Transcript of The Harris Coalition Converges on Chicago

At the risk of sounding like a thousand years old, can you tell me about a few of the memes that have really done well for them?

One of the memes that just went insanely viral that involved Kamala Harris was involving the coconut tree.

They really took this- This is Camilla DeChalas. She's a CNN Whitehouse reporter, and she was nice enough to humor me as I asked about the surge in online enthusiasm around Vice President Kamala Harris that we've seen ever since she took over for President Joe Biden atop the Democratic ticket. You've probably seen or heard this clip by now. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?

People took that and ran with it, making songs about it, making remixes.

You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you.

This was an organic thing, but the Harris campaign has really leaned into it. Camilla did some reporting on the real work that was started by the Biden administration to target Gen Z voters and people who don't consume traditional media. Both Biden and Harris actually invited some of these influencers to the White House, brought them into policy discussions at the ground level in hopes they'll spread the word to their followers. And the Democratic Party wants in on that as well.

So what's pretty interesting is that the DNC Convention is inviting more than 200 content creators to come to the convention. They're really trying to target people that have a following of audiences and people that don't necessarily engage or pay attention to what's happening in politics and in an hope and an effort that that will get them to wonder, Okay, who is Harris? Maybe I should vote for her in this upcoming election cycle.

So as thousands of delegates descend on Chicago this week to celebrate Kamala Harris and Tim Walls, we went to the Democratic National Convention to hear from her new coalition, from influencers to party leaders, to try and find out if this wave of enthusiasm, both online and IRL, can actually beat former President Donald Trump in November. From CNN, this is One Thing. I'm David Reind. Well, so I do want to ask about the food because we're at the United Center concession stand. What are your impressions of this menu? It's a little bare bones, but I will say we're in Chicago, so the fact that we have a Chicago-style hot dog, I think that's appropriate.

Cream-cruised fries is my favorite fries, so I'm excited to see that. And chicken tender basket, these are all classics.

So as Camila said, the Democratic Party credentialed more than 100 content creators to cover the D&C. That includes plenty of influencers not primarily known for their politics content. People who have never been anywhere near a political convention like this before. Spicy vodka, chicken parm, and the best garlic bread ever. Yeah.

Let me tell you why.

People like food influence are Jeremy Jacobowits, who posts restaurant and food reviews for his 315,000 followers on TikTok. I guess the obvious question is, how did you end up at a political convention? Because I'm very political. Jeremy told me after 2016, he decided not to just stick to food anymore. In fact, he says he gets DMs from people when he doesn't speak out on certain issues. Elizabeth Booker Houston may be a comedian and lawyer by day.

Let's talk about Minnesota governor and Kamala's VP pick, Tim Walsh. Now, I was mispronouncing this man's name all wrong in my last video.

It is not Walsh, it is Walsh. But politics strives her content.

So just really trying to bridge the gaps where I can and also just fight disinformation and misinformation and bring people correct information whenever possible, regardless of who they're voting for. It's just really important to understand how our laws work, how politics work in the United States.

Now, all of the content creators I spoke to said Kamala Harris has inspired a surge of joy and hope among their followers. You could definitely hear that inside the United Center as the vice President made a quick cameo on Monday night.

It is so good to be with everyone this evening in this hall and everyone at home. This is going to be a great week.

But will all this energy that those influencers are feeding off of actually translate to more votes than Donald Trump in November? I put that question to actress, musician, and activist Melinda Hale.

I think that my stuff is encouraging some people. It may not be to the degree that I would like because there are some people that just have their feelings about the whole democratic process in general. But I think with Harris now being the elected official and the way that I put out my content, I'm hoping that I can get more people to get involved and go out and vote because I'm talking about things in a very relatable way that people are realizing, Oh, these things affect me, and my vote does really matter.

I guess I'm wondering because the administration has brought creators to the White House to brief them on specific things. Do you ever worry that you just being used as an outpiece?

