Smith: Are we talking about the same Pete Buttigieg? After the fundraiser, Smith and Buttigieg climb into an SUV and head to 30 Rock. [1], Smith was born to lawyers Thomas, cousin of Senator Sam Ervin, and Adrienne Smith and was raised in Bronxville, New York, along with her twin brother Angus, and older siblings Ashley and Toby. The speed with which Buttegieg emerged has been astonishing, which happens to be the speed at which Smith works. I want Democrats to read this book. He was thinking of running for chair of the Democratic National Committee. And what Pete understood, and why I believed in him, was that to beat Trump, we didnt need to be him. My end goalsbeing able to stay in New York with Eliot and serve as the New York City mayors press secretarywere in sight. He was an incredible leader at Louisiana State University someone that team could rally around, and such a maturity to him. They have one man to thank. I think thats always been part of Joe Bidens appeal. The most important thing is theres no one way to be a Democrat no matter what any of these lefty groups in Washington say, and we cannot expect candidates in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and Ohio and Arizona and North Carolina to check off every box on the progressive party purity test. Tommy McArdle. Wren: Based on how you characterized the vice presidency, would you ever counsel the transportation secretary, regardless of what year it is, against taking the vice presidency? `Jesus, you always keep it interesting.'. [40], Smith dated Missouri politician Jeff Smith after meeting him at Dartmouth and handled some of his publicity during his campaign. And maybe I shouldve gone to law school. | People read about my personal life in Page Six, and they think Im going to be sort of an out-there type of person that is attention seeking and all of that. which Politico Magazine excerpted last week. Details of that relationship were first brought to light by various media outlets and then, in Smiths recently debuted memoir, Any Given Tuesday: A Political Love Story. It will hopefully make the cost of prescription drugs go down, or cut the price of insulin. Democratic operative Lis Smith on Monday savaged her former boss, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, over his municipal coronavirus response, while offering effusive praise for Gov. Smith: Joey Burrow is an incredible leader. I have talked to all the guys who see in the shots. Lis Smith is recording this call. Shes on her phone talking to another Buttigieg aide. James Devaney/Getty Images. Other candidates, they dont need to do it. The saga gave Smith an insight that most campaign operatives lack: what it's actually like to be that bug trapped under the magnifying glass. It wasnt really until 2012 when I worked for Barack Obama that I did find a really strong female mentor in Stephanie Cutter and I learned so much about my job, so much about politics, so much about how to effectively communicate from Stephanie Cutter. And that was our media strategy. Honesty is really, really important to handling a crisis because you have to have all the facts at your disposal. Smith: Im not going to touch that with a 10-foot pole. And its something that forever Ill be thankful to him for. [2][9], Her role in the campaign was explored by the 2021 documentary film Mayor Pete. George Bush had Karl Rove; Bill Clinton had James Carville. I want political people to read this book, because I think its fun. I know that the media loves to pick up on a gaffe here or there but the more comfortable you are, the more interviews you do, the more comfortable you get in front of the camera, and the less little slip ups matter. Jason Bergman for POLITICO. Does something like Buttigieg Derangement Syndrome exist? Lets just blow it out. What do I get if I pay for your consulting services? That was my philosophy. After 20 campaigns flacking for candidates such as Transportation Secretary and former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, former Virginia Gov. Theres the article in the Atlantic where the writer met the mayor of South Bend, Indiana for a chicken tempura lunch in Manhattan. Its really hard to do a hit piece on a guy who you are going to see the next morning over coffee and donuts, says Weaver. In a tweet shared on July 20, 2022, Jeff praised Smith for the publication of her insightful book., Talked @Morning_Joe about why I wrote Any Given Tuesday: "More than ever we need people to believe in the political processPolitics is more important than ever. In that moment, in retrospect, it seems like Harris couldve ended Buttigiegs campaign. And then what?, she thought to herself. How much of his success was because of you, and how much was because of him? [2] In 2013, she moved back to New York and became the press secretary for Eliot Spitzer's New York City comptroller campaign, an attempted political comeback after his prostitution scandal. Wren: Did you have a good handle before the campaign