Latest news with #FIGHT
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Newsom searches for what went wrong for Democrats
Usually, I'm the one asking the questions. But last week I flew out to California to appear on Gov. Gavin Newsom's podcast to talk about 'FIGHT,' the new book I co-authored about the 2024 presidential election. And this time it was the governor turning the tables and asking me and my co-author Jon Allen of NBC News about how to make sense of the last presidential race. 'My next guests, they understand it better than anyone,' Newsom said about us in the intro to our episode. It's clear that Newsom is one of the people trying to figure out what went wrong for Democrats so he can try to make it right. The governor's name is often bandied about as one of the top Democratic presidential contenders, and he is clearly testing the waters on where Democrats should be and how they can win back the presidency. He's also doing something many Democrats are refusing to do right now: He's having conversations with unlikely guests. Among them: Steve Bannon, the longtime Trump adviser, and Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist. Newsom seems to think the Democratic Party needs to stop having conversations with itself and do a better job listening to the other side, based on his remarks during our podcast and an interview with The Hill. He spent some time talking about how he knows what appeals to swing state voters because people often forget that California has agricultural jobs too. Newsom likes that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) are doing big, energetic rallies. But he also says there needs to be more. 'And … not or,' he told me last week, meaning both the rallies to the base and more are needed. It's similar to the approach Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, another top 2028 contender, appears to be taking after not one but two appearances alongside President Trump in recent weeks. First there was the infamous Oval Office visit where Whitmer tried to hide the fact that she was actually there by seemingly covering her face with a folder. But after she appeared with Trump at an event in Michigan on Tuesday, it appeared to be more intentional. 'My job is to do the right thing for the people of Michigan,' Whitmer told The Associated Press after her appearance with Trump on Tuesday. 'I'm not thinking about anything beyond that, and I know it's hard for people to get their head around [it].' Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is at odds with that line of thinking. Earlier this week, he slammed the 'do nothing' Democrats — seemingly taking issue with his counterparts in Michigan and California. Pritzker, who up until this point hasn't been part of the fiery resistance movement, said it was 'time to fight everywhere and all at once.' 'Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption. But I am now.' 'These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace,' he declared. 'The reckoning is finally here.' It's clear that none of the governors are confident about their 'lanes' at the moment: Should Democrats be simply energizing their base by taking on Trump and Republicans? Is it too similar to what they did in 2017, during their first resistance run? Or should they be listening to the voices on the other side? In an interview with The Hill last week, Newsom acknowledged that he was testing those questions with his podcast by inviting on a wide range of guests. 'At the same time, I'm being tested by it, because the reaction has been a little more bumpy than I even anticipated,' he said. On his podcast, Newsom likened my co-author and I to political psychologists: 'You know more about us than we know about ourselves,' he said. But he also acknowledged coming to his own conclusions. 'What are the lessons learned?' he asked us. 'The Democratic Party … right now, I've had strong opinions about where I think our party is right now in terms of just truth and trust, and the sense that we weren't being truthful.' 'There's a perception that we were gaslighting the American people,' he added. 'They don't trust us on issues and policies and the ability to deliver.' In the final seconds of the podcast, I got to turn the tables and ask him what lessons he took away from the election. 'I think the lesson is we need to have frank and honest conversations, and there's no space for that,' he said. 'And so I have a tactical point. This is the space. This is the place.' A second later he quipped, 'Are we done?' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
01-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Newsom searches for what went wrong for Democrats
