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Friend —
I’ve had a bit more than a week to reflect on the first debate. Despite my limited airtime, we got a ton of interest after the debate – over 100,000 new followers and over a quarter-million website visitors. My team and I are pumped up for the next one in July and are preparing accordingly. Thanks to all of you who have amplified the message of this campaign.
This campaign has followed an interesting progression. It rose to prominence because of long-form conversations – interviews with Sam Harris, Freakonomics, Joe Rogan, The Breakfast Club, and others made the campaign what it is. Some people read my book. They called me the internet candidate because they believed the majority of my support was just online.
But then thousands of people showed up for rallies in communities across the country. The “internet-only” campaign ended up translating to the real world, and our supporters showed that they weren’t going away. Our upcoming rallies in Portland and Philadelphia prove that. The YangGang comes out in force and brings friends.
The large crowds – all of you – caused more and more news channels and programs to reach out for interviews. These have a certain rhythm. I put on makeup. They are about 5 – 7 minutes long, including questions and footage. I hope that viewers are interested enough to follow up.
A lot of national politics is produced through these segments. I have adapted and am evolving to the medium.
But I sense that our media is shaping our politics – and our politicians – in distinct ways. Trump is our President in part because he was a native creature of TV and cable news. They couldn’t get enough of him. It’s one source of his power, particularly now that he’s President and can drive news cycles with any move or statement. It will be hard for any of the Democrats to match Trump’s mastery of the media.
We are in some ways the next iteration from the other direction. This campaign has progressed from podcasts and alternative media to rallies to television. We need to take full advantage of the TV segments that we get, including the debates. But I believe one way we can match Trump – and the other Democratic candidates – is that we were born of the media of the future. By the numbers, more people are now getting their information from social media than cable news, more from podcasts than the Sunday shows. And they trust their friends more than anyone else.
They trust you more than anyone else.
This campaign has grown because you sense that this is our chance to create a better life for ourselves, the citizens and stakeholders of this country. You sense that we have no agenda but to solve the problems that are threatening to erode our way of life right under our feet.
If you continue to spread this message, the media will always be a lagging indicator. It is already happening.
One last note: we’ve selected the Freedom Dividend winner from the Twitter giveaway! We’re announcing who it is and releasing a video of our conversation tonight on The Beat with Ari Melber, MSBNC at 6pm ET. Tune in and share the winner’s story!
Your always evolving candidate,
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