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Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Democrats learned the wrong lesson from one of Trump's most powerful campaign strategies
This June marks the 50th anniversary of Pride, and with WorldPride descending on D.C., the nation's capital will become the epicenter of the monumental occasion. But the celebrations will take place amid a climate of fear. In just the first few months since his return to the White House, President Donald Trump has attacked nearly every marginalized group that didn't vote for him, with trans Americans among his favorite targets. Too many Democrats played right into his hands by refusing to engage in the fight at all. Democrats have won this fight before, and they can win it again — but only through confrontation, not cowardice. The most devastating ad of the 2024 cycle featured a clip of Kamala Harris supporting gender-affirming surgery for incarcerated illegal immigrants. The commercial ended with the line, 'Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.' It was cheap, cruel and wildly misleading — but brutally effective. According to Future Forward, Harris' own billion-dollar Super PAC, the ad swung voters by 2.7 percentage points. Democrats like Bill Clinton warned that Harris' campaign needed to respond, but after a possible response tested poorly, the campaign chose silence. Even months after the election, Democratic leaders still haven't figured out why that ad worked. Their takeaway? Curse more. Make more TikToks. Find the left's version of Joe Rogan. But that's not what people want. They want to know someone is in the ring, fighting for them. They want courage. The trans issue in American politics is a paradox. On the one hand, it dominates headlines. Search the internet for 'NCAA trans athletes' any day of the week, or spend five minutes watching Fox News, and you'll believe that trans athletes are taking over the NCAA. Earlier this year, 13 senators signed a resolution demanding that the NCAA ban trans athletes. But guess how many trans athletes were actually competing in NCAA sports? Fewer than 10. Out of 510,000. So why the outrage? Simple: fear. Americans are overwhelmed by change. They're anxious, and Trump knows this. He has always promised to protect people from various boogeymen: immigrants, the left, and now, trans people. But the MAGA outrage machine isn't just yelling into a podcast mic; it's leading to real harm. Trans Americans are nearly five times more likely to be victims of violent crime. And while they face this escalating threat, Trump allies like Reps. Lauren Boebert and Nancy Mace are storming a Capitol Hill bathroom to confront a woman they think is trans. The trans community needs fighters in Washington. But so far, Democrats have decided to 'don't ask, don't tell' in this fight, or outright throw the trans community under the bus for the sake of 'electability.' What makes this decision even more frustrating is that trans rights aren't even unpopular. According to a March Pew poll, 56% of Americans support protecting trans people from discrimination in jobs, housing and public spaces. That's nearly 15 points higher than Trump's current favorability. The public isn't the problem. The silence from the top is. In the attention economy, silence is surrender. Trump and his allies are loud, relentless and shameless. Unless Democrats are willing to be just as loud, but with truth and moral clarity, they will keep losing. This Pride month, Democrats can't remain silent like Harris did. They have to swing back. When Republicans start ramping up their attacks on Trans people, Democrats need to start showing up on the front lines, loudly calling out the GOP's twisted obsession for exactly what it is: creepy, invasive and deeply dangerous. Republicans' creepy obsession with monitoring our restrooms isn't about safety. It's not about fairness. It's about attention, power and fearmongering. People are looking for someone who will defend their version of the American dream, and no one's dream includes genital checks at the bathroom door. Democrats have won this fight before. Nearly 10 years ago, North Carolina Republicans enacted the first bill restricting transgender Americans from using the bathroom matching their gender identities. But the nation mobilized to stop these bigoted bathroom checks with widespread boycotts and financial pressure even from the NCAA. A year later, the bill was repealed, though Republicans still haven't given up. In Omaha, Nebraska, less than a month ago, Democrat John Ewing defeated three-term Mayor Jean Stothert. The incumbent, a Republican, ran a vicious anti-trans campaign. Ewing didn't stay silent, but faced the issue head-on with a blunt slogan, 'Jean is focused on potties. John is focused on fixing potholes.' And my organization, Progress Action Fund, is following in their footsteps. Next week, we'll be releasing a sequel to our viral 'Your Republican Congressman' ads, literally showing how the GOP is more concerned with checking people's genitals than focusing on the real priorities of the American people. In our testing, this message moves the needle against Republicans more than 3 percentage points. Democrats must stop managing fear and start confronting it. Not just to defend a community under siege, but to remind every American watching that Democrats are still capable of courage. That this party remembers how to throw a punch. That, like trans rights supporters have done for decades, they are ready to resist loudly, unapologetically, and without permission. This article was originally published on
Washington Post
27-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Vance to headline Vegas fundraiser for Trump PAC costing $1 million per head
Vice President JD Vance will headline a political fundraiser in Las Vegas Tuesday requiring a $1 million donation per attendee, according to an invitation for the event obtained by The Washington Post. The fundraiser for MAGA Inc., the primary super PAC supporting President Donald Trump, will be held as a 'private roundtable & photo opportunity' featuring Vance as the 'special guest speaker,' the invitation states.
