Thirst trap politics

Something is up on Al Gore's internet. Things are getting thirsty. I, you know, I'm very online and had started seeing on social media all of these very elaborate, completely organic edits of Senator John Ossoff of people who think he's really attractive. And I thought it said something really interesting about the intersection of political media and pop culture and how Democrats are, you know, trying to maneuver on social media and the internet. And I wanted to dive into it. They're setting photo and video compilations of Senator Ossoff to Sabrina Carpenter's Tears. Is it just me or is John Ossoff like so fucking hot? America needs a hot president. John Ossoff's slutty Atticus Finch cosplay is my favorite. Thirst trap politics on Today Explained from Vox. Pretty wet. Support for Today Explained comes from Anthropic, the team behind Clawed. Anthropic is a public benefit corporation founded on a hard question. That question is, how do we make sure AI goes well for people? They're working on it, publishing what they find, even when it's uncomfortable. There's hope in hard questions. Ask your hard question at Clawed.ai slash Today Explained. That's C-L-A-U-D-E dot A-I slash Today Explained. Get a new carpet from the Home Depot and get it installed for free right now. Shop the stylish choices and simple pricing of carpet from Home Decorators Collection, Traffic Master, or LifeProof with PetProof technology. And see for yourself why nobody beats our prices. Enjoy new carpet with free installation right now at the Home Depot. Offer valid October 15th through November 1st, 2026. Exclusions apply. For licenses, see HomeDepot.com slash license numbers. Hey, John. A lot of people have been saying that you've got BDE. You know BDE? Come on, my brother. A lot of people have been saying, like, you walk with confidence, you carry yourself free. Only Today Explained. If you would ask me that. Right. You doing okay? Grace Panetta is a politics reporter at The 19th. We asked her who's posting the Democrat thirst edits. They're just coming from regular online creators. And it's important to note at the outset that these are not paid partnerships. The campaign is not paying these influencers to make edits. It's about how they think their candidate's really attractive. And that's partly why I wanted to dig into it was because it's organic. These are just online creators wanting to draw visibility and attention to a candidate they really like. And, of course, John Ossoff is currently running for re-election in these midterms, as we mentioned on the show before. So it would certainly benefit him to have these edits going out there. They're all very positive. They think he's super hot. Maybe I'll vote for that super hot guy. How do we know for sure that he isn't somehow behind? Well, I mean, I spoke to several creators who, you know, make these videos and said that they're just doing it for the love of the game and just supporters. His campaign did not give me a quote or a statement for this story. So it's, you know, fair to assume that he's not directly involved and he doesn't repost these videos. But as people pointed out to me, you know, his campaign knows that they have an attractive, compelling candidate. And they've previously. You know, have been vaunted for their digital strategy this cycle of putting out very high quality live streams of his rallies. And as long as we don't give in to doubt or despair or division, our victories will be so decisive that no half-baked plot hatched in the White House will foil the will of the people. There's a lot of material for an enterprising TikToker who wants to make these edits or clips. They have a lot to work with. So, I mean, his campaign, as one person put it, is definitely playing into that, but not directly. So it's sort of a fine line to walk. Is it just an Ossoff thing or is this going on with other candidates? I do recall that, like, Abdul Al-Sayed hits the gym. Yes, famously so. Yes, he hits the gym. When it comes to the gym, like, we don't mess around. I went through, you know, just watched so many, so many videos for this story. I also came across a fair number of Gavin Newsom edits. Oh. Yeah, there are people who, you know, think he gives sort of Patrick Bates. I mean, American Psycho vibe. Hey, Paul! Isn't that a bad thing? That guy's a killer. Minus the killing. I hope. Minus the murder. Yeah, just aesthetically. And, you know, as you mentioned, there are also official Democratic accounts, including the TikTok account for the DNC, the headquarters account, which was formerly Kamala HQ, who have been posting edits of Ossoff, and also Abdul Al-Sayed, who kind of leans into this gym burrow. And I think that's a really cool persona. I will say, there's a one Republican who's jacked. What's his name? Mark Wayne Mullen. Well, yes, everybody's like, "Who are you looking forward to working with?" I'm like, "Well, working out with is going to be Mark Wayne Mullen." I don't know that we're going to agree on anything, but at least we're going to work out together. The headquarters account posted a side-by-side of Ossoff and Abdul Al-Sayed with the caption, "There are 69 days until election day." Nice. Yes, there