Usually, I'm the one asking the questions. But last week I flew out to California to appear on Gov. Gavin Newsom's podcast to talk about 'FIGHT,' the new book I co-authored about the 2024 presidential election. And this time it was the governor turning the tables and asking me and my co-author Jon Allen of NBC News about how to make sense of the last presidential race. 'My next guests, they understand it better than anyone,' Newsom said about us in the intro to our episode. It's clear that Newsom is one of the people trying to figure out what went wrong for Democrats so he can try to make it right. The governor's name is often bandied about as one of the top Democratic presidential contenders, and he is clearly testing the waters on where Democrats should be and how they can win back the presidency. He's also doing something many Democrats are refusing to do right now: He's having conversations with unlikely guests. Among them: Steve Bannon, the longtime Trump adviser, and Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist. Newsom seems to think the Democratic Party needs to stop having conversations with itself and do a better job listening to the other side, based on his remarks during our podcast and an interview with The Hill. He spent some time talking about how he knows what appeals to swing state voters because people often forget that California has agricultural jobs too. Newsom likes that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) are doing big, energetic rallies. But he also says there needs to be more. 'And … not or,' he told me last week, meaning both the rallies to the base and more are needed. It's similar to the approach Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, another top 2028 contender, appears to be taking after not one but two appearances alongside President Trump in recent weeks. First there was the infamous Oval Office visit where Whitmer tried to hide the fact that she was actually there by seemingly covering her face with a folder. But after she appeared with Trump at an event in Michigan on Tuesday, it appeared to be more intentional. 'My job is to do the right thing for the people of Michigan,' Whitmer told The Associated Press after her appearance with Trump on Tuesday. 'I'm not thinking about anything beyond that, and I know it's hard for people to get their head around [it].' Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is at odds with that line of thinking. Earlier this week, he slammed the 'do nothing' Democrats — seemingly taking issue with his counterparts in Michigan and California. Pritzker, who up until this point hasn't been part of the fiery resistance movement, said it was 'time to fight everywhere and all at once.' 'Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption. But I am now.' 'These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace,' he declared. 'The reckoning is finally here.' It's clear that none of the governors are confident about their 'lanes' at the moment: Should Democrats be simply energizing their base by taking on Trump and Republicans? Is it too similar to what they did in 2017, during their first resistance run? Or should they be listening to the voices on the other side? In an interview with The Hill last week, Newsom acknowledged that he was testing those questions with his podcast by inviting on a wide range of guests. 'At the same time, I'm being tested by it, because the reaction has been a little more bumpy than I even anticipated,' he said. On his podcast, Newsom likened my co-author and I to political psychologists: 'You know more about us than we know about ourselves,' he said. But he also acknowledged coming to his own conclusions. 'What are the lessons learned?' he asked us. 'The Democratic Party … right now, I've had strong opinions about where I think our party is right now in terms of just truth and trust, and the sense that we weren't being truthful.' 'There's a perception that we were gaslighting the American people,' he added. 'They don't trust us on issues and policies and the ability to deliver.' 2024 Election Coverage In the final seconds of the podcast, I got to turn the tables and ask him what lessons he took away from the election. 'I think the lesson is we need to have frank and honest conversations, and there's no space for that,' he said. 'And so I have a tactical point. This is the space. This is the place.'
Scoop
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
STREETSIDE: BRITOMART – AWF's First Event Promises A Riotous Evening Of Words And Creativity
Storytellers will take over the Britomart precinct in the heart of Tāmaki Makaurau for a riotous evening of words and creativity on Friday 9 May. STREETSIDE: BRITOMART is a one-night-only festival which is completely free and open to all. The fun runs from 6 – 8pm with events across seven Britomart venues and provides a vibrant appetiser to the Auckland Writers Festival Waituhi O Tāmaki wider programme, taking place at the Aotea Centre from Tuesday 13 May. The night's festivities are curated by STREETSIDE: BRITOMART Programmer Ruby Macomber, a newcomer to the Auckland Writers Festival team in 2025, who has delivered an evening jam-packed with dynamic, artist-led kaupapa. 'In my curation, I wanted to focus on creating opportunities for artists to let loose and take the unorthodox structure of STREETSIDE: Britomart in their stride. To think about their works in conversation and see what we can learn from each other's seeds of inspiration,' says Ruby. Attendees can sink their teeth into FRESH BITES at Daily Bread and hear from some of the city's newest voices, watch their favourite texts be put to the test in BOOK (FIGHT) CLUB before stretching their own creative muscles in the NAVIGATING WĀHINETANGA workshop or WHERE IS THE LOVE? zine-making space. Elsewhere, popular local authors Rachel Paris (See How They Fall), Gavin Strawhan (The Call), Antonia Murphy (Madam) and Dominic Hoey (1985) share how the plot-twists in their own lives informed their new books in STORIES START HERE and Slam Champion Matariki Bennett transforms Rocketman into a dynamic beat poetry lounge for the evening. Complimentary alcohol-free Seedlip cocktails will be available at Takutai Square, where a DJ will set the tone, and attendees can get a poem personally written for them. Books will be available for sale at Allbirds thanks to Lamplight Books who will be running a pop-up stall. The events are all free and no tickets or registrations are required. Head to for the full STREETSIDE: BRITOMART programme.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Harris team planned Houston rally with Joe Rogan in mind
