Democratic politicians have a chronic problem: they keep accepting Republican framing instead of creating their own. They run scared of Fox News, moderate their positions to appease the unappeasable, and let political consultants convince them that authenticity is dangerous. They are so worried about how Fox News will portray anything they say, they try not to say anything interesting at all.
The costs of this approach became painfully clear in 2024. There was a brief shining moment last summer when the Harris Walz campaign appeared to be scoring real damage to the Trump Vance campaign by not falling into this predictable pattern. Instead, they were being authentic, calling out how fucking weird the MAGA world’s positions actually were, and it was working.
It was highlighting just how ridiculous the GOP’s policies are, and how damaging they can be. And yet, within weeks, Democratic political consultants killed it.
Over the line came a lot of praise, but also some suggested tweaks. First, said veteran Democratic numbers man Geoff Garin, summarizing their analysis, stop saying, “We’re not going back.” It wasn’t focused enough on the future, he argued. Second, lay off all the “weird” talk — too negative.
In retrospect, not letting Tim Walz be Tim Walz was a huge blunder. When he spoke in a relatable way, people got it. He was authentic and real and, even if he made an occasional policy blunder, you got the sense that he actually cared. But the traditional Democratic advisors couldn’t stand that level of risk. They ran so scared of any potential “gaffe” that might give Fox News or the NY Post fodder, that they’d rather silence the candidates who actually resonate with people.
There were also efforts to curb some of his signature lines, including casting Trump and Republicans as “weird,” which slipped out of Walz’s speeches.
“He was encouraged to stop focusing on the ‘weird’ criticism,” said another former Harris aide. “I think it is fair to ask whether, even if ‘weird’ wasn’t quite right, his instinct about how to approach Trump, to make him seem small, and a huckster, wasn’t closer to correct than the more self-serious tone that may have made us sound too in defense of the status quo.”
Mockery yields results. As does not being afraid of the way the other side is framing things. They’re going to call any Democrat a “socialist” or “communist” anyway. Stop letting Fox News decide how you act. People are hungry for someone who will actually say what’s really happening, rather than playing it safe and political.
Instead, the Democrats tried to run as “traditional Republican lite,” spending much of the campaign appearing with Republicans like Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, which came off as incredibly inauthentic and designed only to appeal to people who want Republicans to like them. It turned off Democrats and didn’t attract any Trump supporters.
That’s part of why Zohran Mamdani is so refreshing in the NYC mayoral race. He’s been incredibly natural and authentic in making it clear he absolutely loves NYC and he won’t cave to misleading framing by either Republicans or the traditional Democratic political consultants. Now, winning a NYC mayoral primary is different from winning a national election—the media environment and stakes are different—but the core lesson about authentic messaging still applies.
Over the weekend, he put out a hilarious video that demonstrates this clearly:
In it, he notes that he’s on a short planned trip to Uganda, where he was born and raised, to celebrate his wedding from earlier this year with family and friends who are still in Uganda. The video is very good political theater. It takes criticism from the screeching class on X who keep telling him (obnoxiously) to “go back to Africa” and turns it into a joke.
The traditional Democratic consultant would say to try to keep this trip quiet overall, or cite “privacy” in not providing details. Mamdani makes it a joke, points out how he’s listening to his critics, and then caps it off with a knowing wink to the fact that some of his haters won’t want him to come back:
But depending on your perspective, don’t worry or I’m sorry: I’ll be back by the end of the month.
In the video he also says “I want to apologize to the haters, because I will undoubtedly be coming back.”
But, even better, he spends the latter half of the video jokingly suggesting potential NY Post headlines to exaggerate his celebratory trip (I’ll leave the best joke to those who watch the video itself rather than posting it here), but tonally, it’s perfect.
This does so many important things well that Democrats often fail it. It defuses a non-controversy before the MAGA world can turn it into a faux controversy. It uses sarcasm and humor to disarm people. And it comes across as someone authentic who loves his family and friends… as well as NYC.
This approach offers a model that Democrats desperately need: don’t accept the frame your opponents set, create your own. Use humor to deflate pompous attacks. Be authentic about who you are and what you care about. Trust that voters can handle complexity and honesty.
The alternative is what we got in 2024: a sanitized, consultant-approved campaign that felt disconnected from real people and real problems. Until Democrats learn to reward politicians who take authentic risks instead of those who play it safe, they’ll keep losing to candidates who may lie constantly but at least sound like they believe what they’re saying.