In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s re-election to the White House, Daily Beast Podcast hosts Joanna Coles and Samantha Bee are joined by John Avlon, a former editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast turned Congressional candidate. Avlon, who began his career as a speechwriter for Rudy Giuliani and later served as a political analyst on CNN, fell short in his Long Island congressional race to the Republican incumbent, Nick LaLota, and shared insight both into his own loss and Democrats' broader failings on Election Day.
Reflecting on his decision to run, Avlon emphasized that merely commenting on TV felt “civically lazy” given what he described as an urgent need to rebuild the “vital center” of American politics. He noted voters' frustrations with “civic chaos,” and argued that Democrats should engage with unconventional platforms and tough audiences, criticizing Kamala Harris’ apparent reluctance to appear on The Joe Rogan Experience.
Another election post-mortem came from comedian and Daily Beast columnist Michael Ian Black, who discussed his recent article “Here‘s What I Learned from Trump’s Victory: I’m the Problem. It’s Me.” (Bonus points for everyone who’s got the Taylor Swift song in their heads already.) The piece, which spurred much conversation online, as well as with Coles and Bee, addressed what Black has learned in recent days about “toxins” in politics—and how to avoid playing too much of the blame game when there’s so many “known unknowns” to consider. “I’m just wrong about everything, so why am I flapping my guns if I’m just wrong about everything?“ Black noted.
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Writer and director Nell Scovell framed it similarly in her conversation with Coles and Bee, comparing voters' decision between Harris and Donald Trump to the choice between going to “the opera or a freak show.” But with Election Day coming so soon after Halloween, perhaps the American electorate was still in the mood for a scare?
Enjoy all this discussion and more on this week’s episode of The Daily Beast Podcast.
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