The audience for the talk show “The View” and the audience for Howard Stern’s satellite radio show couldn’t be more different. Older women, who watch daytime TV for the former, and young and middle-aged white men, who have long made up the TV show’s avid following. The latter’s once vulgar style.
But within hours on Tuesday, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris was shuttling between Manhattan studios for lengthy interviews. This was a strange juxtaposition between a television show that was initially seen as a women’s lunch chat show and a radio host. He became famous for his pornographic, misogynistic, and sometimes racist epithets, and was fined millions of dollars in obscenity by the federal government.
Historically, serious political candidates would never have appeared on either show. President Obama was ridiculed by Democrats for being the first sitting president to give an interview on “The View.”
But both shows, which have millions of followers, have evolved. “The View” is one of the most popular shows for presidential candidates of both parties, and Mr. Stern has transformed into an inquisitive interviewer promoting therapy. And both men have built a strong reputation as candidates for both parties, including former President Trump’s court voters, through a rapidly growing network of broadcast, radio, podcast, and social media networks where voters who aren’t MSNBC or Fox News buffs can get their news. It represents partisan strategy.
Bill Burton, national spokesman for the 2008 Obama presidential campaign and who worked on President Obama’s communications team during his first term in the White House, says that since he started working in politics a quarter century ago, “things have completely changed.” “It was,” he said.
“It used to be that the most obvious way to communicate with voters was through political reporters,” he says. “It has shifted to better understanding who voters are, where voters are getting their information, and where voters are getting their information.”
The increased focus on nontraditional media is the latest iteration of microtargeting, an effort by campaigns to reach specific voter groups. One of the most effective efforts came during President George W. It was a surgical targeting of Republican voters in Democratic districts such as .
“Campaigns are no longer a top-down approach to messaging. In many cases, it’s a very customized bottom-up approach,” said President Bush’s re-election campaign in 2004 and Mitt Romney’s campaign in 2008 and 2012. said Kevin Madden, a Republican strategist who worked on the campaign. “Prior to 2004, campaigns used to run 30-second ads that targeted the general public who watched the 6:30 or cable news. , you get this almost ubiquitous approach to communicating through all these channels based on what you know about your peer set.”
Recalling such efforts 20 years ago, Madden said: “If you drive a truck and drink Budweiser, you’re one of our voters. If you drive a Grand Cherokee and drink Heineken, you may have a floating vote. Based on that, we know where to target our messages, whether it’s through peer-to-peer communications or through Field & Stream magazine.”
“Now, it’s changed to a more comprehensive understanding of the electorate,” says Madden, now a senior partner at the Washington-based Global Strategic Communications Group. “A few cycles ago, it was a paint-by-numbers kind of thing. Now it’s like a pixelated digital image of voters, their changing moods, and what motivates them. , we are beginning to understand more and more.”
Mr. Trump has also appeared on nontraditional forums, including Nerk Boys, which is popular with young men, and pro wrestler Logan Paul’s podcast. On Tuesday, the former president said on Ben Shapiro’s controversial podcast that President Biden and Harris can be removed from office through the 25th Amendment, which provides for the transfer of presidential powers in the event of disability, resignation, removal from office, or death. said it should.
Harris also boasts millions of listeners and raises eyebrows like Alex Cooper on “Call Her Daddy,” an explicit podcast that harkens back to the early days of Stern’s radio show for its frank sexual jokes. I also spoke with a similar host.
On Tuesday, Harris’ questioners on “The View” were friendly. Two Republicans sitting around a coffee table at the scene were prominent Trump critics: Florida strategist Ana Navarro and former Trump aide Alyssa Farrar Griffin. Harris used the appearance to address the needs of the “sandwich” generation who are caring for aging parents and children, and to develop a proposal to provide long-term care assistance to seniors through Medicare.
“There are a lot of people in our country who are right in between, caring for their children and caring for their elderly parents. And it’s almost impossible to do it all. , especially if they are working,” Harris said, recalling her experience caring for her mother, who was diagnosed with cancer. “So many people then have to quit their jobs, which means they lose their source of income, not to mention the mental stress. So what I’m proposing is basically… What we do is make sure that Medicare covers home health care.”
But Republicans quickly focused on the answer to whether Biden would have acted differently when he led the country. Harris has had to navigate this difficult path because she claims to be loyal to the current president but is a replacement candidate.
“Nothing comes to mind…and I’ve participated in most of the decisions that have affected me,” Harris said, adding that she would later include Republicans in her cabinet.
Trump. his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance; Other Republicans also took notice of the remarks.
“President Trump has broken the internet with X-Space with Elon Musk, watched UFC games and football games to roaring crowds, and shared personal stories such as his family’s struggle with addiction on podcasts with Theo Von and others. He’s broaching the subject,” said Republican spokeswoman Anna Kelly. The national committee said in a statement: “Kamala Harris, by contrast, is doubling down on the failures of the past four years, from the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal to crushing inflation and record high prices for rent, food, and gasoline.
“The contrast is clear: President Trump continues to build the largest and most diverse coalition in history, while Kamala Harris wants to continue the same weak and failed Biden-Harris policy for another four years. And when they take power, Americans will reject the tired politics of the past and vote for President Trump in November,” Kelly said.
Shortly after her appearance on “The View,” Harris conducted a more than hour-long interview with Stern. Stern was initially known for his lewd arguments on air and released a home video, “Butt Bongo Fiesta,” which grossed $10 million. There are many examples of offensive content, including slapping young women’s naked buttocks to music and the use of the N-word.
Vice President Kamala Harris and SiriusXM radio host Howard Stern on Tuesday.
(“The Howard Stern Show” on SiriusXM)
He dabbled in politics, even running for governor of New York before being required to disclose his income. He named a New Jersey highway rest stop after him after supporting successful Republican gubernatorial candidate Christine Todd Whitman.
Stern evolved as he got older. Stern has had a long-standing relationship with Trump, and although they attended each other’s weddings, the relationship ended after he refused to introduce Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention because he supported Hillary Clinton. He said that it had collapsed.
His interview with Harris was sweet. Mr. Stern urged his supporters to either vote for her or not vote all together if they support Mr. Trump. Both men repeated familiar talking points about the danger they believe the former president poses to democracy and the world.
Harris said a lot of the same things she said in previous interviews, including talking about eating an entire “family-sized” bag of nacho cheese Doritos on the night Trump won the 2016 presidential election, but she also said: He also talked about F1 racing and his love for racing. I surprised my husband with tickets to see U2 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
“Oh my god, have you ever been to the sphere?” she asked Stern. “Everyone should come in with a clear head.”
Mr. Stern replied, “Basically, you shouldn’t get high?”
“That’s right,” said the vice president. “There’s a lot. There’s a lot of visual stimulation.”
