@lynnsweet, @kaitlancollins, @Lis_Smith and @PriscillaWT discuss! In the car, wed go back and forth on random trivia, and pulling up things on Google. Disappointing debate ratings spark Democratic campaign complaints You never get in a fight with someone whos trying to promote a book. Wren: I want a window into how you advise candidates amid a crisis. 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There were very, very few women in positions of power. At the newsstand around the corner, you could buy a New York magazine with Buttigiegs beatifically smiling face splashed across the cover, and a New York Times with an A1 story about his time at Harvard. It is 5:15 on a Monday evening. Honesty is really, really important to handling a crisis because you have to have all the facts at your disposal. By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or updates from POLITICO and you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service. Read More . Buttigieg received the most pledged delegates in the Iowa caucuses. Maybe a story that would be 80-20 bad you can get down to 60-40 bad, and that little bit is worth it.. Smith: Democrats love to bitch that we dont have a bench. She had served as a senior aide on OMalleys 2016 bid and with the Maryland governor when he was head of the Democratic Governors Association. @lynnsweet, @kaitlancollins, @Lis_Smith and @PriscillaWT are talking how do we avoid rookie mistakes on the campaign trail. So many flacks lose their mind over inconsequential things, and have no sense of, This is good press, this is mediocre press, and this is awful press. That is something you know once you have been through awful press., As a flack, you dont always understand what it feels like to be a principal, what it feels like to be under scrutiny. If we do that it is a recipe for disaster. When I was starting in politics, we didnt have women. Going back to when the 2020 campaign went virtual, how do you think the Biden team has handled its messaging since then? What is this new phase of your career about? Through the DNC race and afterward, Smith treated the national political press like it was another constituency that needed to be courted. After the fundraiser, Buttigieg is going to rush off to 30 Rock to do Maddow, then in the morning New Day on CNN, and then fly to Iowa, then do Morning Joe when hes back. And you had Democrats out there saying, when they go low, we kick them in the face, and engaging in all this over-the-top rhetoric. You get a sense of the news, what is going to get picked up, she said, reaching into her bag for her copy of the Post, which she said she was saving for Buttigieg. A photo and audio tour of the hosts driving the conversation. And when it happened, the story was her. 4. Well, of course someone running for president would need to talk about it with me first, right? Can I tell you something very off the record, she texts. I think we saw that Kamalas attack on Biden was obviously was pretty pointed. But there have been a few times when Ive been around him when I knew something, a factoid or something he didnt know, and let me tell you, I fucking lord it all over him. What else was the oppo they were dropping? She is operating on two and a half hours of sleep, having just arrived back in New York on a charter jet from South Bend, Indiana, after Buttigieg announced he was running for president. I had a beerhe stuck to waterand we talked about his political ambitions and the state of the Democratic Party and why Trump won. Gharavi is a BAFTA and Sundance-nominated filmmaker. Traveling Press Secretary at Lunsford-Stumbo 2007 from February 2007 to . I know, but sitting at this dinner in Indianapolis, I was completely gobsmacked by how impressive some of the speakers were that I had never heard of before in my life, that you will never read about in national publications. "I basically blacked out for the next ten minutes as he talked about everything from Fiorello La Guardia to Buddhism," she wrote of her first job interview with the future mayor. Lis Smith on Pete Buttigieg's campaign bus during a four day tour of Iowa, September 23, 2019. Since a lot of your book is about relationships in politics, could you start out by telling me about the time you met Bill de Blasio when you were volunteering for the John Edwards 2004 presidential campaign in New Hampshire? Because even power needs a day off. I know youre asking it in good faith, but I am declining to answer it in good faith. I want people to know what its like behind the scenes. What do I get if I pay for your consulting services? It is my passion. Smith previously worked on campaigns for former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D. I mean, for God's sake, we don't even pay that much attention to governors. She has advised New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe and Montana Governor Steve Bullock, people who on paper at least are far more likely top-tier presidential contenders, and she served as a top aide for a number of Senate and gubernatorial races. Its that everyday when I go into work to try and get these people elected its because it will impact lives. She advised a couple of governors still left in office, and started taking on more nonprofit clients. If