• Tuesday night’s DNC turned into a raucous celebration as delegates from each state showed off their local pride while casting their votes for Vice President Kamala Harris. Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama headlined the night’s speeches, capping an exciting night for the party. But to win in November, Democrats will need to mobilize voters while also combating a slate of new voter suppression policies enacted by Republicans since the 2020 election. Stacey Abrams, a former Georgia lawmaker, and voting rights activist — and host of the new Crooked podcast ‘Assembly Required’ — joins us from the DNC to talk about the voting rights fight ahead. Meanwhile, DNC organizers granted more than 200 content creators and influencers special access to the convention this year. Their presence speaks to the power of social media in the world of political messaging, especially with young voters.
• And it’s a power that the Democratic Party is eager to tap into in these final few months before the election. Victoria Hammett, deputy director for Gen-Z for Change, talks about the content that resonates with young voters.

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TRANSCRIPT

Priyanka Aribindi: It’s Wednesday, August 21st. I’m Priyanka Aribindi. 

Juanita Tolliver: And I’m Juanita Tolliver and this is What a Day, the show that is wondering who hired DJ Cassidy for the celebratory roll call vote? Best decision ever. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Absolutely the best decision of this convention so far. And that’s, you know, there have been a lot of good decisions, a lot of great speakers, a lot of good music. But D.J Cassidy just knocked it out of the park. 

Juanita Tolliver: For the win. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Truly. 

Juanita Tolliver: For the win. [music break]

Priyanka Aribindi: On today’s show, we are bringing you two conversations. Later in the show, we’ll talk to TikTok creator Victoria Hammett. Her content focuses on politics and voter engagement. 

Juanita Tolliver: But first Tuesday night’s DNC was a joyful celebration. Delegates from each state showed off their local pride while casting their votes for Vice President Kamala Harris, and it was hard to top Georgia, who brought out Lil Jon, to take it to another level. 

[clip of Lil Jon] Yeah! Ladies and gentlemen, we are here today to officially nominate Kamala Harris for president. [?] DNC, turn out for what? [music plays]

Priyanka Aribindi: I didn’t even hear that it was turn out for what? That’s amazing. 

Juanita Tolliver: What’d I tell you. That energy. I feel like the audio doesn’t even capture the crowd response accurately. People went berserk. 

Priyanka Aribindi: The crowd response, our response at home, I mean, that was wild. So out of left field, no one was expecting it. And he just like, ran away with it. So much excitement. And the evening was headlined by two of Chicago’s hometown heroes, Barack and Michelle Obama. Former first Lady Michelle Obama gave an electrifying speech, taking Donald Trump to task for his blatant racism and giving him a taste of his own medicine. 

[clip of Michelle Obama] See, his his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people. Who happened to be Black. [crowd cheers] I want to know. I want to know. Who’s going to tell him? Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those Black jobs? [crowd cheers]

Priyanka Aribindi: She also reminded viewers not to get too comfortable before Election Day with the rallying cry of do something. 

[clip of Michelle Obama] It’s up to us to remember what Kamala’s mother told her. Don’t just sit around and complain. Do something. So if they lie about her and they will, we’ve got to do something. If we see a bad poll and we will, we got to put down that phone and do something. If we start feeling tired, if we start feeling that dread creeping back in, we gotta pick ourselves up. Throw water on our face. And what? 

[clip of DNC crowd] Do something.

Priyanka Aribindi: And former President Barack Obama ended the night by focusing on the threat of Donald Trump and the possibilities that are represented by the Harris Walz ticket. 

[clip of Barack Obama] The people who will decide this election are asking a very simple question. Who will fight for me? Who’s thinking about my future? About my children’s future? About our future together? One thing is for certain. Donald Trump is not losing sleep over that question. Here’s a 78 year old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago. It has been a constant stream of of gripes and grievances that’s actually been getting worse now that he’s afraid of losing to Kamala.

