When you do more interviews, it reduces that gotcha instinct with the press, it reduces that cat and mouse game. Candidates and the people around them can get so spun up about things, and when you get spun up you make the worst mistakes, she says. That is not how she ran his race. He hung up and looked at me in horror, and then my phone started ringing. People get stuck in a rut because something worked last cycle, and so they think it will work this cycle and it doesnt. In what ways does your brand benefit from Petes, and in what ways does Petes brand benefit from yours? Smith: It made me want to be better at my job. There may be nobody more central to Mayor Pete's media successbesides the candidate himself, and arguably his social-media-savvy husband, Chasten Buttigiegthan Smith, who serves as a. [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. Spitzer, at the time, was attempting to regain his footing in politics after resigning from his position in 2008. Smith tried to outfox The Post by going to the Daily News as a pre-emptive strike in an effort to get a more favorable story planted about her relationship with Spitzer. We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us. And they all lack humility. I want Republicans to read this book. They have one man to thank. Andrew Cuomo's. Why? Riley Keough has been married to Australian stuntman Ben Smith-Petersen since 2015. Because even power needs a day off. I could bring out a little bit more of a killer instinct [in] him, but he could bring out sort of a gentler, more thoughtful side of me that was mutually beneficial to the campaign. Weve seen a lot of cataclysmic things happen. It was from Montego Bay that Smith and de Blasio announced she would not be joining his administration. William C. Lopez After leaving the eatery at around 12:30 a.m., Smith gave Spitzer a flirtatious look over her shoulder before the . When I met him was right after Trump won the election, and Democrats are running around with their hair on fire for good reason. I really did feel he treated me as an equal. Even in decline, AM radio matters more than you might think. Miller is darkly. Ive always tried to be very grounded. It is 5:15 on a Monday evening. But there may be no political couple odder than that of Buttigieg and Smith. This is what day two looks like. She is not letting Buttigieg read her book, Any Given Tuesday: A Political Love Story, ahead of publication day. Id worked for former [Former Maryland Gov.] Behind the scenes, Id get keep your head up emails from senior de Blasio aides, but when it came to the press, it seemed their attitude was more along the lines of off with her head. With Bill de Blasio, that was a different situation. I had gone through this awful breakup [with former New York Gov. Its just that I think with both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris that it would do the administration good to get out there a little bit more, and not to let the media and the Twitter dialogue get in your head, because most people dont speak like Pete Buttigieg in these beautiful, poetic, perfectly formed sentences. My advice is just go out there more, communicate more. Its sad, but our politics isnt built to deal with people who are reasonable. Democratic Political strategist and former Pete Buttigieg 2020 campaign advisor Lis Smith trashed former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio during a Monday interview with MSNBC host Nicolle. This story has been shared 127,012 times. Martin OMalley, who got like 1 percent in the Iowa Caucuses. Buttigieg has gotten a number of lavish long-form features, so many that some have jokingly wondered whether Smith is getting paid by the profile. She has also directed communications and strategy for a number of other gubernatorial, mayoral and congressional campaigns. Pete asked the bouncer what the scene was like inside, and the bouncer told him it was lit. The term was lost on him. [44] Smith plays the violin.[44]. That is not the typical relationship of adviser to political principal, but typical is not a word people use about Smith. Even TMZ got in the act LEO DICAPRIO OFFERED BUTTIGIEG HELP DURING 2020 RUN, trumpeted the chyron. Wren: What do you look for in a candidate? The attack we had been dreading was coming. To avoid stakeouts during the media frenzy that followed, Smith said she temporarily stayed with a friend from her college days at Dartmouthwho resided on the Upper West Side. [17] She has been included in Fortune's 40 Under 40 in Government and Politics,[18] and Crain's list of the 50 Most Powerful Women in New York. These days, Smith seems to be heavily involved in promoting her new book. Maybe theres still time for me to choose a new life path because I felt extremely disillusioned. And so much of my book is about the power of belief and the element of belief that it takes to succeed in professional football, in politics, and hes the one who brought that belief back for me, and brought my love my pure love of politics back for me. God, you fucked that up. Smith is now Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio's spokeswoman and is dating Spitzer. Its about hustling for opportunities. [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. It takes the edge off a bit. [42] The relationship ended her role in de Blasio's mayoral campaign after tabloids published stories about it. | Mark Peterson/Redux, Yuki Iwamura/Redux. Lis Smith on Pete Buttigieg's campaign bus during a. | All Rights Reserved. [19], In 2020, Smith was one of six political experts named as fellows by the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service. In 2001, she graduated Bronxville High School. In that same vein, I know that there were people in the transportation secretarys inner circle that thought his taking that position wasnt the best idea. This story has been shared 102,835 times. Whats that like? At the newsstand around the corner, you could buy a New York magazine with Buttigiegs beatifically smiling face splashed across the cover, and a New York Times with an A1 story about his time at Harvard. In real life, I have a really close-knit family. How hard-chargingNew Yorkoperative Lis Smith helpedturn an obscure Indianamayorinto a national name. Also how many, like, mind-games campaigns are playing with others. [31][32], Smith is also known for her commentary and analysis of United States politics. While working for the Obama campaign she met David Axelrod, whom Smith considers a mentor. Lis Smith, Buttigieg's top communications adviser . Hes someone I ask for advice. The thing with Terry McAuliffe is that hes in on the joke. This story has been shared 151,667 times. 