Transcript:
Daniella Gibbs Léger: Hey everyone. Welcome to “The Tent,” your place for politics, policy, and progress. I’m Daniella Gibbs Léger.
Colin Seeberger: And I’m Colin Seeberger. Daniella, our listeners have a very special episode this week.
Gibbs Léger: Yes, they do. We’re here at the Democratic National Convention, soaking up all the good energy and hearing about Vice President [Kamala] Harris’ vision for the country.
So I spoke to Michael Blake, former vice chair of the DNC, about what makes this convention so special and how the Harris-Walz campaign can keep building on this momentum through November.
Seeberger: Yes, our listeners are in for quite a treat. But before we get to that, I’ve got to say, night one of the DNC was just electric.
Gibbs Léger: It really was.
Seeberger: The room was on fire. The speakers had the room completely rapt in their attention, and we got to hear from leaders from the past, leaders of our future, about the better vision that Democrats want to take this country. We’ve not really had crowds like this for the better part of a couple of decades or so, since former President [Barack] Obama.
And it’s clear why Democrats are fired up for the Harris-Walz ticket and their better vision for the country. It’s because they’re focused on the things that the American people are asking for things, like lowering costs, tackling the housing crisis—building 3 million new homes, right?
These are the ideas that the American people are asking for. And so it’s no wonder to see them resonate. And I think the speakers last night—we’re recording this the day after night one at the DNC—and it’s clear that those speakers totally got the message that Kamala Harris is trying to drive home.
I have to say, my girl Rep. Jasmine Crockett [D] from Texas—
Gibbs Léger: Your bestie now.
Seeberger: —I’m a Texas boy. Yes. She’s from Dallas. I’ve got to say, I thought she, though, did such an incredible job indicting the case against Donald Trump. She herself is a former local prosecutor, something that she shares with Vice President Harris.
And I thought that her case against Trump was just unbelievably compelling. And then when she coupled that with Vice President Harris’ embrace of her after she got elected as a member of Congress and told her, “You belong here” when Rep. Crockett was really doubting her place as a member of Congress.
She was a freshman, right? Just gotten elected and told her, “You belong here. The people that elected you put their trust in you.” I just thought it was an incredibly powerful anecdote, and one that really unlocked her potential. And she gave voice to that last night. I also have to say, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke so movingly about shattering that highest glass ceiling that has left our politics completely shattered, for lack of a better word, over the course of the last eight years in this constant striving for what is our full potential, right? How can making our leadership more inclusive actually make everybody in this country lifted up?
And I thought [President] Joe Biden brought down the house. I thought he made such a compelling case for not just the record of the administration, but also why Vice President Harris is the right person for this job in this moment. He said it was his first decision as the Democratic nominee, and he said it was his best one. And I think his case that he laid out last night makes clear exactly why.
Gibbs Léger: I totally agree. And people have to remember that in 2020, he didn’t have a convention like this because of COVID.
So he never really got to experience, as the Democratic nominee, a room full of people shouting your name on that stage. And I have to say, it was pretty emotional when he came out there introduced by his daughter, Ashley, and the room erupted. And I love the signs. I love advance people, and they do such a great job making sure that they have the signs everywhere.
And it was really, really powerful. And I think he spoke so eloquently about the things that his administration has done and accomplished. Let’s not forget the country that he inherited after Donald Trump and January 6 had happened, right?
Seeberger: Totally.
Gibbs Léger: So I know it seems like a million years ago, but it really was just four years ago. In that time, President Biden has built a stronger economy than we have seen in decades.
And we heard him talk about how the Biden-Harris administration has passed huge legislation to fight climate change and invest in our communities. And we’re going to keep hearing these themes throughout this week, because they’ve done a lot, right? This administration has lowered prescription drug costs for seniors, passed the first gun safety law in decades.
Seeberger: Speak on it.
Gibbs Léger: Yes. Appointed the first Black woman to the Supreme Court of the United States of America, and more—all while confronting huge threats to our democracy, not just at home, but also abroad.