are also, yeah, lots of edits of Mamdani and also former President Barack Obama. We have never been. If we're just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states, we are and always will be the United States of America. Obama nostalgia content goes hard on the internet. So you're also kind of seeing these more official side Democratic campaign accounts sort of also leaning into it and playing up their candidates. And having an attractive candidate is nothing new. You mentioned Obama. JFK was famously dashed. What feels different about what you're seeing now on social media? I think this is really a culmination of a lot of different things happening right now in politics and specifically within the Democratic Party. You know, coming after their loss in 2024, there was a lot of conversation about, you know, the gerontocracy, how we're governed by a lot of really old people for the most part in this century, and also about Democrats' digital strategy, you know, in the aftermath of 2024. One thing a lot of people in that digital space have been talking about is how Republicans and the Trump campaign really capitalized on, you know, getting that organic engagement on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, where a lot of Americans are now going to get their at least some of their news and also, you know, yeah, engaging with and encouraging the creation of this kind of organic content on platforms and from creators that are not always expressly political or official side. As one Democrat I talked to put it, you know, she thinks it's a way for Democrats to sort of win back the Internet and to, yeah, really create a contrast with, you know, the Republicans. And she said to have fun on the Internet because Republicans are having fun on the Internet, and it appears to be working for them, or at least it was in 2024. Is there something about this being something on the left that makes it sort of tricky because the right famously cares less about political correctness? No. It's their feelings. That's like their entire brand over there. Facts don't care about your feelings. But, like, this is, broadly speaking, objectification, right? I mean, thank goodness it's only objectification of men, but is the left basically saying it's okay to objectify men? I think this hits on, you know, a really, really interesting discussion. This is also a very fine line to walk. I talked to one creator who wrote fan fiction about a fictional millennial Democratic senator from Georgia named Johnson. And he said, John gets you off. Wow, subtle, subtle. Yes, very subtle. And I asked her about this. And, you know, she acknowledged. She said, you know, if you do it respectfully, and she says, you know, I try to be respectful. Sorry, John gets you off was the respectful version? Yes. John with an H. It's the H that really shows you that it's respectful. Yeah, it's really, yeah, the H. Yeah, it is a fine line between thirst and objectification. And there is also a gendered element to it. That this is mostly men. These types of videos are being made about now. Granted, a lot of people make sort of hype edits or positive content about AOC because she's a very popular female politician on the left. But it's true that women candidates are held to higher standards in terms of how they present their self and how their supporters portray them. And it is a very real dynamic that you could have all these videos about John Ossoff. And it's not seen as detracting away from his overall message or his seriousness as a politician. So it is sort of a real and kind of interesting dynamic. And it is definitely a fine line to walk. I mean, is there a drawback of focusing on looks? Does it make the Democratic Party or these candidates seem superficial or, you know, not that serious? I think there's now, you know, at this point, we've President Trump has been the defining figure in our politics for 10 years now. And he is famously very, very image focused and image obsessed. People may not like the way he dresses. I don't. You heard that question with those beautiful ears of yours? This is one hell of a physical specimen. I thought I was big until I met you, Joe. We live in a very image obsessed society. And I think there's kind of a bipartisan acknowledgement of that. And looks matter to people in all kinds of ways. They do matter in politics. They do matter to voters. Whether, you know, you like that that's the case or not. It is, you know. the reality. And I think it's, you know, the way that a lot of people on the left see this is People want, you know, to look at attractive people. People take attractive people more seriously and are more willing to listen to them. So we should play into that and play that up. And, you know, that's also been the case on the right. Like, you know, President Trump famously loves people. Central casting. He's central casting. Like central casting. Central, hey, you know what? And he's central casting. Look at that guy, central casting. And these are central casting. If I'm doing a movie, I pick you. There's been this also this whole kind of movement on the right about making conservatism sexy again, especially at the beginning of the second Trump