you could just attend town board and county legislature meetings for a year, what are the intangible qualities you'd be looking for in scouting candidates? A lot of people people whose opinion you respect told you that you were nuts when you chose to work for Pete. David Freedlander writes about politics and culture. In 2012, Smith served as President Barack Obama's director of rapid response, a similar role she'll play with Cuomo and the state Democratic Party's coordinated campaign this year. It gives me so much joy when I sit down for a Zoom with Mallory McMorrow which is supposed to be 15 minutes and it turns into two hours, and I get goosebumps again. She most recently worked as a senior advisor in communications to presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg. But until they released him from the NDA, we just didnt get his clients. Chuck Kennedy/PFA. I am humbled and flattered and appreciative of when people recognize the hard work I put in on our media strategy, and the fact that we employed a media strategy that was radically different from everyone else in the field. How hard-chargingNew Yorkoperative Lis Smith helpedturn an obscure Indianamayorinto a national name. Click here. It has been my passion since I was nine years old, which sounds sick. She is 36, a year younger than Buttigieg, which, Thank God. Smith a Bengals fan believes quarterback Joe Burrow is a great leader with a clear social conscience, and she wouldnt rule out the possibility of him having a political career. There is this thing that I have to be very honest with, because maybe I had been seen as a little radioactive because I had unwillingly had my private life spread all over the tabloids, more established candidates might not have hired me. And why that matters is because the states are where a lot of the key fights are going to play out following the Dobbs Supreme Court decision. Wren: Lets talk about another Cincinnatian: Joey Burrow, your Bengals politically outspoken quarterback. Theyre just not looking in the right places. Smith: I think a lot of people get a very one-dimensional view of me. I'm not saying that it affects him negatively, but it's an interesting question. Even TMZ got in the act LEO DICAPRIO OFFERED BUTTIGIEG HELP DURING 2020 RUN, trumpeted the chyron. Wren: You mentioned that some people might view you as radioactive. Buttigieg's Ex-Campaign Manager Is Showing Democrats How to - Insider And maybe I shouldve gone to law school. It also includes each staff member's position in the campaign, previous work experience, and Twitter handle, where available. In real life, I have a really close-knit family. I have a really close-knit group of friends who have nothing to do with politics. She ran it like he was trying to be president, getting him in front of as many microphones as she could. I think its a little bit of a ride. And you just like have this moment, where youre like, Maybe this is it. The private Terry is a lot more low-key, and lot more humble, a lot more thoughtful. Liz Truss locked in row over '12k bill at Chevening country retreat' Are you kidding me? What is Lis Smiths secret sauce? [2] He suspended his campaign on March 1, 2020.[3]. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider Wren: Tell me about that five percent credited to you. How has it turned out so far? Click here. It took THREE journalists to come up with this throwaway article: Lis Smith, senior adviser to Pete Buttigieg's 2020 presidential campaign: ".I think it's probably something we have no idea about." https://politi.co/427TvyH via @politico. Pete Buttigieg emerges as Democratic rock star proclaimed Business Insider during the race. Any Given Tuesday: Lis Smith on Cuomo, Spitzer and a political life I remember in Iowa, we had all these young mayors for him. Before a debate, you have no idea how much gossip is going around. And it was a running joke between us: I was like, I cant listen to you talk about smart sewers one more time, or I will lose my mind. He loves that stuff. Gripping reads, smart analysis and a bit of high-minded fun. Its a local-politics mentality to find the people that are going to be telling this story, and if nothing else, making sure they have a real understanding of who you are. She has a 3-day-old copy of the New York Post in her bag. Most people do have nerdy sides to them. "[1], Presidential candidates will typically have a national staff, which is overseen by a campaign manager and assisted by political consultants, senior advisors, professional polling firms, and key stakeholders such as interest group leaders and major financial supporters. Seeing how Pete cuts through with people and what a truly effective messenger hes become for the Democratic Party, it makes you realize: Theres not just one Mayor Pete. They are doing things that are more directly relevant to peoples lives. Lis Smith talks how 'going everywhere' helped McCaskill | STLPR He announced he was running for the Democratic presidential nomination on January 23, 2019, and formally kicked off his campaign on April 14, 2019. So what I try to do is to meet candidates where they are, and to help work with them on what their strengths are and not to erase the things in them that are quirky or not, but see if