on Petes vulnerabilities? I was also reckless. She ran it like he was trying to be president, getting him in front of as many microphones as she could. Your knowledge of the process? It meant a lot to me as a woman to have someone like that. My mood changed when the Post story popped. That even in the age of Twitter, that especially in the age of Twitter, people dont really care about gaffes. But that didnt work out. Smith: Mayor Pete is where Mayor Pete is now because Mayor Pete is just one of the most uniquely talented members of the Democratic Party. In some ways, he came across as a Midwestern dad before he was, in fact, a Midwestern dad. Both Miller and Smith come off as quasi-heros, semi-savants, pseudo-sociologists. I think its a little bit of a ride. But seriously. Published on July 13, 2022 06:12 PM. And he is as squeaky clean behind the scenes as he is in front of the camera. After winning the election, the candidate joined the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), and Smith consulted briefly for the group. There are probably dozens of Mayor Petes out there across the country. He was going up against George Bush, who had $50 million and he had $4 million, and so he just decides to tear up the playbook and put himself out there. | James Devaney/GC Images. She had served as a senior aide on OMalleys 2016 bid and with the Maryland governor when he was head of the Democratic Governors Association. And I have a nice, quiet life where I dont live in Washington, D.C. [5] In 2009, she became press secretary for Terry McAuliffe and Jon Corzine's gubernatorial races before moving on to becoming the communications director for Ted Strickland's 2010 Ohio governor's race. This is what day two looks like. | Mark Peterson/Redux, Yuki Iwamura/Redux. Smith: Oh, thats simple. I couldnt talk to the media, and they didnt lift a finger to defend me.. Click here. This sign-up form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Petes hitting at this moment in part because of the legwork they did. Sign up for POLITICO Magazines email of the weeks best, delivered to your inbox every Friday morning. I have a really close-knit group of friends who have nothing to do with politics. From the second I met Pete, I knew that there was something special about him. Obama had David Axelrod. Our resort was more Leave It to Beaver than Debbie Does Dallas,' she claimed. What else was the oppo they were dropping? He was also married. Wren: You and Pete have very different brands. This 35-Year-Old Mayor From Indiana Is Wowing National Democrats The New Republic declared. One thing I find incredibly admirable about him is what you see is what you get. Weve seen a lot of cataclysmic things happen. The former New York mayor later divorced his wife and was spotted in places like Montego Bay and a Knicks game cozying up with Smith. Smith: We check in here and there. He doesnt yell and scream, take the most extreme positions on issues, or tweet incendiary things. [2][9] She later worked as the spokeswoman for Bill de Blasio's mayoral run in 2013. We knew the McKinsey stuff would be it, but he was bound by an NDA. He knows the importance of building up our bench. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, De Blasio didnt trust NYPD security to keep secrets, ex-aide Lis Smith claims, Gross unshowered de Blasio wanted to get in bed with Spitzer but I beat him to it: ex-aide Lis Smith, How Americas gov became Americas ahole: Ex-Cuomo staffers new book, Chris Cuomo could be a dk to disgraced ex-govs staff, new book claims. Buttigieg recently started getting savaged online when it surfaced that he had told an audience in 2015 that all lives matter, and as it happened, he was due to speak at Al Sharptons annual National Action Network convention. I love him. How Trump Took the Shine Off Washingtons Glitziest NightBy John F. Harris and Daniel Lippman. Win or lose, she's turned an unknown into a serious . "[29] Lloyd Green, writing for The Guardian, called it "breezy and informative. That is not the typical relationship of adviser to political principal, but typical is not a word people use about Smith. I remember hearing from other consultants, Why is he going out there speaking seven languages? Not possible, Smith says. There were very, very few women in positions of power. The guy didnt have time to say hello before Smith could hear screaming over the line. When Smith opens her laptop, there are saved tabs about Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, a YouTube video of a facial massage routine, kale recipes, a Time Out City Guide to Dubai and a 2012 Huffington Post article about how the Obama and Romney campaigns used Twitter. So what I try to do is to meet candidates where they are, and to help work with them on what their strengths are and not to erase the things in them that are quirky or not, but see if we can use them as assets. I am humbled and flattered and appreciative of when people recognize the hard work I put in