New York Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Elon Musk Suggests He Will Spend ‘a Lot Less' on Political Donations
Elon Musk was the country's biggest political donor in 2024. But he might be ready to give up the title. Mr. Musk, the world's richest person, said on Tuesday that he was planning to spend 'a lot less' in future elections, the latest sign that he is fading into the background of American politics — at least for now. 'In terms of political spending, I'm going to do a lot less in the future,' Mr. Musk said as he appeared virtually for a combative interview with Bloomberg News at the Qatar Economic Forum. 'I think I've done enough.' He did keep the door open, however. Asked if his decision stemmed from any blowback he had faced for helping to guide the Trump administration, he said: 'If I see a reason to do political spending in the future, I will do it. But I don't currently see a reason.' Mr. Musk disclosed over $290 million in federal spending on the 2024 election cycle, most of which went toward backing Donald J. Trump through a super PAC that he started. He has told Mr. Trump's advisers that he planned to donate about $100 million to pro-Trump groups before the 2026 midterm elections. In the months after Mr. Trump took office in January, Mr. Musk became a frequent presence in Washington as he steered an ambitious, controversial effort to sharply cut government spending. He has also remained a powerful player in Republican campaign finance. Along with an allied group, he spent roughly $25 million on a major Wisconsin Supreme Court race to back a conservative candidate who lost badly. Lately, Mr. Musk has indicated a desire to turn back to his business empire. After a sharp drop in profit at his electric-car company, Tesla, he told Wall Street analysts last month that he planned to spend less time in Washington and more on his companies. He did say on Tuesday, however, that he planned to be in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday, including for a dinner with Mr. Trump.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New Jersey's gov hopefuls signal for outside help in final weeks of primary
Democrats running for governor of New Jersey are posting guidance for voter outreach on their campaign websites — an increasingly common campaign tactic that can serve as a signal to outside groups of how to spend their resources in the leadup to the June primary. In a Thursday memo to 'interested parties,' Rep. Mikie Sherrill campaign manager Alex Ball wrote that the 'key factor down the stretch of this race will be face-to-face contact with voters' and outlined who the campaign views as its 'top targets.' That includes Hispanic and Asian voters, as well as white women, on the vote-by-mail list who voted in at least three of the last four Democratic primary elections. The Sherrill campaign's 'next targets' are Asian and white voters who haven't voted or voted one or two times out of the last four Democratic primary elections. The campaign even lists where these voters could be found, broken down by county and municipality. These public instructions come from a page accessed on Sherrill's campaign website found by clicking a tab at the bottom of the site called 'media.' The page also includes materials that could be used when a super PAC is making an ad to boost her, including her prominent talking points about her biography and legislative accomplishments in Congress and photos and videos of her on the trail. This strategy, referred to as 'redboxing' due to the content being highlighted by a literal red box, is a common campaign tactic, though ethics watchdogs have long expressed concerns that it crosses the line of illegally coordinating with super PACs. (The Federal Election Commission has not cracked down on redboxing, reasoning that public statements online do not count as coordination.) Sherrill's campaign had previously posted a redbox memo saying that 'the key group of voters will be Black voters with a history of voting by mail, most especially Black women who receive their political communications in the mail.' Super PACs have an outsized role in the race for governor, giving candidates who have spending limits due to the state's public matching funds program an edge. Any outreach is critical in the closing days of the election, especially considering a large swath of the electorate has not even tuned in. Sherrill is not the only Democratic gubernatorial candidate to signal their messaging preferences on their campaign sites — though other appeals have focused more on advertising rather than canvassing. A Rutgers-Eagleton poll released on Friday found that when respondents were asked "when does the next election take place in New Jersey," 4 percent answered the June 10 primary, 20 percent said some time in June, while more than once-third said is not the only Democratic gubernatorial candidate to signal their messaging preferences on their campaign sites — though other appeals have focused more on advertising rather than canvassing. On a page called 'resources,' former state Senate President Steve Sweeney provides b-roll and lists 'messaging guidance,' saying that 'voters — particularly those in South Jersey — need to hear now on digital/streaming and mail that Steve Sweeney is a working-class, lifelong union ironworker with an agenda to help working-class people.' A previous version of this page also mentioned voters 'in Central/North Jersey who are male or older or non-college,' though that reference has since been removed. The page highlights his policy achievements, being 'outspoken in support of getting tougher on crime' and his senior-focused plan to eliminate state retirement income tax. Rep. Josh Gottheimer's campaign has also posted regular 'campaign updates' on its website. Most recently in a May 4 memo, campaign manager Chelsea Brossard emphasized Gottheimer's tax cut plan and that he'll 'stand up to Trump when he messes with Jersey.' She cautioned that 'TV will be especially crowded the last two weeks of the campaign, and it's important to reserve preferred inventory as soon as possible.' Two super PACs boosting Gottheimer have spent more than $14 million on advertisements, according to ad tracker AdImpact, though they do not have reservations booked in the final weeks of the campaign. In an April 17 update, the campaign also spotlighted broadcast advertising in the New York and Philadelphia media markets, as well as YouTube advertising, noting that the campaign's data 'shows that Democratic primary voters without a college degree, particularly white men and women aged 45 and older, and Hispanic voters and AAPI voters are especially open to Josh's message.' Gottheimer's YouTube page also provides b-roll. Many candidates in races across the country utilize redboxing, which is not outright prohibited by federal regulations. But in New York City, which has stricter guidelines, campaign finance regulators this week warned candidates about coordination between campaigns and super PACs after POLITICO reported on former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's redboxing. New Jersey does not have explicit regulations regarding redboxing. Daniel Han contributed to this report.