Seeberger: They sure did. And Daniella, it was just a couple of weeks ago that the Republicans convened for their convention in Milwaukee. And you didn’t hear anything about that, right? There was nothing like this at the RNC a few weeks ago. And you want to know why?
Gibbs Léger: Why, Colin?
Seeberger: It’s because the American public is fed up with Donald Trump’s chaos and his nonsensical lies. I think they’re really tired of the Trump show, right? It’s old, it’s stale. It’s not really funny anymore. He’s just focused on retribution and his own pity party, and in refusal to move on from the hate, the division, the sexist tropes, et cetera, that he uses to try to distract us from not having a real record of success other than cutting taxes for rich people and corporations.
Gibbs Léger: Got to make sure you do that.
Seeberger: Oh, yes, yes. And there’s also Donald Trump’s pick, JD Vance, to be VP, who every other day seems like he’s got a new comment out there trying to one-up how many people he can offend in a day. He’s just been a total distraction for the Republicans and also really shows Donald Trump’s poor judgment that this is who he thinks should be second in line to the presidency. It’s just ludicrous. And they’re really two peas of a weird pod.
Gibbs Léger: A very weird pod.
Seeberger: A very weird pod.
Gibbs Léger: Yes.
Seeberger: We don’t like weird pods here on “The Tent,” folks.
Gibbs Léger: No, we don’t. They’re not very demure.
Seeberger: They’re not.
Gibbs Léger: They’re not very mindful.
Seeberger: They are not very mindful. That is true. That is true. Not very cutesy indeed.
Gibbs Léger: No, not at all.
Seeberger: But I’m curious, Daniella, what else are you looking forward to this week?
Gibbs Léger: So, obviously, I’m looking forward to Thursday. I think hearing the vice president stand on that stage and accept the nomination will be an incredible moment. I remember in 2008 being in the stadium in Denver when Obama came out, and I didn’t expect to break down in tears, but I did. And I imagine that there’s going to be a lot of similar emotions.
I know everybody keeps saying that Beyoncé is coming. I don’t think she’s coming.
Seeberger: We like a surprise if it ends up happening, but folks, we do live in reality, and we should not anticipate there’s going to be a DNC Beyoncé concert.
Gibbs Léger: No, but hey, if it happens, I’ll be super thrilled.
Seeberger: More than happy to be a well-pleased viewer.
Gibbs Léger: Exactly.
Seeberger: Yes.
Gibbs Léger: And I’m looking forward to Tim Walz, because as we know on this podcast—
Seeberger: Coach Walz.
Gibbs Léger: Coach Walz, he’s the best. Bring all the dad energy. I can’t wait.
Seeberger: We are in Chicago. This is the Midwest. Maybe we can get Tim Walz to do a keg stand or something.
Gibbs Léger: Don’t put that idea in his mind.
Seeberger: We’ll see. We’ll see.
Gibbs Léger: We might see one between now and November.
Seeberger: Or a root beer keg. I think he actually does not drink.
Gibbs Léger: Oh, OK. What about you?
Seeberger: You know, I’ve got to say, I am really excited to hear from Doug Emhoff, who I feel like we’ve not heard too, too much. I feel like he’s really let the vice president hold her own in her position and not, I feel like, try to over-insert himself. But I’m really excited to hear him talk more about what it is about the vice president that he better than anybody else in the world really sees as the true Vice President Harris, right? What wakes her up? What motivates her? What is she concerned about at the end of the night, right?
So I just think that that color is going to be really great. I’m also super excited to hear from Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
Gibbs Léger: Yes.
Seeberger: They have their own history, right? They ran in the same primary in 2019 for president. And so I feel like they’ve gotten to—and also serving as a member of the Cabinet—they’ve gotten a good opportunity to build a real relationship. And I think that he makes such a strong, compelling case for the Democratic Party, probably more than any other Democratic surrogate at the moment.
And so I bet that he will absolutely deliver and really help crystallize for folks, what are the stakes of this election? As a gay father of two kids, I think he really can drive home what are the rights and freedoms that are at risk if folks decide to sit this thing out or succumb to the politics of division, rather than charting a better course for our country in the future.