on our media strategy, and the fact that we employed a media strategy that was radically different from everyone else in the field. But I compartmentalized this knowledge like other things in my life. [19], In 2021, Smith worked closely with then-governor Andrew Cuomo, and advised him on how to respond to the sexual harassment allegations against him. It was younger reporters, super-hungry reporters that really know how to use Twitter, people who can then go to a cocktail party and tell their friends they had a beer with this guy Pete Buttigieg three hours from now. I would say that these days, my vetting skills are maybe a little savvier. It might not get you the votes, but I am not the political director. Still, she said, I wasnt exactly a PR neophyte. I was making the bet that I could run out the clock on disclosing our relationship until I got hired officially. And you just like have this moment, where youre like, Maybe this is it. And they all lack humility. 20 2022, Published 11:56 a.m. Pete Buttigieg and his husband Chasten in February 2020. Maybe a story that would be 80-20 bad you can get down to 60-40 bad, and that little bit is worth it.. Buttigieg campaigns in Iowa shortly after officially announcing his bid for the Democratic nomination for president. Smith marched him to the front of where the national and New York press were gathered, telling him, Are you ready for your first gaggle? He stayed until the matter was exhausted. Phil snorted: Fck. By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or updates from POLITICO and you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service. She most recently worked as a senior advisor in communications to presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg. She had an "itch," the political consultant writes in her. So I wanted to write a book to tell people, Hey, if you want to know what politics is like the ins and outs, the good, bad, and the ugly this is a book for you.. That cut both ways during the campaign for Buttigieg, particularly when a white police officer killed a Black man in South Bend. [20] She was a senior advisor on Corey Johnson's 2021 campaign for New York City Comptroller, and raised $3.5 million in funds for a PAC supporting Andrew Yang's 2021 mayoral campaign. [39] Time and Politico included her on their lists of the best political Twitter feeds. Smith: I dont know, because I think one thing we saw was that he was pretty good about handling stuff. Wren: I want a window into how you advise candidates amid a crisis. The candidate and the campaign manager dutifully board the aircraft, and just when it seems the door is about to close, as they start looking around nervously, in comes Smith, sunglasses and coat still on, laptop and cords dangling from her arms, phone pressed against her ear. My observation, said Axelrod, who worked with Smith on Obamas 2012 reelection campaign, is that she is the quiet hero of his emergence.. The final indignity, she said, is that de Blasios team team wanted the statement to say her departure was unrelated to her dating Spitzer. After the fundraiser, Buttigieg is going to rush off to 30 Rock to do Maddow, then in the morning New Day on CNN, and then fly to Iowa, then do Morning Joe when hes back. Did I think hed sit on the floor with me and sing Kumbaya and tell me it would be all okay? Spitzer and Smith stayed together for more than two years, with the tabloids following them pretty much the whole time. [11][12] In 2018, Smith became spokeswoman for Andrew Cuomo's successful re-election campaign, who had endorsed the political entity. The tabloids followed the pair to Christmas at Smiths parents house in the upscale suburb of Bronxville. I, in those races, became extremely battle-tested. Its an inherent conflict of interest. Otherwise, I would kill myself. Which is to say that Buttigieg may know seven languages and carry around Ulysses and sit in with the South Bend Orchestra on piano, but as far as his top aide is concerned, it is only because he has an extra year on her. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Pete and I, you can probably tell are pretty laid-back, pretty low-key, I guess what you would call pretty Midwestern, said Mike Schmuhl, Buttigiegs campaign manager, who sounds like the host of a classical-music radio station who just returned from a yoga retreat. In the car, wed go back and forth on random trivia, and pulling up things on Google. I think thats probably the biggest misconception about me. | Scott Olson/Getty Images, Lis has an insurgent mentality, said Axelrod, a top aide for both of President Obamas campaigns. It gives me so much joy when I sit down for a Zoom with Mallory McMorrow which is supposed to be 15 minutes and it turns into two hours, and I get goosebumps again. Wren: One of the theses of Petes campaign was that mayors are on the front lines of democracy. Bill de Blasio, too. I worked in states like South Dakota, Missouri, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia. (The