Hillary Clinton Credits Steve Bannon With Leading MAGA Success Online – Where Democrats Failed
Hillary Clinton warned that Democrats need to “catch up” with Republicans in the digital arena if they want to win in the midterms, crediting former Trump strategist Steve Bannon with spotting early how young men online could be pulled into politics using “unplugged” podcasts.
Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Wednesday, the former secretary of state argued that her party “stopped being effective communicators in modern communications” before the 2024 presidential election and left the GOP to dominate social media and the podcast world.
“I think that Democrats missed a lot of opportunities on that,” she said.
Clinton singled out Bannon, who she said grasped that “young men who were into gaming” or “on the internet a lot” could “be recruited” or “persuaded to be political supporters of the Republican Party, if the Republican Party actually engaged and talked to them in the right way.”
That strategy, she suggested, helped the GOP build influence among often male voters, a constituency Democrats have struggled to reach.
“The Republican Party, I have to say, has done a much better job dominating social media, dominating the podcast ecosystem, getting messages out and aiming, particularly at young men,” Clinton said.
She added that while Democrats are now trying to “catch up and repair that,” the gap remains significant.
Clinton continued warning that folks watching her interview live on MSNBC were only a “small portion” of voters and Democrats “better compete” in online “arenas.”
“You know, the people who are watching us are people already interested in politics, they’re curious about our takes on things, they want to see who your guests are,” she told Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough, “but that’s, you know, kind of a small portion of the electorate.”
She added: “Right now, most people get their news from social media. So if they’re getting their news from, you know, 15-second videos, 3-second takes, three hour podcasts where people are just kind of unplugged and saying whatever, then Democrats had better compete in those arenas.”
Watch above via MSNBC.