Gibbs Léger: I agree. What I love about Secretary Pete, if I may call him that, is the way he takes down MAGA Republicans and Trump in a way where it’s like, oh, you don’t even know you got cut.
Seeberger: No.
Gibbs Léger: But you did.
Seeberger: No.
Gibbs Léger: Yeah. It’s that Midwest stuff, man.
Seeberger: You know what, Fox News? You can keep booking Secretary Pete.
Gibbs Léger: Please do.
Seeberger: We are all good with that here on “The Tent.”
Gibbs Léger: Please. And I can’t wait until Tim Walz comes on.
Seeberger: Yes, please. Well, that’s all the time we have for this week. Please go back and check out previous episodes. If you have any questions that you want us to cover on “The Tent,” hit us up on Twitter @TheTentPod. That’s @TheTentPod. We’re also available on Instagram and Threads at the same account handle.
Gibbs Léger: And stick around for my interview with Michael Blake in just a beat.
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Gibbs Léger: Michael Blake is the founder and CEO of Atlas Strategy Group and Kairos Democracy Project. He previously served as a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee and as a member of the New York State Assembly. He also served in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs for President Obama and was national deputy operation vote director in 2012.
Michael Blake, thank you so much for joining us on “The Tent.”
Michael Blake: DGL.
Gibbs Léger: Hello.
Blake: What’s going on?
Gibbs Léger: Oh, you know, a little convention happening.
Blake: Oh, it’s live outside.
Gibbs Léger: It sure is. So let’s talk about it. It’s a very exciting week here in Chicago. As a former vice chair of the DNC, can you describe for our listeners the tone of this convention and how you think Democrats are feeling as we head into November?
Blake: When you put in perspective the energy that has happened this week, it is hard to really describe the magnitude and the speed. You typically would be preparing for your two nominees for months. We’ve essentially watched it happen in a month. And I don’t recall seeing energy like this before. The intensity has been pretty surreal.
And the other dynamic that we really haven’t internalized is everyone keeps asking, well, where is this bench from the Democratic Party? It’s here. And you got to see it very publicly throughout the essential public veep nominating process. So now you watched it all this week. You can’t leave this week without feeling excited.
Gibbs Léger: Yeah, I totally agree. And I’ve heard a lot of comparisons in recent weeks between the Harris-Walz campaign and the early excitement towards President Obama’s campaign in 2008, which you were very closely involved in. So, do you agree with that parallel? Or are there other moments that maybe you feel better match the excitement of this campaign?
Blake: I wouldn’t say it’s the same, because there were very practical differences. So, I think about—it’s personal for me coming back to Chicago. Because I went to Northwestern, and I started my career here, and in 2006 was one of the first 10 trainees for Obama—so that’s kind of surreal—in the Yes We Can program. And we had to win Iowa in 2008.
Gibbs Léger: Yeah.
Blake: Like, we don’t win Iowa, there is no conversation about the next steps. So you have that happen. Then you have the losses in New Hampshire and essentially the time of that and in South Carolina. And then all that built-up energy led to a different convention experience where at that point we also had teams that stayed in the states.
I was the Michigan deputy state director in general because we had so much momentum happening. This time around, the energy is absolutely palpable, but it was very clear she was the pick.
Gibbs Léger: Right.
Blake: Right? And quite frankly, she deserved it. She’s the vice president. So it was just very different energy in that degree.
And so, what we’re now sensing is: How do you maximize on that energy? So the fact that you had on a Monday night her surprise everyone on stage, and effectively the passing of the baton, was a different dynamic than we had before.
Also, we can’t ignore the intensity of the energy, because Trump must be defeated. I never felt for a day that if Sen. [John] McCain [R-AZ] or Sen. Mitt Romney [R-UT] won, that I would be genuinely afraid.
Gibbs Léger: Right. Yeah.
Blake: We didn’t have a Project 2025 to deal with. We didn’t have those different dynamics. So I think the other difference, though, this time, is an intensity and a shorter amount of time. So people have arrived in Chicago and have been here this week with almost an assignment.
