This week, Democrats in Washington had an outsized opportunity to demonstrate to the American people that they are listening to the escalating calls for them to do something - anything - to protest the constitutional crisis and government coup that we are all witnessing happen before our very eyes.
The President’s annual address to Congress is historically a layup media spectacle for the party in power - an uninterrupted, way-too-long speech before Congress and millions of people around the world watching from their homes, or more likely catching the most trending clips as they doomscroll their social feeds.
This particular address, Democratic leaders had a unique opportunity to heed the historic number of calls that have flooded their phonelines over the past six weeks, begging them to protest the Trump’s regime’s baseless firing of thousands of federal workers, harmful halts to federal funding of critical social programs across the country, and deeply alarming actions to align the United States with Russia in a modern-day Cold War.
Instead of organizing a party-wide protest of the speech by either refusing to attend or walking out in unity, we have all now seen and cringed over the pathetic card board signs Democrats who attended held up, with underwhelming statements like “This is not normal,” “Musk Steals,” or “Save Medicaid,” and the pink suits many female members wore in “protest.” In my opinion, the only Democrats that showed any ounce of courage or clear-eyed awareness of the severity of the political crisis we are in today were those who chose to skip the speech entirely, or the one lone Democrat willing to speak out and then get kicked out and censured (including by a handful of his own colleagues?!) like Rep. Al Green from Texas.
One surprising tactic Democratic leaders did deploy on Tuesday was to invite a diverse community of online content creators and social media influencers to the Capitol to cover the speech from a progressive lens to their tens of millions of combined followers. Unfortunately, the execution of this effort - which took place in a high school gymnasium like-mixer setting where creators were given access to Members to interview them on camera for their own feeds, may have actually done more damage than good, not only for Democratic members but for the creators themselves.
Let me explain.
Obviously, it is a welcome sign to see Democrats understand the need to engage with content creators and reach beyond the traditional press corps in 2025. And it was exciting to see how many amazing creators actually wanted to cover SOTU by showing up! However, the value of content creators like the ones invited to the SOTU this week is the trust they have earned among their communities of followers and subscribers through tireless content creation, brand-building, and authentic engagement. These trusted audiences the creators have worked hard to build on platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, or Twitch, are incredibly valuable as they are primarily made up of the hardest-to-reach Americans, which is exactly why it is so important that Democrats reach them with their messaging. But what is equally true, is that when creators stop delivering their authentic selves or content to their communities, those communities will absolutely take notice, and may even trust those creators less over time, if not stop following them completely.
Again, I want to give credit where credit is due to Democrats who I know had only the best of intentions with this effort- especially given this is still one of the first major congressional addresses I am aware of where a community of creators were invited by either party to cover the historic speech! I also do not believe it is too late for Democrats to use the viral dunking they received on their digital strategies as a learning moment to quickly correct course.
The way to engage creators is not to invite them into your own sterile-feeling spin room or out-of-touch messaging strategy, but to go into their authentic spaces or formats, and engage with them on their terms - the terms of which have earned them their audiences’ trust and loyal engagement over time.
The same way elected officials have been courting legacy media brands for decades to get in front of their audiences on the terms of those brands, they must learn to do the same for creators, many of whom have audiences that rival the same papers and broadcast networks too many establishment politicians still covet attention from.
And to the creators of all backgrounds who are eager to use their own hard-earned platforms to save our democracy and protect the most vulnerable of us – Americans do need you, Democrats definitely need you, and because of that, you hold a lot of power right now, and we’re going to need you to start using it. The best way you can help Democrats is to inform your trusted audiences about what is happening in Washington in clear, conversational terms, to take whatever talking points and research allies can deliver to you - but to then put it into your own words, or invite the best messengers in the Democratic Party to your shows, channels, and feeds - so they show up authentically, on your terms. I mean, how many MAGA influencers have you seen platforming Chuck Grassley or Thom Tillis lately? They don’t, because they are the influential messengers who carry the messages of the party for them - not the other way around.
There is no question that Democrats and creators can and should continue to identify and partner on key content opportunities to drive and reinforce the story of what MAGA is doing to hurt Americans every single day - but let’s let the creators who know their audiences best lead on what those opportunities are, not the electeds whose failure to evolve how they communicate is one of the huge reasons we are in this crisis today.
What I’m reading this week:
Inside the White House’s new media strategy to promote Trump as ‘KING’ (Washington Post, 3/6)
“After years of working to undermine mainstream outlets and neutralize critical reporting, Trump’s allies are now pushing a parallel information universe of social media feeds and right-wing firebrands to sell the country on his expansionist approach to presidential power.”
Speaker Johnson tells GOP lawmakers to skip town halls after an onslaught of protests (AP, 3/4)
“The speaker’s advice Tuesday comes as GOP lawmakers often find themselves at a loss to explain the cuts, led by billionaire Elon Musk’sDepartment of Government Efficiency, that are leaving federal workers suddenly out of jobs in communities from coast to coast. Democrats are jumping in to shine a bright light on what is happening.”
Trump is turning the media into a mouthpiece of the regime (Guardian Op-Ed, 3/5)
“As the White House handpicks members of the press pool, questions for the president amount to fluffy valentines…”