Influencers Boosted Biden in 2020. Now Some Are Turning on Him

[brooklynite]

Rolling Stone

IN 2020, CAMPAIGNING at the height of the global pandemic, the Biden campaign leaned heavily on influencers to reach young voters. Republican rivals called it a cop out — they said Biden was “hiding in his basement” — but it was hard to argue with the results of that social media-intensive strategy: Biden won voters under the age of 29 by a 26-point margin.

In 2024, the Biden campaign is doubling down, with plans to add even more than the roughly two dozen staffers who worked on the campaign’s influencer program in 2020. But this time around, there are real questions about whether that strategy will work: handpicked influencers that have been on the receiving end of overtures from the administration are noticing increased criticism of Joe Biden among their followers — particularly as it relates to the president’s handling of the crisis in Gaza — and some influencers courted by the White House are strongly considering backing alternative candidates in 2024.

George Lee Jr., who has 2.4 million followers as The Conscious Lee on TikTok, was invited to a State of the Union watch party at the White House last year. “It was a lovely experience — I’m a first generation college student from a small town in Texas, so the fact that I was able to get invited and have my work be recognized on such a platform was definitely good.” He spoke with Joe Biden, and even asked Jill Biden to dance.

But the invite didn’t buy enough goodwill to guarantee his support next November. “I would imagine I probably will never get invited again — especially with the way I’ve been so unapologetic with this Palestinian genocide that’s happening. Joe Biden is really shooting himself in the foot,” Lee tells Rolling Stone. “When we start talking about the lesser of two evils, a lot of my followers — all 3 million of them — are literally asking the question, like, ‘Damn, so the lesser of the two evils is the one that is supporting genocide? Noted, noted, noted.’”

[TwilightZone]

1. "Lesser of two evils" is an idiotic assertion.

The contrast between Biden and Trump is one of the starkest contrasts in presidential election history.

If this guy really believes that's what it boils down to, he's just flat-out ignorant, intentional or otherwise.

"the one that is supporting genocide"

Ah, so it's intentional. Got it.

[Fullduplexxx]

2. Some people can be so fkg stupid

[Johonny]

3. Stop making stupid people famous

Influencer . . .

[leftstreet]

4. Most people don't pay attention to politics

So it's surprising these influencers have any...influence

Seems the money and staff could be better spent

[brooklynite]

5. You have to flip it around...

Influencers have influence in general. That influence can be extended to politics.

[leftstreet]

6. Well that's certainly true n/t

[redqueen]

7. Yeah TikTok is gonna be a hard sell for Biden

That said, I don't see the young voting age users on that platform coalescing around any other candidates either.

Aside from the maga cultists, of which there are a few.