Priyanka Aribindi: But I will say the real highlight had to be a jab that he made about Trump’s obsession with crowd size. It needs to be seen on video to be fully appreciated, but that clip will almost certainly be everywhere today. Highly recommend taking a watch. 

[clip of Barack Obama] There’s the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes. 

Juanita Tolliver: Of course, in order to win in November, Democrats will need to mobilize voters. But they’ll also have to combat voter suppression tactics that Republicans have deployed across the country. According to the nonpartisan policy institute, the Brennan Center for Justice, voters in about half of the country’s states will face new voting restrictions this election, one of the states that has passed multiple repressive laws since the last election is Georgia, and one of the people working to fight against these attempts at voter suppression is politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams. She’s also the host of Crooked Media’s newest podcast, Assembly Required, where she’s talking with folks trying to fix parts of our political system that just aren’t working. Abrams is spending this week at the DNC, and she spoke with me from the busy floor of the convention center. I asked for her highlights from the start of the DNC. 

Stacey Abrams: I think, of course, it was President Biden’s valedictory speech. He was gracious. He was kind. He was bullish on our ability to win. The surprise appearance, of course, of Vice President Harris, who recognized how important that moment was of being there and making the appearance and recognizing what had been accomplished together. I think that really set the tone, but also reminds us of what we’ve got to protect in the next few months as we head into Election Day. 

Juanita Tolliver: Speaking of what we’ve got to protect, there were a lot of messages that went out to supporters over the past few days about delivering for the people, protecting reproductive rights, or protecting the public from Trump, who is also a threat to our rights. Which of those messages do you think the Harris Walz campaign should focus in on most in order to be successful in November? 

Stacey Abrams: We’ve got to pull together a coalition of voters, and that means speaking to the needs of all people, especially those people who feel like no one’s listening. I’ve been very heartened by the Harris campaign’s willingness to talk about issues like reproductive choice, but also talking about housing. Affordable housing is a crisis, especially among younger voters. Their willingness to not just articulate a fight for democracy, but to speak to the needs of average voters having access to the ballots in states like Georgia, where we’re watching, voter suppression rears its ugly head again, where we’re watching the RNC attack the right to vote in Arizon. Their willingness to pull in and lean in on those issues matter. But what we have to avoid is trying to only pick one issue thinking that’s going to carry the day. We live in a multiracial, multiethnic, multigenerational society, and that means we’ve got to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. 

Juanita Tolliver: All right. You said the phrase voter suppression. Naturally, this election wouldn’t be complete without those attempts to infringe on the rights of voters from the right. Earlier this month, the NAACP sent a letter to Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke asking her to investigate a website that allows users to cancel voter registration for Georgia residents. How much of an obstacle will this website and other voter suppression tactics present this election cycle? 

Stacey Abrams: We know that in Georgia, despite being heralded as champions of democracy in 2020, that both Governor Kemp and Secretary of State Raffensperger, have both been involved and engaged in voter suppression. It was under Governor Kemp that we got a new law that will allow individual members of county election boards to decertify or refuse to certify the election. So the same governor who gets credit has actually been the one to suborn this behavior. And the Secretary of State, who loves to champion how he believes in voting, was the person who set up a website that will allow people to cancel registrations. We already know that personal data was leaked and that when called on this issue, he has yet to be able to effectively articulate why in an election year, he is setting up a website to cancel voter registration. We know that these are not only direct tactics, there’s also a psychic effect when you make it hard to vote. You make people think it may not be worth the effort. 

Juanita Tolliver: Right. 

Stacey Abrams: And that’s why it is so incumbent upon every one of us who believes in democracy to call out voter suppression, to not get distracted by misinformation or disinformation, but to tell the truth that the right to vote belongs to us as Americans, and that we have the responsibility not only to protect our right to vote, but to expand the franchise as much as possible to those who don’t know that their voices deserve to be heard. 

Juanita Tolliver: And understanding that right. Understanding the importance of calling out that misinformation. How are organizers approaching voter education efforts in response to these attempts of voter suppression? 

