited about the premise of Kamala
Harris being our first South Asian president. But you look
at Usha Vance, the wife of JD. Vance. First of all,
what kind of pathetic husband came then his wife against
the disgusting racist attacks from the white supremacists and the
Maga movement. Well that's because that's their voting base. So
(16:31):
he's not going to stand up for his wife's talk
about being alpha. They love to say that, right, like
they're the definition of what a man should be. I
think a man should be able to defend his wife's
race as she's being smeared and attacked by the disgusting
people he hope supports him. So that's one thing. But
I think the second thing is that JD. Vance is
a hodgepodge of whatever Peter Thiel and Elon Musk and
(16:54):
the sort of weird is the word. Yes, it is
Ali Browse who were never probably socialized who surround themselves
with yes men for forever who are weird and obviously,
I mean we can just see that from from even
you know, the more quote unquote progressive is one like Zuckerberg.
I mean, these are odd kids, and so they have
all of these personal vendettas and you know, opinions that
(17:17):
really don't add up and don't really reflect the larger electorate.
And now they've hand selected Jade Vance is Donald Trump's
running me, and it's a mismatch, and of course Donald
Trump has no self control, so it's becoming so apparent
that he's pissed and that you know, he regrets the choice,
and they're not going to have the chemistry that you
do need those folks to have to run on a
successful ticket and all of that so a huge disaster
(17:39):
and mistake, and luckily the media has acknowledged it now.
But my concern is that obviously media has a short
attention span, and I do think an agenda. You know,
I saw a pretty peace that was saying media and
reporters are feeling rejuvenated and energized over the swap out
of Biden for Harris. Well, first of all, that's totally inappropriate.
(18:01):
They're supposed to report the news, not create exciting things
for them to cover by interfering and pushing narratives so
aggressively and strongly. But yes, Kamala is new to them.
I mean she shouldn't because they should have been covering
her as the important impact vil vice president she's been
for the last four years. But they suddenly started paying attention.
And they'll get over that, though, and they'll want to
take her down and they'll want to criticize you know,
(18:22):
I guarantee that, you know, as the campaign develops, they
will find the issues that they can criticize her on,
whether or not they're real or manufactured, and some of
them will be legitimate. But you know, certainly my concern
is that right now Kamala is going viral for all
the right reasons, and Janieans is going viral for all
the wrong reasons. That's a gift, but of course there's
(18:45):
going to be ups and downs in that, and I
think one of the things that the virality of Harris
right now does is it creates a reset moment and
a permission structure, particularly for young folks who felt ailing
and needed from the process, or maybe felt like you know,
the cool kids on campus had one set of political
(19:05):
views and they should align with those. Because Harris has
made politics more fun and engagement engaging, and also because
they've all seen their friends and folks post on social
media about it, they feel probably more empowered to be
voting Democrat, to say they're voting Democrat, to show up
and actually do that, because at the end of the day,
these folks understand that their rights are on the line,
(19:26):
that our future is on the line, and so I
do think that reset and exhale moment is important no
matter what happens down the road.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
What are you, you know, as we are making our
way to convention, you are a DNC delegate, What are
you excited to see? What are you hoping to see
of this, you know, multi day extravaganza when we officially,
you know, make Kamala Harris our Democratic nominee.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
I am excited to see the reality show. And I
don't use that in a negative way. You know, you
have the attention of the press, you have the attention
of the American people. Use it, engage them, entertain them.
Reflect what we just talked about, which are all the
upsides of vice president Harris's candidacy, making it fun, making
(20:18):
it engaging, make it different. I'm expecting to see, though
also a real focus on the policy, but presented as
we've seen through as we saw through the deepstakes. You know,
I think one of the again silver linings of all
of this for Democrats has been showing the deep bench
that we of leadership, making those cable heads and communicating
(20:38):
in a bunch of different ways. But you know, I
think a lot of people sort of typecast how Democrats message,
and it's really not true when you go look at
all these governors that we're speaking out about what the
party's done and what they stand for, and how do
we do represent the working class and the middle class
and what the deliverables have been economically in an engaging way,
in an honest, regular way. It's not like all these folks,
(21:01):
you know, have been over consulted in our spewing talking points.
