On Monday's CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta, fill-in host Pamela Brown devoted a segment to a liberal group called White Dudes for Harris, allowing one of CNN's favorite liberal guests, anti-gun activist David Hogg, to promote his involvement in the group. Brown set up the segment:
Well, tonight -- today -- tens of thousands have signed up to participate in what's being described as a White Dudes for Harris video call. That call is tonight.
Joining us now to discuss, that call's organizer, Ross Morales Rocketto, and Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg. He'll be participating in this call.
Brown began by nudging Rocketto to describe the amazing Harris momentum: "The original goal was to have 20,000 registrations for this call, but that number has more than tripled. What's your reaction? Are you surprised by this level of support that you are seeing for this?" Rocketto boasted they signed up 75,000 "white dudes" for the call and raised $350,000 for the campaign. He insisted they were going to attract "a silent majority of white men out there who are not MAGA supporters."
The CNN anchor then turned to Hogg and got him to explain why he thought the upcoming Zoom call would be so important. Then she asked softball question #2: "Why is she so appealing to younger voters compared to how Biden was with the youth vote? Help us understand that, David."
Hogg lavished praise on Harris, calling her "authentic," and talked up liberal laws Democrats have succeeded in passing:
I'm super, super excited to be part of it -- and just make sure that young people know that we're out here -- that we're listening to them, and we're delivering for them -- whether that's the largest climate spending in human history -- whether that's the first gun law passed in 30 years, student debt cancellation, or so much more.
Getting to her next softball, Brown asked about how perceptions of Vice President Harris have changed since she has become the presumptive Democratic nominee, leading Hogg to pick up on Harris's recent trashing of Republicans as "weird." Here's Hogg:
... they want to be in our exam rooms, they want to be in our bedrooms, and they want to be in, you know, our kids' classrooms and trying to challenge what they can read or not. And it's just weird. It's really weird. Meanwhile, we're out here talking about making sure kids are fed in schools -- making sure that people have health care and that kids aren't dying in schools from gun violence.
Still giving no pushback, Brown followed up: "'It's just weird' -- that's the -- that's the buzz line, right, from the Harris campaign? Are you just picking up on that organically or were you told by the Harris campaign to start using that word?" Is this CNN or a DNC chat room? No one can tell the difference.
Partial transcript follows:
CNN Newsroom with Jim Acosta
July 29, 2024
10:04 a.m. Eastern
PAMELA BROWN, FILL-IN HOST: Well, tonight -- today -- tens of thousands have signed up to participate in what's being described as a White Dudes for Harris video call. That call is tonight. Joining us now to discuss, that call's organizer, Ross Morales Rocketto, and Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg. He'll be participating in this call. Gentlemen, thank you for joining us today.
Ross, I want to start with you. As one of the organizers, right, you've got some big Democratic names who are set to be on the Zoom call. You have David Hogg was -- is with us right now. You have Roy Cooper, the former governor of North Carolina. You have Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Congressman Adam Schiff, lots of big names. And, you know, the original goal was to have 20,000 registrations for this call, but that number has more than tripled. What's your reaction? Are you surprised by this level of support that you are seeing for this?
ROSS MORALES ROCKETTO, WHITE GUYS FOR HARRIS: I am. I'm surprised and humbled, and also, thanks for having us. Since, you know, I just checked the numbers right before we went on. We're now at 75,000 people who've signed up, and we've raised over $350,000 for the campaign. To be honest, we thought if we were lucky, you know, we sent out a 20,000 number -- we thought if we were lucky, maybe we'd get 10,000 people on. It's been a real groundswell. And I think it represents something really important which is the fact that there is a silent majority of white men out there who are not MAGA supporters. They are not a part of the MAGA Republican party, and they are looking for a place, and they are interested in casting their votes for the Vice President this November.
BROWN: David, let's bring you in. I want to note you were on a donor call with VP Harris Friday, if I'm not mistaken. Tell us about that because she was on that call -- I believe you asked a question -- and why do you think it's important to be on this one tonight?
DAVID HOGG, THE MARCH FOR OUR LIVES CO-FOUNDER: I think it's important to show we aren't just white dudes for Kamala, but also we're younger white dudes -- we're older white dudes -- we're people of all ages for Kamala. And I also have to note, too, that this would not have been possible -- this was inspired by, you know, following in the footsteps of Black Women for Kamala, which is one of the first calls that was set up. And I was on that National Finance Committee call earlier, and I can just say that the Vice President is fired up, young people are fired up, people of all ages are fired up, and they're donating. Just after it was announced that the Vice President was going to become the nominee, I sent out a challenge to people to raise $1,000 on Twitter in one hour for the Vice President. And not only did we do that, but we ended up raising about $345,000 to support the Vice President from over 6,000 people around the country. So people are fired up, and we're ready to be out there.
BROWN: Why is she so appealing to younger voters compared to how Biden was with the youth vote? Help us understand that, David.
HOGG: One, I think it's that, because we're constantly seeing her on our social media, and she is authentic, and she is funny, you know. We see her constantly out there talking and people making different edits of her to "Brat" by Charli XCX and other very culturally significant things. ... and especially as well, of course, the President himself. He's been so gracious in this transition and being so supportive of the Vice President. I've never seen so much Democratic unity in my life. You know, it's often said that organizing Democrats is like organizing -- trying to herd cats, but I really feel like we've come together at this moment in a way that I've never seen before, and I'm super excited to be on this White Dudes for Kamala call tonight. And maybe by that call we'll have 100,000 people on there. I don't know, but Ross said if we've already passed 20,000 people and raised 75,000, I think we might be able to get to 100,000 as well, and I'm super, super excited to be part of it -- and just make sure that young people know that we're out here -- that we're listening to them, and we're delivering for them -- whether that's the largest climate spending in human history -- whether that's the first gun law passed in 30 years, student debt cancellation, or so much more.
BROWN: Ross, I want to get to you in just a second, but I want to follow up with David here. You're talking about Kamala Harris and the enthusiasm among youth for her. You mentioned, you know, you think she's funny and her appeal now, but I'm wondering, "Did you think that about her before she was announced and endorsed and became essentially the presumptive Democratic nominee? And I ask that what I sense in talking to folks is they had one perception of her when she was VP and a very different perception of her now. What do you think?
HOGG: Yeah, I think that, in many senses, is true. I think more than anything, though, when you're the Vice President, obviously you're not getting a lot of the attention, not nearly as much as the President themselves, but now that she is the nominee, a lot of that attention has shifted to her, and it's been to her benefit. And we've seen, too, how the Democratic coalition has really come around her and how we're all feeding off of each other. You know, Governor Tim Walz really started to lead into that idea of, you know, these Republicans just being weird, and talking about that. And we've seen the Kamala Harris campaign -- Vice President Kamala Harris campaign, sorry, really adopt that message and go forward with it. And I think it's true, you know, it's said over and over again, they want to be in our exam rooms, they want to be in our bedrooms, and they want to be in, you know, our kids' classrooms and trying to challenge what they can read or not. And it's just weird. It's really weird. Meanwhile, we're out here talking about making sure kids are fed in schools -- making sure that people have health care and that kids aren't dying in schools from gun violence.
BROWN: "It's just weird" -- that's the -- that's the buzz line, right, from the Harris campaign? Are you just picking up on that organically or were you told by the Harris campaign to start using that word?
(HOGG)