Former Vice President Harris made a substantial effort to get on Joe Rogan's popular podcast amid concerns about her traction with male voters — going so far as to plan a Houston rally to justify a stop at Rogan's Austin studio, according to a forthcoming book. In the final weeks of the election, the Harris team was in talks to sit down with the media personality, whose reps insisted that the interview take place at his home base in Austin, as reported in an excerpt from NBC News's Jonathan Allen and The Hill's Amie Parnes in 'FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House.' For Harris, stopping in the solidly red Lone Star State in the waning days of her campaign threatened to draw scrutiny and waste resources. But as her campaign weathered accusations that she was dodging tough interviews and woes about her shaky support from young men, a showing on Rogan's popular program was seen as a big potential boost worth working for. 'Harris had less than zero reason to be in Texas. It was not a swing state. Her campaign was flush with cash—so it made no sense to take her off the trail to raise money. She was in battleground-or-bust mode. Plus, a detour to Texas might smell like desperation to the press and a waste of money to donors,' reads an excerpt from 'FIGHT.' So the Harris team planned to fly Harris to Houston for an Oct. 25, 2024, rally, Allen and Parnes reported, 'under the cover of visiting a state with one of the nation's most restrictive abortion laws — to put her in proximity to Austin.' The announcement struck some observers as a surprise break in the Democratic nominee's criss-cross of swing states ahead of Election Day, even as her team said the stop would spotlight the impacts of anti-abortion policies. But then, on the same day the campaign announced the Houston rally, news broke that now-President Trump would sit down with Rogan on Oct. 25. Rogan, one of the most popular and controversial media personalities in the country, had previously said he wasn't a Trump supporter. But his three-hour interview with the Republican 2024 frontrunner went quickly viral, and Rogan eventually endorsed his return to the Oval Office. The failure to find agreement on a potential sit-down for Harris may have blunted efforts by the former vice president to reach young men, who make up the bulk of Rogan's massive fan base. Young voters have historically swung for Democrats and helped push former President Biden to victory in 2020, but the Trump campaign's pointed focus on young men appeared to capitalize on a growing gender divide, with young male voters moving away from the Democratic Party. With the accelerated timeline of her fast-tracked campaign, Harris appeared to use targeted appearances to reach key demographics, like sitting down for Alex Cooper's 'Call Her Daddy' podcast, widely popular among women. Gov Tim Walz (D-Minn.) played video games on Twitch with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), which the Harris-Walz campaign pointed to as evidence of their efforts to 'meet young men where they are.' But the campaign still struggled to reach young men, whom experts have said were catered to by the Trump campaign with its appeals to hypermasculinity. A Harvard University poll just ahead of the election found Harris led Trump among both young men and women, but while she led by 30 points among young women, she was just 10 points ahead with young men. It was the latest in a string of signs across the last several cycles that younger men were moving away from Democrats, while women of all age groups have appeared to grow more likely to identify as liberal. Parnes and Allen further reported that there was one 'final stab' from Harris aides to offer Rogan another meeting, this time in Washington after Harris made an Oct. 29 closing argument speech. 'For the record the Harris campaign has not passed on doing the podcast,' Rogan wrote on the social platform X on Oct. 29. 'They offered a date for Tuesday, but I would have had to travel to her, and they only wanted to do an hour.' In the end, the Harris-Rogan sit-down never materialized. Harris went through with her Oct. 25 Houston rally, and was endorsed on-stage by music superstar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, whose song 'Freedom' was used as the Harris campaign anthem. There had been buzz that the 'Texas Hold Em' singer might appear at the Democratic National Convention, though a performance didn't materialize. But 'FIGHT' reports that there were plans for Beyoncé to sing at the Houston event, citing a source that said the team planned for 'her singing 'Freedom' a capella before Harris walked on stage.' In the end, however, Beyoncé would only speak, not sing. Harris-Walz raked in A-list backers for their fast-tracked campaign, including Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey and James Taylor. But in post-mortems of the election, Democrats have questioned whether celebrity endorsements helped or hindered Harris, as her party was pelted with accusations that it was out-of-touch with the working class. Based on an excerpt from FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, to be published April 1 by William Morrow. Copyright © 2025 by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes. Reprinted courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
