With the 2024 election less than two months away, Kamala Harris is entering the homestretch of her campaign.
But first, Pearl Jam.
At least that will be the plan if Bakari Sellers gets his way. Speaking to Politico, the longtime ally of the Democratic nominee discussed what he hopes to see from Harris’ media strategy in the final month-plus heading into the election. And if were up to Sellers, the vice president would be doing interviews with sports media personalities such as Bill Simmons and Paul Finebaum in an effort to reach voters.
Writes Christopher Cadelago and Megan Messerly:
Bakari Sellers, a longtime close ally of Harris’, said her planned barnstorming “warms the spirit of every Democrat” and should be followed up with non-traditional appearances. He wants Harris to sit with the star podcaster Bill Simmons, who founded the Ringer network and has a huge following among sports and pop culture devotees. Sellers wants to tap into the start of college football season by having Harris chit-chat with Paul Finebaum, the broadcaster and author with deep ties to the NCAA’s Southeastern Conference, whose schools overlap with a large swath of politically pivotal states across the South.
While it’s worth noting that Sellers hosts a podcast for The Ringer, the idea of a presidential candidate doing an interview with Simmons is hardly far fetched. Months ahead of the 2012 election, then-President Barack Obama appeared on Simmons’ ESPN podcast, The B.S. Report, with political commentator Chris Cillizza writing of the strategy: “Sports is a universal language that can bridge ideological, cultural and socioeconomic gaps.”
Considering Simmons’ history with Obama, who he’s now interviewed multiple times including as recently as 2020, and his connection to Sellers, a Harris appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast would make plenty of sense. There’s also the obvious tie-in of the Oakland native being a big Golden State Warriors fan who has received public endorsements from Steve Kerr and Stephen Curry.
As for Finebaum, there’s less of an obvious connection, but to Sellers’ point, such an interview could have appeal in the South as Georgia looms large as a swing state. Perhaps this might be a better spot for her running mate, Tim Walz, who as you may have heard was the defensive coordinator of a state championship high school team in Minnesota in 1999.
In any event, Harris’ media efforts appear to be ramping up with a particular focus on nontraditional interviews. In other words, don’t be surprised to see the vice president appearing on your podcast feeds in the near future and if Simmons and/or Finebaum don’t work out, we’d like to extend her an open invitation to appear on The Awful Announcing Podcast, The Play-By-Play or Short and to the Point.
[Politico]