term. You had all these influencers talking about how the second Trump term was going to usher in this, you know, great age of hotness, which is, of course, very based on sort of stereotypical male centered, Eurocentric beauty standards. But I think this is sort of the genies out of the bottle on this one in terms of the fact that our politics and society is very image obsessed. And I think the left being locked out of power realizes they have to play on those terms and they have fun doing it. OK, we're going to spend more time talking about how this looks on the right in the second half of the show. But before we do, let me just ask you. Is this working? Because you could look at it as like giving Kamala is brat, which famously did not work. I mean, it was fun. It got people excited, I guess, in that sense it worked, but it didn't lead to a W for Kamala Harris. Is it working in any tangible way for Asaf, for Abdul Al-Sayed or anyone else? You know, I think a lot of the time in politics, the success of a message is really, you know, dependent on kind of the broader political situation. I think, you know, a part of the reason that the Kamala's brat thing didn't work is people were like, OK, that's great, but my gas is too expensive and prices are too high. And I'm not happy with how things have gone under the Biden administration. So I don't really care. I don't know that, you know, specific digital strategy makes or breaks a campaign or candidate, but, you know, feeds into a bunch of larger factors. And something that a lot of people I spoke to said they liked about John Asaf is how he is incredibly serious in Senate hearings. He doesn't grandstand. He really, you know, holds Trump administration officials feet to the fire. Mr. Secretary, you stated four months ago that Iran. His military had been rendered, quote, combat ineffective for years to come. Has Iran's military been for the last four months combat ineffective? He's been very focused in his role in the Senate and on the campaign trail about calling out corruption. He's a very, very gifted speaker in order. We saw that obviously demonstrated when he, you know, made the quip about Trump traveling with Natalie that sparked an entire news cycle about Natalie Harp. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie. And I think he's going to do a great job of that. I think he's going to be on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar. So I think it's, you know, a candidate's messaging strategy is, you know, only as good as the content and only as good as if it meets people where they are and actually speaks to a real need people have. And I think, yeah, people are really unhappy with the second Trump term and, you know, politicians being super old and out of touch. And it's kind of a perfect storm of factors that makes it work for him. Tears run down my side. I think it's a perfect storm of factors that makes it work for him. I will say for all the people who are scandalize right now is that they're stick figures. Yeah, they're very careful about how they represent this stuff. Like there's this underwear brand called Mentionables, which is a Mormon underwear or lingerie company. And they specifically don't use models because, you know, they're like this way your husband can can go shopping for you without feeling guilty about looking at other women. There's this magazine that launched called Evie that sort of pitches itself as the conservative Cosmo. The mission was to, quote, empower, educate and entertain young women with content that celebrates femininity, encourages virtue and offers a more honest perspective than they get elsewhere. They came out with a whole issue on sex, the sex issue with a blowjob checklist and pelvic floor exercises. But it's all sort of, you know, sort of geared towards married couples and couples specifically who waited until marriage to have sex. We're never going to encourage orgies or cheating on your spouse or whatever that women's magazines have talked about for decades. So we are counterculture in that way. So does that make it OK with the base? Because it's like this is geared towards married people. I think that there are mixed feelings. Like I think that there are still plenty of, you know, conservatives who are conservative, including around kind of dress and things like this. But I definitely think that if you look at Evie magazine, you'll see that there are a lot of women who are conservative. And I think that there are a lot of women who are conservative. And I think that the co-founder, Brittany Hugoboom, you know, said, like, for so long, the left was this kind of fun party, like this was the party where you could dress sexy. And we were the party of restraint. And it wasn't fun. No one wants this. I mean, it's a lot about the, you know, we're we're the party that, you know, you can say whatever you want. You don't have to worry about offending people. We're the kind of the party that's not politically correct. We can have a good time while they're all, you know, scolding us and canceling us. And so I think that they see this as kind of part of that. And is it working its way into policy in any tangible way? One of the things I say in the