This post is part of the digital companion series to Jen Psaki’s “The Blueprint,” a new podcast examining where Democrats stand after big losses in 2024 and how they can win again. New episodes come out on Mondays. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Below is an adapted excerpt from the Feb. 17 episode featuring Don Lemon.
In the aftermath of the election and Kamala Harris’ loss to Donald Trump, much has been said about the Democratic Party’s media strategy. For example, Harris received a lot of criticism for not appearing on Joe Rogan’s podcast, with some arguing it could have helped the then-vice president make inroads with demographic groups that she ended up losing in November.
I think that’s an oversimplification. As a candidate, you can always do more and I don’t know that if Harris had done Rogan specifically she would have beat Trump. But Rogan’s podcast is a symbol of a much larger problem within the Democratic Party when it comes to media.
Democrats, especially Democratic politicians, are still enamored with the patina of legacy media and the influence they believe it has. They lack an understanding of where the culture is going. This hasn’t always been the case. During Barack Obama’s presidency, he understood the importance of nontraditional media but no one in the Democratic Party carried that torch forward.
To some, it appears as if today’s Democrats believe they’re above nontraditional media. It’s like they’re saying, “I’m not going to go on that program because I’m better than that.” Well, that’s not true. They’re not.
Since I left legacy media and launched my own, independent news program, I’ve built up an audience of hundreds of thousands of subscribers. That’s a lot of folks who aren’t just casually watching every once in a while. They watch every single day and many of them are paying to watch. Democrats are doing themselves a disservice by thinking they’re too good or too big for that kind of audience just because it’s not part of traditional media. As a politician, you can’t only make appearances on MSNBC or CNN. You’re preaching to the choir. Those folks watching are likely already going to vote for you. The people that you need to engage and animate aren’t watching. That’s something a lot of Republicans have realized. It’s definitely something Trump realized. He’s sitting down with podcasters, comedians and college bros and people are watching. Democrats are too buttoned up. They’re too afraid and too nervous to be real people. Trump has broken the mold of traditional media. If Democrats want to compete, it’s time they follow suit.
Don Lemon
Don Lemon is an Emmy Award winner and the host of "The Don Lemon Show," which is available to stream on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. He is a former CNN host and received the Edward R. Murrow Award in 2002.
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