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Elon Musk Says He's Giving Out $1 Million Checks to ‘Get Attention'
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Elon Musk, the world's richest man, delivered $1 million checks to two of his supporters on Sunday evening at his town hall, saying the point of giving out these payments is to 'get attention.' 'I should say that the reason for the checks is that it's really just to get attention,' he said. 'And somewhat inevitably, when I do these things, it causes the legacy media to kind of lose their minds.' A $1 million check, for most people, would be a life-changing sum. For Musk, who is worth $343 billion, this sum is equivalent to the median earner in the United States throwing a quarter in a fountain. This is, of course, the same playbook Musk used to boost Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Sunday's checks were for supporters he brought to a town hall in Green Bay to boost Republican Judge Schimel, in advance of Wisconsin's state Supreme Court election on Tuesday. Musk spoke to a crowd of more than 1,000 people Sunday. The billionaire and his allies have poured $20 million into the state Supreme Court race via his Super PAC, America PAC — a dark money group he's funded called Building America's Future; and donations to the Republican Party of Wisconsin. They are boosting Judge Brad Schimel, who previously served as Wisconsin's Republican attorney general. Musk, who's leading Trump's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed onstage after a speech by his Trump administration colleague and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was previously a Wisconsin congressman. Duffy's Department of Transportation regulates Musk's electric vehicle company Tesla as well as his space company SpaceX. Wisconsin's Republican senator, Ron Johnson, spoke too. People were only invited to attend if they had signed a petition from Musk's America PAC, declaring their 'opposition to activist judges.' Signing the petition qualified them for a $100 check. When the event was initially announced, Musk posted on his social media platform X that he planned to 'personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote.' That statement quickly drew a lawsuit from Wisconsin's Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul. Under Wisconsin law, 'election bribery' is a felony, and people cannot offer 'anything of value' to voters to induce them to vote in an election. Musk deleted and subsequently revised his offer, saying instead that he would 'hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition' from America PAC. Judges have refused to step in to block the payments. A few hundred protesters picketed outside America PAC's event Sunday afternoon. A group held a series of large canvas signs that together said: 'WI is not for sale.' One held a sign designed as a TV-style check for Schimel. '$23 million + counting,' it said, which was 'signed' by Musk, declaring: 'I bought Brad!' One woman, Sandy, held a sign reading: 'X-LAX needed to eliminate Musk.' She tells Rolling Stone she came out to protest Musk 'because he's in town — and trying to buy votes.' She adds, 'He has no business in Wisconsin trying to influence votes.' Hundreds of supporters waited outside in the cold, amid intermittent ice-cold rain, hours before the event was set to begin. One woman, Jen, says she came out to 'back Elon and President Trump and everything they're doing.' A man held a sign declaring: 'No child is trans,' from the anti-LGBTQ+ group Gays Against Groomers. He declined to speak with Rolling Stone, suggesting his words would be twisted. Supporters cheered when a group of attendees drove up in a Tesla Cybertruck. One man who got out of the car posed for a picture in front of it. He subsequently told a friend it was his first time in a Cybertruck, and admitted he had trouble finding the exterior release to open the door, calling it 'weird.' The reason Musk is so interested in the race is that a conservative win, which would flip control of the court, could very well help Republicans retain their gerrymandered congressional majority in Washington, D.C. Last year, the Wisconsin Supreme Court — which liberals currently control 4-3 — struck down the state's legislative maps, which were so thoroughly gerrymandered that it was effectively impossible for Democrats to ever gain control of the state legislature. The court found many of the Republican-drawn district lines to be unconstitutional, so the map was redrawn. Musk said Sunday evening that the Wisconsin judicial election could be 'important' not only for the country but the world, arguing that liberals on the court 'will gerrymander districts and deprive Wisconsin two House seats on the Republican side.' He was interrupted several times by protesters inside the town hall. Both times, Musk suggested they were operatives funded by liberal mega-donor George Soros. The Trumpy crowd shouted down the protesters, chanting 'USA! USA!' Democrats are hoping that the state Supreme Court race will become a referendum on Musk. Over the weekend, the Democratic National Committee ran ads in newspapers highlighting the straight-armed salute that Musk made at Trump's post-inauguration rally in January. 'Elon Musk is trying to buy a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat for Brad Schimel,' says the ad, which presents an image of Musk saluting behind a picture of Schimel. It adds: 'Wisconsin Is Not For Sale.' 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