Jemele Hill’s time with ESPN ended acrimoniously due to several factors, including criticism by President Donald Trump and other Republicans.
Now that Trump is back in office and the Democrats are trying to refocus in their efforts to rally supporters, Hill wants to impart a lesson she learned while at the Worldwide Leader to help them.
Hill was recently a guest on The Blueprint with Jen Psaki. The two discussed many topics about President Trump and how Democrats can invigorate their base after a lackluster election. Hill sees this as a shift in focus from worrying about the people who don’t vote for you to those who actually do.
.@jemelehill with some advice for Dems from her time hosting at ESPN: “Democrats need to stop worrying about the people hating outside the club. They pay too much attention to them! Worry about people inside the club.”
Link here for the full convo: https://t.co/E5veXgI1UH https://t.co/FY1fBUuCKM pic.twitter.com/ozAAmOffl4
— Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) February 24, 2025
“When you have to win the turnout game, that means you have to win the passion and enthusiasm game,” said Hill. “The way you win that game is you got to go harder for the things you believe in. You don’t go the other way. The people that didn’t vote for you or chose to vote for Donald Trump or are Trump supporters, ain’t voting for you. Give up on those people to some degree.”
Hill then recalled advice from an ESPN producer on attracting viewers and applied it to how Democrats can change their strategy.
“And in terms of turning out your people, worry about your people. Is this a producer I had when I was at ESPN that gave me this brilliant analogy that I’ve never forgotten when it came to attracting viewers,” said Hill. “He said, you got to think of yourself as throwing a party, and you throwing the dopest party you could possibly think of. People are VIP, they poppin’ bottles. You’re having a great time. You know who you don’t worry about? The people hating outside the club. That’s who you don’t worry about. Because you know what will happen? They’re going to look through the windows and be like, ‘Damn, we want to get in that party. It looks fun.’ Don’t worry about them.
“Democrats need to stop worrying about the people hatin’ outside the club. They pay too much attention to them. Worry about the people inside the club.”
Democrats have less than two years to focus on “the people inside the club” and attempt to win back the House or Senate in the midterm elections.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.