Gibbs Léger: Yeah. So you talk about Project 2025. Let’s get into it. You look at the RNC, their convention that happened a few weeks ago, when it was dominated by MAGA extremists—
Blake: Or foolishness.
Gibbs Léger: Well, foolishness as well. And Project 2025 talking points. So, can you talk about some of the contrasts you see between the RNC’s radical, dystopian, dark vision for America and the more positive, progressive vision that we’re hearing at this week’s convention.
Blake: When you go to conventions over and over again, people get excited about their signs, the signs that get passed out.
Gibbs Léger: Yes.
Blake: And when you think about the difference between the two, you had on a night signs saying “USA,” saying “Jill” for the first lady, saying “We love you, Joe.” The RNC had “mass deportation now.” So like, the comparison is not even close of the energy.
And then when you think about Project 2025, I try to give people a very practical dynamic because it’s hard to grasp 900-plus pages.
Gibbs Léger: Yes, it is.
Blake: But when you start telling people they want to eliminate the Department of Education, like full stop, that’s crazy. Batshit crazy, quite frankly, when you just put it in the dynamic. When they’re saying that if you are a civil service employee, we’ll make you political because we could remove you if you don’t get down with the Trump agenda—well, for Black and Brown folk that serve in the administration, we understand that that’s transformational generational opportunities that could be gone overnight.
You have them talking about a national ban on abortion. So, the dynamics are very clear. And I do think from convention purposes you have, as [political consultant David] Axelrod would always say, choice and contrast. The contrast is glaringly clear. And so we also, though, got to see throughout the course of this week different moments of the evolution and the successive leadership that we did not see at the RNC. You didn’t have the Bushes showing up there.
Gibbs Léger: No.
Blake: No McCains rolling through. Romney was like, “Yeah, I’m not going.”
Gibbs Léger: Right.
Blake: This entire week put in perspective, you have two former presidents, a secretary of state who should have been president, our presidential nominee, our vice presidential nominee—all these different dynamics was sending a tone and an energy that they just didn’t have, which you are able to, again, drive home the choice.
And a convention should do that. A convention needs to—to your earlier question about being DNC vice chair—formally nominate someone and then set the tone of the vision. You truly have one side being us saying “freedom” and “joy,” and their side is saying “fear” and “take away.” It’s pretty clear the differences that are happening when everyone leaves from Chicago.
Gibbs Léger: Yeah, exactly. And there’s been massive support coming out for this campaign from Black voters. And I’m thinking in particular about the record-breaking fundraising calls that all happened, the Win With Black Women, Win With Black Men.
And that came literally days after Vice President Harris stepped up. So, how do you think Democrats should go about maintaining that energy? Coming out of this week, it is a very short, compressed campaign schedule, but it’s still a little bit of a ways. How can they further crystallize, as you say, the choice and contrast that we have?
Blake: On the Sunday when President Biden made arguably the most selfless decision in this generation—and I’m going to go to your question, but we almost ignore the magnitude of it, right?
Gibbs Léger: Yeah, let’s talk about it.
Blake: The man is a sitting president who effectively got bullied—we’ve just got to call it what it is—and decided, “I am not going to run again for the highest seat in the world.” And then within minutes, “I’m endorsing a Black woman.” Because there’s a lot of folks, if you want to be honest, in our party that were not wanting that. They wanted this open convention piece which, going back to the vice chair dynamic, would have created chaos. This week would have been chaotic.
Gibbs Léger: It would have been terrible.
Blake: Because you would have had people who would have felt that not only do they believe that they’re qualified, but then they would have to publicly say that the Black woman vice president is not.
Gibbs Léger: Right.
Blake: So how the hell would that help us win an election? Like I don’t understand.
Gibbs Léger: It would have been terrible.
Blake: Pretty terrible on every dynamic. And so to that degree, it was on that Sunday. I was in Tennessee at the American Association of Justice, saw the news, and then myself and Roland Martin and Quentin James, Bakari Sellers, Khalil Thompson, we all got on a call immediately and said, “We’ve got to do a Black men call now.” The sisters, always doing your thing.
Gibbs Léger: Yeah.