I wouldn't worry that it's being used, but I think if they see that this is an outlet that is a positive, and they see that this is what young people are gravitating towards, why not use those voices in a positive way? I don't think it's a negative at all. I think it's a positive because, again, we're the direct line to that demographic they're trying to reach and getting them involved. And if my content will get more people to vote and my content will get more people to be involved in the issues and care more, then use me.

Now, it's been a real party atmosphere inside the United Center this week, but there is some discontent around the edges.

West West go, West West go, West West go, West West.

Pro-palestinian protesters gathered in large numbers to march on the D&C to protest the Biden administration's Israel policy as the war in Gaza rages on. It was largely peaceful, although dozens of demonstrators did manage to break down a security fence near the United Center, police say four people were arrested. Back inside the arena, with dozens of uncommitted ceasefire delegates in the crowd, protesters tried to unfurl a banner which read Stop Arming Israel. It was quickly shot it down. President Biden continued to say they're working on getting a ceasefire deal done.

Those protests out in the street, they have a point. A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides.

First of all, tell me what your sign says. My sign says, Michigan demands not another bomb. But before the march, I met a bunch of people who said the Biden-Harris administration just not doing enough to end the suffering in Gaza. Now, let's be clear, the war doesn't rate as a top issue for most voters, but it has struck a chord, especially with young people.

My sign says, 15,000 Dead Kids in Gaza, and it says, Your tax is at work.

A lot of the people I met traveled in from the swing state of Michigan, home to one of the country's largest Arab-American communities in Dearborn. Many of them said they weren't going to vote for Kamala Harris in November, or at least they had serious doubts about it. They were particularly turned off by how she handled the disruption at a rally a few weeks ago.

It is a plan to weaken America's middle class. What was her response? Shut up. Yeah, she said, I'm speaking now. You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that, otherwise I'm speaking.

Did that rub you the wrong way, that response? Oh, absolutely.

That pissed me off so much because what about the kids that are screaming. And you're going to sit here talking about, I'm speaking now? No, we are speaking now because you haven't said that. That's going to do anything for us. If anything, it's just been getting worse.

Hiba and Simeya said they're both voting for Jill Stein of the Green Party in November. You might remember Jill Stein. She ran against Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton back in 2016, and many believe she siphon votes away from Clinton in the process. So what do you say to the idea that your vote could help tip the scale towards Donald Trump.

That's stupid, because whoever name you put down is where your vote goes. I didn't write down Jill for... That doesn't give a point to Donald Trump. That's just bullshit, and we need to get over that.

It sounds to me like you guys are pretty dissatisfied with the way the political system works currently. Is that fair? Oh, we're pissed. We're pissed, dude.

Currently, it's been like that. It's been since forever.

Well, what do you- Got to change. Well, how do you think that could change? Is this part of it? What else beyond that?

What happens here is we had actually a couple of conversations with Jewish fellows that just wanted to come and see what our asks are. And we had a very good conversation. We talked, and we were having dialog with people that have never been exposed to this. There's a lot of tables here for education from different organizations that have nothing to do with Palestine. So we're learning about other grassroots that are local and other struggles, that are local struggles that align with Palestine. So it's very interesting. We're learning so much. I can answer that with an analogy. If you build, it takes one brick every day to build a house. This is our brick right now. Every single protest is a brick adding to that house. So though we might not see results now, as long as we stay consistent and we stay strong and united, we can actually become the change, and not only a temporary change, but create a lasting change. And that's our goal. We want to end this for good, completely. I don't want my children to grow up in a country like this the same way that I grew up.

We'll be right back. So the people we heard from in Chicago before the break are trying to get Harris elected or tell her why they're upset, largely from outside of the party machine. But there are other young people trying to make an impact from within the party. Well, so for North Carolina, it seems to be somewhat back in play since Harris is...

It's always been in play, baby. Come on now.