Stacey Abrams: In the state of Georgia we are relying on organizations like Fair Fight, an organization I’m proud to have founded, and we encourage people to go to Fairfight.com to sign up to be part of the voter protection enclave that we need. We know that in Arizona, they’re facing attacks from the RNC. And we encourage you. You can go from Fair Fight’s website but also look up Democratic voting opportunities across the country, especially if you’re in a battleground state. They are not going to stop until they stop us from voting. And so we’ve got to believe that the attack is real, but we also have to believe our power is real. 

Juanita Tolliver: Right. 

Stacey Abrams: We used it in 2020 to overcome voter suppression, and we can use it in ’24 to win and save our democracy. 

Juanita Tolliver: Now, you did mention Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger, and that also prompted me to recall when Donald Trump contacted him and asked him to find 11,780 votes in an attempt to overturn the will of voters in 2020. How can Democrats best prepare for any repeated attempts by Donald Trump this election cycle to call state election officials if Vice President Harris wins? 

Stacey Abrams: We can’t stop him from taking bad action, but we can keep a spotlight on those who would suborn that bad action. And that’s why I’ve been so intentional about pointing out one good act by the Secretary of State, or the governor in Georgia does not exempt them from the poor actions they’ve taken. Voter suppression isn’t just about trying to change votes. It’s about stopping people from casting them in the first place. It’s about putting barriers in place. And Brian Kemp and Brad Raffensperger have both made it their mission to impede the right of voters to participate. For disabled voters, they have made it more difficult by constraining access to absentee ballots, by putting more difficulties in place, they’ve made it harder for homeless and unhoused voters to cast their ballots. They are going after every marginal voter they can, so that they don’t have to worry about the numbers. That they can stop the people from showing up in the first place. And it’s not just in Georgia, it’s around the country, although Georgia often stands as ground zero. But we’ve got to pay attention at every state in every election, especially this state and especially this election. But we can do it. We’ve done it before and we will do it again. 

Juanita Tolliver: Stacey, I know you’ve been working hard recording new episodes of Assembly Required. Tell us when the next episode drops and what can listeners expect to hear? 

Stacey Abrams: We recorded live from the convention and the next episode drops this Thursday. It has two extraordinary rising stars, not just in Democratic politics, but rising stars in their generation. We have Representative Maxwell Frost, and we have civic, influencer and social media star, Haley Lickstein And they’re going to tell us how we get young people to vote, show up at the polls and save America. 

Juanita Tolliver: That was my conversation with politician and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams. Make sure you check out her new Crooked podcast, Assembly Required. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Thank you for that, Juanita. We’ll talk all about how creators on social media are helping Democrats reach young people in just a moment, but if you like our show, please make sure to subscribe and share it with your friends. We’ll be right back after some ads. [music break]

[AD BREAK]

Priyanka Aribindi: And we’re back with more on the ongoing Democratic National Convention, this time from the lens of social media. In addition to vertical live streams of the event on pretty much every social platform, this year, more than 200 content creators and influencers were granted special access at the DNC to take people inside of the convention and rally support for Vice President Harris’s campaign. Their presence at the convention really speaks to the power of social media in the world of political messaging, especially with young voters. And it’s a power that the Democratic Party is eager to tap into in these final few months before the election. This isn’t entirely new. The Biden administration has regularly collaborated with influencers over the past few years, inviting them to the White House to make content and even to meet the president. But they continue to step up their game here. It’s really impressive at a whole new level. 

Juanita Tolliver: Right. And that new level includes the joy and positive energy surrounding Democrats at a moment like I don’t think they’ve experienced in a really long time, definitely creating opportunities for new content to be made. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Definitely. 

Juanita Tolliver: We also know that the GOP is very aware of the power of social media and reaching young people. Not to mention that the GOP’s presidential nominee is also very active on social media, for better or for worse. 