Blake: Shoutout to the sisters. Now—
Gibbs Léger: Hello.
Blake: OK. I gave you the shoutout already, right?
Gibbs Léger: OK.
Blake: OK? So Win With Black Women was already doing Sunday calls, [Win With Black Women founder] Jotaka Eaddy has been crushing the game with that.
We had not done a coordinated Black men call the way we did. We had 54,000 people get on the line, all right? We raised $1.4 million, which was split. And people made the choice of that split when they went on the Act Blue of doing it directly to the campaign or to Black men organizations. And people decided, not only do we want to make sure she becomes president, but how do we support the collective and Vote to Live and Win With Black Men and Kairos Democracy Project and Black Men Vote, et cetera, et cetera.
And so how do we sustain this energy? Because it’s so compressed, I do believe we can. Because we leave here today on this Friday after a week that’s been incredible and are able to now go into a week of positive coverage. Because of course, they’re going to have a campaign. And then you’re going into effectively the start of the general election season of Labor Day. Right? Like boom, boom, boom, we’re moving.
Oh, no. Oh, by the way, then you have a debate on September 10.
Gibbs Léger: Yes.
Blake: Then you talk about Black voters the next day, 9/11, so patriotic moments. President Biden clearly is going to send a dynamic, very different than the former president. Oh, then that night we’re in D.C. for CBC, Congressional Black Caucus.
So for four days, we can continue to highlight the impact of Black folk. And then essentially 10 days after that, early voting starts in a lot of states. And so we don’t have the luxury to chill. We will use next week to rest and pace where we can, but we have to be very clear with people. And I always appreciate that you all do this all the time at CAP—and shoutout to Ambassador [and Center for American Progress Action Fund CEO Patrick] Gaspard and the whole crew, right?
Election Day is not November 5. Election Day is the first day someone starts voting, and people are going to start voting in about a month. And so we don’t have, nor will we need to, worry about that.
Lastly, their side and their candidates are so blatantly racist. To your question on Black voters—Black folk are going to be watching this and be like, “Oh, hell no.” Because on a policy standpoint, JD Vance is the sponsor of the bill to ban DEI. So like, you can’t be more blatantly racist than that. Donald Trump has been racist pretty much his whole life.
And there is a difference between racism and prejudice. Racism is when you institutionalize it. Central Park Five, we know that. When his family wouldn’t let Black and Brown people get access—they did all those different things. On the flip side, they will have to spend the next plus days attacking a Black woman, which is why he is thoroughly at a loss.
He don’t know what to do.
Gibbs Léger: He does not know what to do.
Blake: He don’t know what to do.
Gibbs Léger: At all.
Blake: He is thoroughly confused. Because we didn’t have this before. He was coming after Obama. He didn’t have to go attack the brother and say he was talking about birtherism, but he wasn’t running against him.
Gibbs Léger: Right.
Blake: So as Black folk, we don’t tolerate when you come from any of our people. And he has done this and his entire general election strategy has been anti-vice president, anti-Tish James, anti-Alvin Bragg, anti—so I just believe, to your question, that will allow us to sustain the energy for the rest of the election.
Gibbs Léger: Yeah. So I want to talk about Gov. Tim Walz. I love him.
Blake: The man is just epic.
Gibbs Léger: He’s so great. And he’s been generating a lot of excitement online. I think he just recently joined TikTok and already I’m like, he’s crushing the game. So in your view, what does he bring to the table? Let’s talk about his policy, and how do you think he’ll communicate that to voters on a campaign trail?
Blake: So when you think about his personal journey before all this—public school teacher, military, family of teachers, understands the dynamic of what happens from hunting and then having an evolution, being an NRA candidate and then becoming a D candidate—it’s like, yeah, something has to change.
While he was the football coach, he was the adviser of the Gay Straight Alliance, which says a lot out the gate. Like, OK, this man gets it. And what I’ve been saying to people a lot—I’ve spent time in Minnesota. I was there as a vice chair. RT Rybak was vice chair before me. He decided not to run and endorsed me to run.