rapid-response job, Smith says, was for her like being a pig in shit. Cuomoresigned last August amid claims of sexual harassment and misconduct. [31][32], Smith is also known for her commentary and analysis of United States politics. The Buttigiegs announced last month that they were engaged in the adoption process. In the past several months, Buttigieg has been not just all over cable and in the newspapers, but in Our Daily Planet, an environmental morning newsletter with just over 5,000 Twitter followers; in a financial planning podcast called Pete the Planner; and on West Wing Weekly, the obsessive episode-by-episode podcast breakdown of The West Wing. Its really hard to do a hit piece on a guy who you are going to see the next morning over coffee and donuts. [2][3] During her time at Dartmouth, she volunteered for John Edwards' 2004 presidential campaign. He weighed in after the Supreme Court decision. A lot of people thought that to beat Trump, you had to be Trump. And the fact that hes everywhere, from cable TV to Ebony to your local NPR show to your favorite sports podcast, means that a guy with no name recognition is suddenly hard to avoid. Politics is really personal to me. Then, in an instant, everything changed, Smith writes in her tell-all, Any Given Tuesday., It came in the form of a text from [fellow consultant] Hari [Sevugan]: `Call me. When they gave me the job I thought, first of all this job exists? She has been actively involved in politics after the completion of her graduation from Dartmouth . Smith says thats worth it. I figured he was special and it couldnt hurt if everybody knows who he is.. The savvy strategist then had to figure out how to break the news to de Blasio and his camp, as their soon-to-be City Hall press secretary was now at the center of her own juicy tabloid scandal. Smith said she learned a hard lesson: Even a professional cant try to manage a personal crisis without help. Smith starts texting me, wanting to know if Id seen the celebrities in the audience, including George Takei, Kal Penn and Kate McKinnon. Spitzer leaves the apatment of Lis Smith at 5:44 a.m. on Dec. 19. They are doing things that are more directly relevant to peoples lives. Smith: I think Ive got good relationships with people in the media. It was a long shot. If you had any balls you would have said what I told you to say.. Terry McAuliffe, and President Barack Obama, Lis Smith is finally flacking for Lis Smith. Smith: Youve got to meet voters where they are. Our meeting was part of a strategy, one run with surprising sophistication and efficacy for a candidate whose highest-profile gig so far is a local office in the fourth-biggest city in Indiana. From her days as a college intern for John Edwards to her own brush with the New York tabloids, the book traces her entertaining path to the height of the American political consultant class. Theyre in the agencies. Smith: Yeah. [2] In 2014, she became a communication consultant for Adriano Espaillat's congressional campaign. How did that manifest itself with Pete, the first candidate youve ever advised who was approximately the same age as you? In a chapter entitled The Eye of the Storm, she recalled how her parents who reside in Westchester were shockedwhen photographers and scribes were camped outside their home when Spitzer joined them for Christmas dinner. She orders a beer, downs it and orders another. But more broadly, they are diagnosing the ills of the party that paid their housing for years. The American, democratic campaign communication specialist Lis Smith is a well-known face in American politics. When you do more interviews, it reduces that gotcha instinct with the press, it reduces that cat and mouse game. A New York Post photographer had been surreptitiously posted outside my SoHo walkup apartment. Riley Keough's husband, Ben Smith-Petersen, revealed the couple welcomed a baby girl while he gave a speech on behalf of his wife during a memorial service for Lisa Marie Presley on Sunday By. Has Gone Even Farther Right Than I Expected': Three Writers Talk About the Midterms", "Lis Smith: Why Democrats Should Go on Fox News", "Opinion | How Joe Biden Can Defeat Trump From His Basement", "Opinion | This is not the time to change how we talk about abortion", "Know Your Spox: A Look At The Obama Campaign Staff", "Check out Lis Smith on TIME's 140 Best Twitter Feeds List", "Eliot Spitzer has friends in low places, throws book party for girlfriend's former beau", "Spitzer gal pal Lis Smith, de Blasio split", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lis_Smith&oldid=1141070660, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 23 February 2023, at 05:39. He had stayed behind in an area where there was active conflict while she travelled on by herself. In a clip from her memoir shared by Fox News, Smith slammed de Blasio for leaving her out to dry after firing her over the affair. 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