Priyanka Aribindi: I mean, definitely for worse. [laughter] I will say the memes are certainly better on our side, but we are still up against a lot and we need the energy that is there online right now to carry on into the voting booth come November. I’ve been really interested specifically in progressive messaging from content creators. One of my favorites out there is 25 year old Victoria Hammett, who in the past four years on TikTok has amassed over 800,000 followers. In addition to making her own content, she also serves as the deputy executive director for Gen-Z for change, a coalition of content creators across a variety of topics and niches online that is dedicated to promoting civil discourse and civil action among their Gen Z followers. I started by asking Victoria about the kind of content that she makes, and whether it’s a waste of time to go back and forth with conservatives and others who disagree with her messaging. 

Victoria Hammett: I totally disagree with anyone who’s saying that it’s pointless to go back and forth with conservatives online. I grew up in a conservative area. You know, I grew up in Plano, Texas. If anybody knows what that is, it’s a town outside of Dallas. So I was sparring with Republicans in my real life all the time, and I was fortunately able to change perspectives and give people in my community a new perspective. And this is something that I hope my audience, um as well as other people’s audiences, knows, is that as much as content creators can do the work that we do online, people going to their family members, to their friends or acquaintances, people they know from school, and having these conversations is what actually makes the biggest impact. And that’s how I see my beefing with Republicans as useful in this ecosystem. I’m hoping to give my audience the tools to go have those conversations with their own family members, with members of their own community. I’m not even necessarily trying to convince Republicans with the content that I make, or conservatives with the content that I make. I’m just trying to give my audience the tools to do that work on their own as well. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Totally. Have you ever been approached by anybody who, you know has changed their political views, or become more politically engaged after watching your content? 

Victoria Hammett: Yeah, I have fortunately received messages from people who started following me back in 2020 in order to hate watch my content who ended up listening to the things that I was saying and uh–

Priyanka Aribindi: Yeah. 

Victoria Hammett: –doing more research uh for themselves and realized that a lot of the media that they had been fed was lying to them, and that they were really glad that even if it was just a hate watch, they stepped out of their echo chamber for a little bit to gain a different perspective. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Definitely. And I mean something notable about your content. You make space to criticize Democrats. You’ve spoken out about many issues that young voters have with both President Biden and Vice President Harris, particularly their support for the war in Gaza. I want to know–

Victoria Hammett: Yeah. 

Priyanka Aribindi: –what kind of reaction content like that gets when you post it and you know, what’s your response to other content creators, people on the left who may accuse you of hurting the party when you criticize Biden or Harris on your platform? 

Victoria Hammett: First of all, you know, criticizing our elected officials can in no way, shape or form hurt them. If anything, it will only make them better. So I definitely push back on that. At the end of the day I view my platform and social media just in general as a tool, and if we’re not using that tool to genuinely and authentically advocate for the things that we believe in, then why are we even using it to begin with? 

Priyanka Aribindi: Right. 

Victoria Hammett: I think that there is this mentality with some content creators on the left that they need to praise Democrats, regardless of those decisions that Democrats are making. And to that I say, at what point do you decide to speak up? What point do you decide to criticize Democrats? If Democrats were to make a shift for the right wing to continue to move towards the center? Would you stop that? Or would you try to use your voice to push back against that, to keep Democrats left, or push Democrats further left so that we can have a party that we all feel really proud about? I would hope that our elected officials listen to the people who voted them into office, and I would hope that those critiques make the party better. 

Priyanka Aribindi: I want to shift specifically to, you know, what’s going on on social media, especially lately. This year, the DNC gave special access to more than 200 content creators. This acknowledgment that social media is a major player in this election, in this moment, is something that the Biden administration has really embraced for some time now. They’ve worked with organizations like yours, Gen-Z for Change. So can you tell us a little bit about what Gen-Z for Change does and how you all are organizing ahead of this election? 