But I was in Minnesota 2008. The three coldest days of my life was in Minneapolis in February 2008, where the high was zero three days in a row.
Gibbs Léger: Absolutely not.
Blake: Crazy. Where Mayor Rybak, he put this in his book. It was so cold that his daughter gave me her mittens because I could not handle the cold walking two blocks. Cause it was that crazy. So you’ve got this dark-skinned Black man from the Bronx with these bright yellow-ass mittens walking down the street. And then the Somalian brothers and sisters out there, they saw me and they would give me mango juice every day, right? One hundred percent, full stop. Y’all see Mayor Rybak, he’ll tell you the story.
So going back, I’ve seen the greatness of Minnesota. And for Gov. Walz, I think if there’s anything that tells you the testament of him and his family, the ability for him to talk through that they went through an IVF journey because they wanted to have a child and they named her Hope. Come on, man.
Gibbs Léger: I know.
Blake: Right? That’s just like, it’s incredible before the politics. So you have a man—I always say you can be a man and a feminist at the same time—that he will be able to consistently throughout the election and after we win—because I’m proclaiming it now—say very clearly, “I stand on the right side of reproductive justice, reproductive freedom. They don’t. Don’t let them tell you that as a man, as a person of faith, you can’t do this. That’s nonsense.” And his whole background will be able to bring people in.
Lastly, I was at the Minnesota breakfast to start this week. [Minnesota Attorney General] Keith Ellison was there, [former Iowa] Gov. [Tom] Vilsack, many others. And I said, as a Black man, the fact that he can acknowledge that he could have handled George Floyd better is what I want to hear from a white man. Because it’s not easy for someone that’s not in your community to get engaged in these matters.
And we watched the Emmett Till of this generation. And he was willing to say, “I could have handled this better.” That’s exactly what I want from a politician. Because unfortunately, we keep seeing criminal injustice happening. And it cannot just be the vice president is the only one, because you’re going to have folks be like, “Well, she’s only doing it cause she’s Black.”
Gibbs Léger: Right.
Blake: No, she’s doing it cause it’s right. And so you can tell I’m window to the Walz, man. Window to the Walz. I’m on the team.
Gibbs Léger: Can I please get that on a T-shirt?
Blake: Look, I’m going to say that at several events for the rest of this election. I mean, that is the best Black hype vibe out here all the time.
Gibbs Léger: He’s so great.
Blake: He is so great. He said this when he did the first event—that there is joy back in the election.
Gibbs Léger: Yes.
Blake: You don’t really hear electeds proactively talking about joy. People want to be happy.
Gibbs Léger: Yes.
Blake: Want to be happy. And he’s like, “Yeah, you know what? Let’s be happy about this. Let’s be excited about this.” And it says a lot that it sets the tone, because we cannot just say, “I’m voting against Donald Trump.”
Gibbs Léger: Right.
Blake: You’ve got to tell people you need to be excited to go vote for them.
Gibbs Léger: Exactly. And they’re out there being happy warriors. So, the work doesn’t end with the DNC. So let’s talk about the next couple of months till the election. What’s next? How should Democrats deliver the messages that we have been hearing this week to people who maybe haven’t tuned in to the DNC? What should they do to keep up this momentum?
Blake: I’ve always been amazed though, about like, how are you a happy warrior? I’ve always wondered that phrase. That thing always amazes me. People going to battle smiling, and then they just like throw a spear or something like that.
Gibbs Léger: Yeah, they’re singing as they do it.
Blake: Oh, they’re singing?
Gibbs Léger: Yeah.
Blake: Dig it. Dig it. So is that in “300” or something like that? Cats out here just singing and backflips and then—
Gibbs Léger: And then you’re done.
Blake: And then you’re done.
Gibbs Léger: Yeah.
Blake: OK. OK. Some gladiator vibes out here.
Gibbs Léger: Yeah, exactly.
Blake: OK. Dig it. I’m just trying to understand what the happy warrior vibe. It has to be mobilization at a degree that we have not seen before. The data point I always give for elections—there are 206 counties that voted for Barack Obama twice. They didn’t go for Donald Trump.