we can use them as assets. God, you fucked that up. [1] She was the deputy campaign director for Martin O'Malley's 2016 presidential campaign. Staff are presented alongside their positions in the campaign, their most recent positions prior to the campaign, and their Twitter handles. Hes someone who is involved fighting childhood hunger. The tabloids followed the pair to Christmas at Smiths parents house in the upscale suburb of Bronxville. Hes someone I ask for advice. But it was one of those moments where I had to go with my gut. Now, I understand that sounds completely sick. Its just that I think with both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris that it would do the administration good to get out there a little bit more, and not to let the media and the Twitter dialogue get in your head, because most people dont speak like Pete Buttigieg in these beautiful, poetic, perfectly formed sentences. But another thing is that Im not someone whos just worked in New York. Letting Claire be Claire. Regular voters and the media were primed for it.. I want him on everything, she told me. ), Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo. Smith has been studying the effort, reaching out to reporters who were there, and has been in regular contact with John Weaver, who helped engineer it. Politics is really personal to me. Pete and I, you can probably tell are pretty laid-back, pretty low-key, I guess what you would call pretty Midwestern, said Mike Schmuhl, Buttigiegs campaign manager, who sounds like the host of a classical-music radio station who just returned from a yoga retreat. This is so funny, because I was just saying to Mike Schmuhl, Pete's 2020 campaign manager and now chairman of the Indiana Democrats, that my dream project would be to take off an entire year and go to the big Democratic fundraising dinner in all 50 states. For a complete timeline of Buttigieg's campaign activity, click here. Id worked for former [Former Maryland Gov.] He wrote a paper praising Bernie Sanders at Harvard? The list below shows notable staff departures found in media reports. Smith: Im not going to say who. I tell her that I have been calling around to former coworkers and associates, trying to get a sense of how she operates. There are probably dozens of Mayor Petes out there across the country. TV news executives are calling, she says, emailing, now complaining that Buttigieg isnt doing their shows often enough. Weve seen a lot of cataclysmic things happen. Even people like Terry McAuliffe and Claire McCaskill, who both have outsized personalities. And also keep in mind she was wasnt working on my campaign. You've talked a bit about identifying talent, particularly candidates who might get overlooked, like a Pete Buttigieg. Martin OMalley, who shed worked for, performing poorly in the Iowa caucuses. And they all lack humility. Spitzer and Smith stayed together for more than two years, with the tabloids following them pretty much the whole time. She often mentions others in her tweets and sometimes gets into multiple tweet disputes with people she disagrees with, which are always fun to watch. Click here. POLITICO Weekend delivers gripping reads, smart analysis and a bit of high-minded fun. And it was the first time Id worked in politics that Id ever felt that way. Wren: Could see a political career for him? He announced he was running for the Democratic presidential nomination on January 23, 2019, and formally kicked off his campaign on April 14, 2019. Some are even in the White House, like Deputy Press Secretary Chris Meagher, who briefed the press not too long ago. . | Elijah Nouvelage/REUTERS. Do you think the lack of in-person events hurt them later on in building a relationship with the eventual White House press corps? Wren: Based on how you characterized the vice presidency, would you ever counsel the transportation secretary, regardless of what year it is, against taking the vice presidency? But is it undermining its own side? Her phone is literally exploding. There is a top political reporter for a major national newspaper apologizing for blowing off a meeting with Buttigieg earlier and trying to get one now, asking Smith, Will you ever forgive me?. Im realistic here. width: 100% !important; I, in those races, became extremely battle-tested. Now that they have achieved liftoff, as it were, Smith is preparing for the next part of the campaign. Wren: Youre a very competitive person. He looked white as a ghost, didnt say anything, just nodding along. She is a talented communicator. I see Donald Trump win the White House, which like everyone else, Im flabbergasted. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. After his loss in the primary, Smith went to work on the winning election campaign and then the transition of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. The writer from Indianapolis Monthly who went for a jog with Buttigieg three months before his feature landed, the Washington Post Magazine writer who sat down in a Virginia soul food joint with Mayor Pete long before he declared his presidential bid and the Yahoo News feature writer who crammed into the corner seat of a midtown Manhattan caf with him months ago.
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