piece is that it's important to know that no matter how much they're sort of trying to convince the world that they're the party of sexy, you know, you're still seeing, obviously, Roe v. Wade was struck down. You're seeing attempts to curb access to birth control. I would say it's still purity politics without purity culture. And I think that's, you know, it's been effective for them. You mentioned that the left sort of like used to be seen as the party that owned sexy and then something changed. What changed? How did they lose sexy? The way that I got into this story was I was I really went in to write about Victoria's Secret because I was really taken aback. I was like, oh, I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this. And I was like, oh, I'm going to do this. So that we don't offend everyone who could possibly be offended. I mean, it was very it felt like a major women's underwear brand kind of flirting with, you know, MAGA talking points. And I was like, absolutely fascinated by that. So I sort of used kind of Victoria's Secret as this way into, OK, how did people start to think that sexy and sexiness was something that would be more embraced under a Republican administration? You know, I think what I say in the piece is like, I certainly saw that there was a kind of, I think, an inadvertent way that kind of like what women were wearing became part of this conversation. Again, you had like these articles like the Hollywood Reporter, like, did Me Too kill the push-up bra? You know, you had companies, corporate marketing campaigns just started like, you know, becoming this very visible place where these conversations were happening. I mean, I think you see this with a lot of women. I think you see this with every social movement. Like, I think I, you know, I mean, there's this way that something like Black Lives Matter gets reduced to Juneteenth napkins at Target. I'm crying at the inside. OK, so as you mentioned, there's been this sort of perceived war on sex, but there's also sort of been this clearly intentional war for sex that, yes, the media is writing about, but also campaigns on it. are engaged in. And you see on social media, what do you think it tells us about where we are at the battled intersection of sex and politics right now? I don't think it tells us a lot, but I think that's significant. You know, I quote a friend in the piece who says, I think that everyone is just convinced their enemies are having bad sex. And I think that's true. You know, everyone just wants to feel like their party is the cool, party. Like, everyone wants to think, like, you know, that their party is the party that lets you, I mean, for so long, that was kind of the Democratic Party, was the party of freedom, of personal freedom, sexual freedoms. And it still is, if you look at specifically policy matters. But I think that there's just this anxiety, I think, in like this social media age of having the wrong opinion about things. that are, and I think sex, you know, in the wake of #MeToo, and if you look more recently at the, at the, what's going on at Cornell, I mean, people are really feeling like they don't want to, you know, be wrong on something like this that is such a massive social problem. And I think that there are some people who've just totally capitulated and have given up and do not want to do the, the hard work of thinking through the tensions that exist here. Jennifer wrote, "Have conservatives taken sexy back for the New Yorker?" And Grace, from before, wrote, "We have to talk about the John Ossoff thirst edits for the 19th." We did talk about them, thanks to Danielle Hewitt, and Amina Alsadi, and Gabriel Donatov, and David Tadishore, and Bridger Dunnigan, and also Ariana Espuru. Our executive producer today, explained, is Miranda Kennedy. Her deputy is Jolie Myers. Then it's Avishai Artsy, and Denise Guerra, Dustin DeSoto, Kim Kardashian, and Michelle Obama. And I think, you know, that there's, you know, Kelly Wessinger, Peter Balanon-Rosen, Patrick Boyd, Miles Bryan, Heidi Mawagdi, and Noelle King, who will be appearing at StoryFest in Brooklyn on Friday, November 20th. Breakmaster Cylinder will not be there, but I will be. I'm Sean Ramos for them. Tickets are on sale now at StoryFest.org. Today Explained is distributed by WNYC. The show is a part of the Vox Media Podcast Network, that's podcasts.voxmedia.com. And you can listen ad-free by signing up to be a member at vox.com slash members. Right now. Shop the stylish choices and simple pricing of carpet from Home Decorators Collection, Traffic Master, or LifeProof with PetProof technology, and see for yourself why nobody beats our prices. Exclusions apply. Afternoon glare totally ruined my watch party for the big day. I'm Sean Ramos, and I'll see you next time. That's when my buddy recommended Blinds.com. With custom window treatments made to fit your style, space, and budget, customers who shop at Blinds.com experienced overwhelming satisfaction. Side effects may include a fuller, deeper night's sleep and the sudden urge to host the watch party again. Blinds.com isn't a medication, but it can improve how you feel about your home. Visit Blinds.com to order your free samples today.