So it shows you if it was that close then, pre-insurrection, pre-them attacking the Black woman, they’re going to lose their mind. We have to anticipate it’s going to be even harder.
Now, second, the third-party candidates—they’re all a problem. First of all, RFK Jr. Let me tell you, RFK Jr. is an absolute clown, right? And folks, if they have not taken the time, Google “RFK Jr. framed.” People don’t realize this. RFK Jr. with Bill O’Reilly have a book. It is called Framed, because RFK Jr.—I’m not making this up. Make sure everybody pay attention to this—tried to frame a Black kid from the Bronx and a young Asian man for a murder that his cousin committed.
Gibbs Léger: Oh, OK. I know exactly what you’re talking about.
Blake: He knew that his cousin murdered a white girl. And he tried to frame a Black boy. So, RFK Jr., Framed. It is a book that he wrote. It’s not like Mike Blake randomly said it, right? This is what this cat would say before all this, right?
And so his whole family not even endorsing him. His whole family’s endorsing Biden, now Harris, right? So when you think about that, and that even in the midst of all this foolishness, even as he’s clearly coming out on tape trying to kiss up to Trump and everybody else, he’s still getting 1 or 2 percent of some of these polls. So that the Cornell West 0.5, 1 percent, whatever, the Jill Stein—any of those numbers. Those numbers impact us. Because Trump’s folks are locked.
And so to your question, very mechanically, No. 1, we have to be very clear to educate people about the dates of their elections in their respective states. Because a lot of people will think I’m only showing up November. No, I need you to be focused on when does early voting begin and how have the rules changed in your respective states.
Gibbs Léger: Right, like Georgia.
Blake: Like Georgia, where you can’t have water, pass out water in lines—crazy, right? But they’re doing it obviously to try to deny us the opportunities.
Separately, we have to find ways to creatively engage with people. Last year, of the 100 highest-viewed shows on all platforms, 93 of them were NFL football games.
If you’re not engaging in sports, which is what we do on our Next Level Sports Entertainment—that’s our other arm that we have going, only Black-owned sports TV network in the country. We do that because people pay attention to sports. People like being entertained.
Gibbs Léger: Yes.
Blake: First night of the convention this week, Steve Kerr.
Gibbs Léger: Oh my gosh, the night, night.
Blake: Night, night.
Gibbs Léger: I’m dead.
Blake: Come on, man.
Gibbs Léger: I love Coach Kerr so much.
Blake: I mean, look, even as a Knick fan, I had to show love on that.
Gibbs Léger: Same.
Blake: That was a vibe out here. And because people could understand that, they could relate. They didn’t even have to say anything more, right? And so finding those outlets. Because to the third piece, we will have very specific moments. Kairos is the other definition of time. It means opportunities to create moments. We will have very specific moments in the general election where we have to mobilize people.
I do believe that you’re going to have a five-day sprint, September 10 from the debate through that 15 after CBC, where we can lay a national foundation of comparison side by side that gets us across the finish line. I felt this similar dynamic in ’08. I felt— and I will never forget because I was in Michigan at the time—when Sen. McCain said the fundamental economy is strong, I called my team and I said, “The election’s over.”
Gibbs Léger: Yeah.
Blake: Election’s over. He literally just gave us the election because, people forget, he said he had to stop campaigning to go back. And Sen. Obama was like, no, you’ve got to do both.
Gibbs Léger: Yeah.
Blake: And I do believe that we’re going to have that moment where mechanically, that energy that’s going to happen over those five days, you then have to plug people in quickly. We can’t assume. People haven’t done it the way we, for a minute, have been. We can’t assume people understand how you canvass, right? How do you effectively knock on the door? How do you do relational organizing new ways? How do you encourage people to donate money? It’s hard to ask people for money, right? You know, doing those particular things.
Because then fourth and finally, DGL, we’ve got to make sure folks are aware of these other down-ballot races and not just thinking about the vice president. Look, one of them, North Carolina—Mark Robinson is batshit crazy.
Gibbs Léger: He’s insane.
Blake: In every possible level.
Gibbs Léger: Yes.