Anderson Clayton is one of those people. She's the chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party. She's just 26 years old, the youngest state party leader in the country. And in the last few weeks, North Carolina has become a target again for Democrats. But to flip the state, they're going to have to cut into Donald Trump's margins in the rural communities he often dominates. I was curious how Clayton's party planned to do that.

We're in a political realignment right now, and a lot of people are looking at what candidate and what policies speak to me as an individual and who's going to take that forward. I'm like, right now, she's got the best case, I think, to make, especially in a state that's got a 59% rural population in it when it comes to the economic opportunities that this administration has invested in rural communities. I think this party coming together like we have, and under her, over the last three weeks has shown that she is someone that can unite people from across all demographics and also make it so that people are excited for something and that feel hope in politics again.

It does seem like there is that excitement and that hope. Do you get the sense that people are also They're looking for specifics on policy, like what she'll do?

Yeah, I think they're getting it right now. And I honestly feel like that was one of her critiques of previous administrations, whether that be Democratic or Republican, is that sometimes people paint that broad brush picture with You want to see... Honestly, would they take health care for an example, right? You have a big fight in the Democratic Party with whether you want to keep Obamacare, whether you want to try to go for Medicare for all. And I think that that's not good enough for young people right now. Either one of those two policies thinking about it that way. Young people are sitting there being like, how do you get my mom, who doesn't qualify for Eli Lilly's $35 insulin plan right now? How do you get her insulin to be cheap enough so that she can afford it every single month? That's what young people want to know. And I think that sometimes the way that we've painted broad brush strokes over things has made it so that we don't actually dive into the weeds.

Well, I'm wondering also about young people, young Democrats, maybe people that were totally disillusioned by Biden and Trump or just the politics in general. Do you get a sense that they're re-engaging with the process in general?

Yes, but I also think... I think, and this is from my own personal little North Carolina bubble. I don't think that I'm supposed... Because I don't believe young people are monoliths. I actually think that we are very diverse in how we think about things. We're just like any other voting block, even though we always want to fit us into these categories. But I'm like, I They truly think that young people in North Carolina were motivated because of a state legislature this last year to get out and vote. Every event that I go to, I've made this thing where I've gone to all 100 counties in North Carolina, and I've done a stop at each one of them. I'm the youngest state party chair in the country. Right. Naturally, every single time I go to a stop, I have a parent couple that comes up to me and they go, My kid's not going to vote this year. My kid does not understand why they need to vote this year. I'm like, Are you the one asking them to vote? Because if that's the case, we need to flip that script around. You need to give me their phone number, and I need to text them, and I need to introduce myself to them, and I need to ask them about what issues are important to them, and I need to actually talk to this person because there's no way that your kid doesn't care.

The fact that people think that young folks right now are so disassociated that we don't give a about the people around us is what's offensive to me, actually, because I'm like, young people care more than any age demographic that I've seen. And yes, there's an apathetic group of them. Yes, I feel like it's half and half sometimes because I know that you're like, Anderson, girlfriend, I got friends that are not actually engaged in any of this shit.

And probably most people are not. But then you look at college campuses and the protests around the war and things like that. It's like, obviously, they have a lot of energy going on.

And that's the thing is they care. And I'm tired of people looking at me and saying, young people are disengaged or young people. And I'm like, no, they are the smartest group that we will ever have come up, I think, in political history. And it's something where we need to empower these folks to realize what organized power does. And that's something where young people, I'm not I'm asking you to change the world right now. Go change your backyard. Go get on your city council, your county commission. Go figure out the ways in which you can win those races at that local level, because it's possible. And if you don't feel like you can enact it at that great level, fine. You don't need to.

Now, another way the Democrats are planning to convert rural voters is through the ticket itself.

I was born in West Point, Nebraska.

I lived in Butte, a small town of 400, where community was a way of life.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walsh has been playing up his farm boy roots on the trail as he tries to speak to middle class voters where they are. That includes in his home state of Nebraska.