They're speaking from the heart and it's resonating. So keep
doing that, but also show the diversity and the excitement
and the energy that to your point, right, Democrats do
have the culture on our side, as we always have,
but particularly in this moment, all they have is a
bunch of random wrestlers and kid rock at the RNC.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Right, go forget Paul Kulgan right.
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Exactly, random wife beaters basically, or alleged wife beaters, right,
anyone who would be willing to show up. That's who
they had. We have every major person that has contributed
to American culture over the last several decades supporting this ticket.
So use that effectively. And you know, we don't need
to see or hear from George Clotie. How about somebody younger,
somebody exciting. So I think definitely that what I'm looking
(21:48):
to not see, honestly is I do think the opportunity
with young voters for this campaign is now a different opportunity.
And no shade to anyone doing the organizing work for Biden,
but I do feel like the youth support that was
touted and spoken about, and I know the campaign was
really engaged on sort of did feel a little top down,
(22:09):
and it did feel a little like sort of the
nerds from like model un in high school understanding that
Democrats needed youth voices and youth support and so they
could be the one on CNN or the one writing
the op ed or going viral on Twitter among a
bunch of six year olds who wish that young voters
thought that way, and that's not to be knocked and
it does have an impact, and good for those people.
(22:29):
I think they believe what they're saying. But the reality
is they didn't represent the energy or the voice of
gen Z accurately. That's not true and the poll showed
that and everybody knows that. So when you look and
you see the excitement at the Georgia reality, when you
look at the means online and TikTok, it really is
much more grassroots, much more genuine and real. It's not
folks thinking, oh, if I make this thing go viral,
(22:51):
maybe a producer will reach out to me and I'll
get to do a hit, or maybe I'll get a
job with some campaign. It's just like, oh, my friends
are now excited about this new thing happened the news.
It is a cultural moment and I want to be
part of it. And so I would suggest tapping much
more into that energy. And then you know, having David Hogg,
who again maybe he should speak, but he can't be
the only young speaker and only young voice for gen Z. Again,
(23:14):
not a knock on him. He's done great work. He's
been a great leader. I just think a lot of
folks who haven't felt represented so far that are now
engaged in this process are not going to respond to
what feels like more of an institutionalist voice now at
this point, despite being young. So how do they tap
into that? It's very easy. There's all sorts of voices
(23:34):
and Christ there's.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
I mean, yeah, I think that there is a range
of talent, there's a range of perspective. I think that
what we are seeing, you know, just again to harken
back to the Atlanta rally, which is where we really
got to see, you know, who is coming out behind Kamala,
I think that there are lots of different voices, different perspectives.
(23:56):
You know, you had the you know Kamala you know
is bread like you have all of these things you
know that are coming up. And so I'm excited because
I feel like in some ways that this shift has
kind of taken the shackles off of the Democratic Party
and there is really a torch passing that has happened.
And I think that if we can continue to galvanize
(24:19):
that energy and continue with all of these amazing calls
that are raising millions and millions of dollars and engaging
people in every corner you know, of the demographics that
we need to hit that we will win. And you know,
I hope Kivon, that we get to talk to you
again when either when you're at convention or right when
you return, because I think it would be really great
(24:41):
to hear from you again.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Yes, for sure, tell people how they can follow you.
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Yes, So I'm Kivon frout hey AI V A N
s h R O F F on all socials though
you can catch me on there, and I'm you know,
every week on ABC Live so you can catch my
commentary there as well.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Amazing. Thank you. That is it for me today, dear
friends on woke f as always, Power to the people
and to all the people. Power, get woke and stay
woke as fuck.
Host
Danielle Moodie
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