Who Is the Real Base of the Democratic Party?

David examines the role of the dinner in an administration that rejects the basic concepts of honesty with and respect toward independent media. During previous administrations, there was some norm of good faith between the White House and the press. But now, as the president systematically misleads the media and is openly hostile to the press, David asks what the point of this night of pretended common purpose is.Then, David is joined by Jamal Simmons, a host of the Trailblaze podcast and a former communications director for Kamala Harris, for a wide-ranging conversation about the state of the Democratic Party. David and Simmons discuss Harris’s profile among her party’s constituents, how much the online left should dictate Democratic policy, what happened in 2024, and what Democrats should do in 2028.Finally, David ends the episode with a discussion of The Magician, by Colm Tóibín.The following is a transcript of the episode:David Frum: Hello and welcome to The David Frum Show. I’m David Frum, a staff writer at The Atlantic. My guest this week will be Jamal Simmons, a former communications director for Vice President Kamala Harris and host of the Trailblaze podcast. The book I will discuss this week is The Magician, by Colm Tóibín, a reconstruction of the life of the German writer Thomas Mann. But before either the dialogue or the book, some thoughts on the shocking attack on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner this past weekend.The facts of this attack are still coming to light. There is an apprehended suspect. We will know more about this, and I won’t comment directly on what happened or on why it might have happened. I wanna think more deeply instead about the dinner itself, the event that was interrupted and shadowed by this attack.As long as the White House [Correspondents’