Victoria Hammett: Yeah. Gen Z for Change, we’re a nonprofit organization that utilizes social media and other digital tools in order to create progressive change. Through that we have a network of 500 creators who all have different niches on the internet. Some of them talk about pop culture, some of them talk about movies, some talk about makeup and some talk about politics. But they’re all bonded in this desire to use their platform for good. And so we see that with um you know, creators covering aspects of the DNC to inform their audiences on what’s going on. So, yeah, I think that giving influencers access to spaces like the DNC is definitely important right now, just because there are so many young people who are tuning into social media as opposed to traditional media outlets. And so it’s really important that these influencers are given similar access to more traditional journalists in order to meet young people where they are and give young people the facts that they need this election season. 

Priyanka Aribindi: That was my conversation with Victoria Hammett, the deputy executive director of Gen Z for Change. We’ll link to her organization and her content in our show notes. 

Juanita Tolliver: Truly incredible work being done to make sure that young people have the information that they need, but also to stay excited and engaged in this moment. Which, let’s be real, the joy is overflowing. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Absolutely. And I think it’s really amazing. Just hats off to Gen Z for Change that they are organizing online like this. Like this is a coalition of, as Victoria was explaining to me, cooking content creators, fashion TikTokers, like people–

Juanita Tolliver: Right. 

Priyanka Aribindi: –who do all different types of videos and content online, kind of all coming together and wanting to promote this information about voting and being engaged politically to their followings is what an amazing undertaking. [music break] One more thing before we go. The Supreme Court might be on a break, but the conservative agenda is still going full steam ahead. Project 2025 is a 900 page, far right wishlist that lays out a hyper specific and bone chillingly fascist roadmap for a second Trump administration. Over at Strict Scrutiny, our favorite trio of badass constitutional law professors is breaking down the full 900 yards in a four part series within your Monday episodes. Melissa, Leah, and Kate scoured all the fine print for you because they are lawyers and they love that kind of thing. Stay informed about the far right agenda and its real life implications for tens of millions of Americans as we head into this election cycle by listening to Strict Scrutiny wherever you get your podcasts or even on YouTube. 

Juanita Tolliver: Priyanka, I feel like we should have said two more things before we go. Because y’all, I am thrilled to share. I am officially an author. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Woo! 

Juanita Tolliver: And my book a more Perfect Party. Oh, you’re cheering for me! [laughing] The Night Shirley Chisholm and Diahann Carroll Reshaped Politics is available for preorder now. This book is about Shirley Chisholm’s humanity, her vision for this nation, and her efforts to create a pathway for the first woman to be elected president of these United States. And honestly, this book could not have come at a better time. I hope you all–

Priyanka Aribindi: Truly. 

Juanita Tolliver: –preorder today and stay tuned for more details. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Juanita, congratulations! This is such an amazing accomplishment and as you said. 

Juanita Tolliver: Thank you. 

Priyanka Aribindi: Truly could not come at a better time. What a moment for this! I cannot wait to read this and just hats off. You’re amazing. 

Juanita Tolliver: Thanks friend. [music break]. 

Priyanka Aribindi: That is all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, check out Victoria Hammett on TikTok and tell your friends to listen. 

Juanita Tolliver: And if you’re into reading and not just about fighting voter suppression like me, What a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at Crooked.com/subscribe. I’m Juanita Tolliver.

Priyanka Aribindi: I’m Priyanka Aribindi.

[spoken together] And from the window to the Walz.

Priyanka Aribindi: We are not finishing this sentence on this family friendly program. No no no. 

Juanita Tolliver: But there was a full party at convention just the other night with this explicit theme. And yes, Lil Jon was there. I guess it was his warm up to the roll call vote. You know? 

Priyanka Aribindi: I mean. Who knew? That I thought he was the delegate. I was like, is he the delegate from Ge- what’s going on? [laughter] Amazing. [music break] What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. It’s recorded and mixed by Bill Lancz. Our associate producer is Raven Yamamoto. We had production help today from Michell Eloy, Ethan Oberman, Greg Walters, and Julia Claire. Our showrunner is Erica Morrison, and our executive producer is Adriene Hill. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka.