A Video Review of the WIRED Politics After-Party for the Democratic National Convention Week (Tueday, Oct. 17-29)
It’s Democratic National Convention Week! For all the politicians, delegates, journalists, and influencers in Chicago this week, that means days of nonstop events, speeches, parties, and networking.
I’ve been on the ground covering it with my colleague, senior security writer Dhruv Mehrotra (More from Dhruv below). Some of the events have been expected: Barack Obama’s speech, organizing seminars, and caucus meetings. But others feel more like Vidcon events than political ones, like the highly-anticipated Hotties for Harris after-party on Tuesday night.
It’s not your average politics newsletter. Makena Kelly and the WIRED Politics team help you make sense of how the internet is shaping our political reality.
The after-party for the Democratic Convention was expected to be one of the largest of the week, but it was delayed after President Barack Obama finished his speech Tuesday night.
Hundreds of guests were greeted by bright neon lights that read “Hotties for Harris,” before entering what honestly felt like the Museum of Ice Cream but for liberals living out their 2008 fantasy with a 2024 twist. Content creation opportunities abounded: There was a couch that took a jab at JD Vance, a “wall of weirdos” with portraits of Republican leaders, a wall of Dem “Hotties” that include Kamala Harris and Travis Kelce, a dance floor, an arcade room featuring “abortion access Skee-Ball,” and a feminist mini golf course.
For hours, creators danced and mingled in front of a stage flashing the faces of Harris and Tim Walz with Charli XCX and Taylor Swift songs ringing out from the DJ booth. There were also two signature cocktails called the “Madam President’s Spicy ‘Rita” and “A Walz on the Beach,” for “folks who can’t handle the spice.”
The daughter of a former Donald Trump adviser tried to steal a plushie from the claw game while other people filmed themselves breakdancing in the arcade. The older creators were chatting with people outside of the venue this week.
“This wouldn’t have happened with Joe Biden as the nominee,” Emma Mont, an admin of the OrganizerMemes X account, said about the palpable excitement at the Hotties for Harris party.
The night was hosted by a group of people and funded by Investing in US, an investment firm which is dedicated to encouraging young people to vote.
Joe Biden [Archival audio]And tonight, Kamala Harris will close out the event. But unlike in conventions past, every night has also featured influencers. People like content creator and abortion rights activists, Deja Foxx.
Leah Feiger: 200 other content creators are attending and posting, all invited by the DNC, to connect with young voters and they hope help Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump. Joining me from Chicago to talk about what’s going on at the DNC is WIRED senior reporter, Makena Kelly. How is it going Makena?
Makena Kelly is a person. Yeah, so I was out until 2:00 AM last night. The last thing on my schedule was from 10:00 to 2:00 AM and it was a party called Hotties for Harris, and it was thrown, it wasn’t-
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