29-01-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hill
Harris team planned Houston rally with Joe Rogan in mind
Former Vice President Harris made a substantial effort to get on Joe Rogan's popular podcast amid concerns about her traction with male voters — going so far as to plan a Houston rally to justify a stop at Rogan's Austin studio, according to a forthcoming book. In the final weeks of the election, the Harris team was in talks to sit down with the media personality, whose reps insisted that the interview take place at his home base in Austin, as reported in an excerpt from NBC News's Jonathan Allen and The Hill's Amie Parnes in 'FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House.' For Harris, stopping in the solidly red Lone Star State in the waning days of her campaign threatened to draw scrutiny and waste resources. But as her campaign weathered accusations that she was dodging tough interviews and woes about her shaky support from young men, a showing on Rogan's popular program was seen as a big potential boost worth working for. 'Harris had less than zero reason to be in Texas. It was not a swing state. Her campaign was flush with cash—so it made no sense to take her off the trail to raise money. She was in battleground-or-bust mode. Plus, a detour to Texas might smell like desperation to the press and a waste of money to donors,' reads an excerpt from 'FIGHT.' So the Harris team planned to fly Harris to Houston for an Oct. 25, 2024, rally, Allen and Parnes reported, 'under the cover of visiting a state with one of the nation's most restrictive abortion laws — to put her in proximity to Austin.' The announcement struck some observers as a surprise break in the Democratic nominee's criss-cross of swing states ahead of Election Day, even as her team said the stop would spotlight the impacts of anti-abortion policies. But then, on the same day the campaign announced the Houston rally, news broke that now-President Trump would sit down with Rogan on Oct. 25. Rogan, one of the most popular and controversial media personalities in the country, had previously said he wasn't a Trump supporter. But his three-hour interview with the Republican 2024 frontrunner went quickly viral, and Rogan eventually endorsed his return to the Oval Office. The failure to find agreement on a potential sit-down for Harris may have blunted efforts by the former vice president to reach young men, who make up the bulk of Rogan's massive fan base. Young voters have historically swung for Democrats and helped push former President Biden to victory in 2020, but the Trump campaign's pointed focus on young men appeared to capitalize on a growing gender divide, with young male voters moving away from the Democratic Party. With the accelerated timeline of her fast-tracked campaign, Harris appeared to use targeted appearances to reach key demographics, like sitting down for Alex Cooper's 'Call Her Daddy' podcast, widely popular among women. Gov Tim Walz (D-Minn.) played video games on Twitch with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), which the Harris-Walz campaign pointed to as evidence of their efforts to 'meet young men where they are.' But the campaign still struggled to reach young men, whom experts have said were catered to by the Trump campaign with its appeals to hypermasculinity. A Harvard University poll just ahead of the election found Harris led Trump among both young men and women, but while she led by 30 points among young women, she was just 10 points ahead with young men. It was the latest in a string of signs across the last several cycles that younger men were moving away from Democrats, while women of all age groups have appeared to grow more likely to identify as liberal. Parnes and Allen further reported that there was one 'final stab' from Harris aides to offer Rogan another meeting, this time in Washington after Harris made an Oct. 29 closing argument speech. 'For the record the Harris campaign has not passed on doing the podcast,' Rogan wrote on the social platform X on Oct. 29. 'They offered a date for Tuesday, but I would have had to travel to her, and they only wanted to do an hour.' In the end, the Harris-Rogan sit-down never materialized. Harris went through with her Oct. 25 Houston rally, and was endorsed on-stage by music superstar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, whose song 'Freedom' was used as the Harris campaign anthem. There had been buzz that the 'Texas Hold Em' singer might appear at the Democratic National Convention, though a performance didn't materialize. But 'FIGHT' reports that there were plans for Beyoncé to sing at the Houston event, citing a source that said the team planned for 'her singing 'Freedom' a capella before Harris walked on stage.' That, too, fell through, according to the book excerpt: 'Her handlers said the campaign did not have the right microphone for her, according to the person familiar with the discussions. She would speak. But she would not sing.' 2024 Election Coverage Harris-Walz raked in A-list backers for their fast-tracked campaign, including Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey and James Taylor. But in post-mortems of the election, Democrats have questioned whether celebrity endorsements helped or hindered Harris, as her party was pelted with accusations that it was out-of-touch with the working class.