Blake: He is the one brother that you’re not going to allow at the reunion.
Gibbs Léger: Nope.
Blake: He clearly can’t play spades.
Gibbs Léger: He’s not coming to the cookout.
Blake: Whatsoever. You have folks like that where in North Carolina, you will have to mobilize Black folk to say, “Make history and elect this sister, but don’t vote for the Black man for governor.”
Gibbs Léger: Right. Yeah.
Blake: That can be a challenge for some folks out here, right? On the flip side, you have a state like Michigan, where they have a Black woman running for State Supreme Court. We have to do those different dynamics. You’ve got to tap into the chronology of the time window. You’ve got to tap into the specific moments. We’ve got to educate people on when exactly are they voting.
And then we’ve got to be very clear about what is going on in your state for your local race itself. New York, home? We’ve got anywhere between four to six congressional races. New York, California, Alabama, Louisiana are going to determine the House majority. So you’re in a zone where you’re like, OK, how do I make you aware of that?
Gibbs Léger: Right.
Blake: That, yes, I want you to go vote for the top of the ticket, but I need you to go drive up north to go help these other candidates. And then when you’re done with that, then I need you to go drive down to Philly to make sure we went here. Because the education component goes back to four years ago.
And that’s my biggest concern around democracy. People forget we did not win this thing until the Saturday.
Gibbs Léger: That’s right.
Blake: So you’re going to have Trump feeding this nonsense of “they are stealing the election.”
Gibbs Léger: He’s already saying it now. Yep.
Blake: It’s going to happen. Because Republicans typically vote at a higher proportional rate on the day than we do. So that is the next piece we’ve got to start educating people around—that, hey, it’s going to take several days. When it’s resolved, then you’re going to have about two months where they are going to do everything humanly possible to try to block.
Gibbs Léger: That’s right.
Blake: And so you cannot just talk about—that’s why we have a Kairos Democracy Project. You can’t just talk about protecting democracy for Election Day. It’s how do you get to Inauguration Day, which I don’t believe it’s coincidental, Inauguration Day 2025 is MLK Day.
Gibbs Léger: Really? Wow. Ooh, that’d be something.
Blake: Come on now.
Gibbs Léger: Come on.
Blake: That’s going to be the liveliest MLK ever. Folks are going to have the best church. I mean, the church hats? They’re going to be legendary.
Gibbs Léger: It’s going to be immaculate.
Blake: Legendary. Folks going to start making up that they’re related to King out of nowhere.
Gibbs Léger: Yeah, it’s going to happen.
Blake: Yeah. MLK, Kamala—it’s going to be a vibe out here.
Gibbs Léger: Yeah, it is, but the hard work’s got to come the next couple of weeks.
Blake: Hundred percent.
Gibbs Léger: And I want to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us on “The Tent.”
Blake: I want to thank you for being consistent. You know, you have been doing the work for years. You have been a blessing. You have been a joy and a light. You understand policy at a depth that most don’t, and you can communicate and message it incredibly well, which is necessary. And I’m grateful for you, for everything that you’re doing, and for allowing me to be in the space.
Gibbs Léger: Thank you so much.
Blake: Always.
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Gibbs Léger: Thanks for listening. Be sure to go back and check out previous episodes. We will be back next week in our more traditional format. You know Colin and I will have a lot to talk about. We’ve got to get into this season of “The Bachelorette.” So don’t worry, we will be back to our regular scheduled programming. In the meantime, take care of yourselves, and we’ll talk to you next week.
“The Tent” is a podcast of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. It’s hosted by me, Daniella Gibbs Léger, and co-hosted by Colin Seeberger. Erin Phillips is our lead producer, Kelly McCoy is our supervising producer, Mishka Espey is our booking producer, and Muggs Leone is our digital producer. Hai Phan, Matthew Gossage, Olivia Mowry, and Toni Pandolfo are our video team.
A special thanks to our on-site video and audio crew for this special episode. They are represented by the IBEW Local 1220. Views expressed by guests of “The Tent” are their own, and interviews are not endorsements of a guest’s perspectives. You can find us on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.