Rural people often are misunderstood and are often seen as racist, rednecks, and stupid.

Jane Kleb is the chair of that state's Democratic Party.

The reality is, rural folks really hate big corporations. See big corporations coming into their towns and taking advantage of their communities, whether that's in big corporate ag or in energy communities. There's a lot in common with our Democratic-based voters and rural voters and that pure economic sense of wanting fairness and wanting fairness for the little guy. There's also huge gaps in rural America that we also see in urban America: hospitals, public school funding, infrastructure, grocery stores. These are all common threads that you hear Black and Brown communities we're talking about in urban communities as well as rural voters. It's our job as the Democratic Party to stop focusing only on the coasts and urban centers and realize that we can actually win back rural voters who used to be in our corner.

Well, on some of those policies, do you think that people want to see and hear more specifics about what a Harris administration would do in terms of some of those areas?

Rural voters look for cues, and so they look for not only what you're wearing, so the Carher and Camo actually do matter for rural voters. They're also looking for specific things like country of origin labeling, right to repair, protecting public schools. These are policies that urban people may not be talking about on a daily basis, but rural people definitely do, and they know how much those policies are for their bottom lines. Those will be big cues that we're obviously wanting Tim Walls and Kamala Harris to be talking Finally, it's worth remembering what a historic president Kamala Harris would be, the first woman president, the first Black woman president, the first South Asian American president.

But there is still a real question whether America is ready to elect a woman President. Hireani Krishnan, who is a California delegate and the National Director of South Asians for Harris, thinks she knows the answer, though.

Hell, yeah.

Krishnan worked on Harris's failed presidential campaign in 2019. She says that loss impacted her deeply. But those bad vibes have been completely erased in just the last month.

I am proud to call her a friend and to think that this could happen And I don't think in my ancestors' wildest dreams, I imagined this moment.

So this is- You sound a little emotional about it.

Yes, I am. I've waited five years, more than five years for this. I stood with her when she launched her campaign in Oakland. I was there when she came to California after she suspended her campaign, and I gave her a hug. And I remember feeling incredibly distraught and emotional after working on her campaign. And I was there when President Biden announced that she was his choice for vice president. And there's a video out of me there that is viral of me crying somewhere out there that BuzzFeed shared. It's the worst possible video of me. But I am emotional to think that we've overcome all these hurdles. And to your point, that I do think our country is ready to elect a woman president.

I do think that she appeals to such a wide segment of our population who has gotten to know her.

And to think that this is going to happen is just overwhelming.

Obviously, we don't know if Harris will be able to pull it off. She has pulled ahead in some national polls in recent days, and it seems she has more paths to 270 electoral votes than Joe Biden did. Remember, though, polls are just a snapshot in time, and the margins are still close. Former President Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, also continue to hit battleground states as they work to counterprogram the D&C. But for now, the many different parts of the Democratic Party, who are so often at odds with each other, have come together and are looking forward. And as we look forward on the calendar, it's important to note, the first ballots will be mailed out to North Carolina voters in less than three weeks.

One Thing is a production of CNN Audio.

This episode was produced by Paola Ortiz and me, David Reind. Our senior producers are Felicia Patinkin and Fez Jamil. Matt Dempsey is our production manager. Dan Dizula is our technical director, and Steve Ligtai is the executive producer of CNN Audio. We get support from Haley Thomas, Alex Manasari, Robert Mathers, John Dianora, Lanie Steinhart, James Andrés, Nicole Pessereau, and Lisa Namerau. Special thanks to Zack Wasser, McKenna Yuin, Diane Galliger, Matt Abshire, Mags Dawson, Wendy Brundage, and Katie Hinman. We'll be back on Sunday with another episode. In the meantime, cnn. Com or the CNN 5 Things podcast is the place you want to be for all the DNC updates. I'll talk to you later.