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. But you know, more importantly, through some trial and error, over this very long career, I learned the importance of letting candidates be candidates, right? Smith had moved to New York in 2013 to work for Eliot Spitzer, the disgraced former governor who had stepped down in a prostitution scandal. Smith said she learned a hard lesson: Even a professional cant try to manage a personal crisis without help. He was also married. Wren: When you started working with Aftab Pureval did Pete feel like you were two-timing him with another Midwestern mayor of a river city with a funny name? Wren: I want a window into how you advise candidates amid a crisis. You couldnt have pulled off that strategy with a Bill de Blasio. A Democratic candidate in West Virginia is going to look very different from a Democratic candidate in New York, and we cant impose this one-size-fits-all thing and think that the Democratic Party is going to be a majority party. Its an inherent conflict of interest. Part of it with him is the persona. ELIOT AND DeBABE blared the cover of the New York Post, which ran several photos of the pair on its inside pages and in a column from the acid-tongued Andrea Peyser which called Smith not just any ordinary bimbo and called her an ambitious, youngish cookie who presumably does not charge Eliot for any services rendered., Eliot Spitzer and Lis Smith at a Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden in 2014. 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. The "Dame of Dish" passed away on Sunday. Keep in mind she was 22 at the time, Smith said. I have a really close-knit group of friends who have nothing to do with politics. Liz Smith, the syndicated gossip columnist who chronicled the lives of New York's rich and famous with such skill she became known as the "Dame of Dish . Then there was what I did next: jumped off the cliff. Ahead of the release of her highly anticipated political memoir (which Politico Magazine excerpted last week), that includes figuring out how to get her computer to record our phone interview ammo to use in the event that its needed to set the record straight. Through the DNC race and afterward, Smith treated the national political press like it was another constituency that needed to be courted. And its going to be really important to have a woman sort of leading the charge on these issues, who is able to really empathize with the despair a lot of women are feeling. What I realized from my time working in politics is how much mystery there still is around this industry. There is this thing that I have to be very honest with, because maybe I had been seen as a little radioactive because I had unwillingly had my private life spread all over the tabloids, more established candidates might not have hired me. What is Lis Smiths secret sauce? My end goalsbeing able to stay in New York with Eliot and serve as the New York City mayors press secretarywere in sight. [36][37][38] She also has an active social media presence, through which she addresses political topics and factchecks statements by Republican politicians such as Mitt Romney. They have grown to like and trust each other. Gripping reads, smart analysis and a bit of high-minded fun. Adam Wren: In the beginning, you scored the contract for this book based on your high-profile turn as a senior communications adviser to Pete Buttigieg. Except then it didnt. In fact, other than Spitzer, Smith appears to have been flying solo for the last few years. He was out there. And if people like it they like it, and if they dont they were probably never going to vote for you anyway.. So the Post is about to report that Im dating Eliot Spitzer. Smith has been exploring the idea of renting a bus, and just as McCain did, inviting reporters aboard to travel and fire away at Buttigieg with any question they want, all day, day after day. Youve got this hard-nosed New York-style political operative and this friendly Hoosier mayor, he said. The story of American presidential politics is in part the story of the consiglieres who steer the candidate along the path: The person who pushes them forward, comforts them when the campaign flails, plots long-term strategy and tactical short-term advantage, bends the ear of the press corps and makes the public case for a candidate in ways the candidate cannot. The Post ran the exclusive photos of Spitzer ducking in and out of the Soho walk-up. In crisis PR mode, Lis Smith told top Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa to 'just have your fucking assistant text people' and 'this is insane' as sexual harassment scandal blew up. Like we saw with Hillary Clinton, women are sometimes held to a different standard. She led Buttigieg on a series of one-on-one meetings over beer, coffee, lunch or cigars with what used to be known as the Gang of 500those reporters, producers and pundits who shape much of the nations political coverage. [11][12] In 2018, Smith became spokeswoman for Andrew Cuomo's successful re-election campaign, who had endorsed the political entity. And when he was asked about that, he gave a really strong answer, and he took responsibility for things he did do in South Bend or things he didnt do in South Bend. It wasnt an ideal situation, but it taught me a lot, Smith says. Its a local-politics mentality to find the people that are going to be telling this story, and if nothing else, making sure they have a real understanding of who you are. Smith starts texting me, wanting to know if Id seen the celebrities in the audience, including George Takei, Kal Penn and Kate McKinnon. Lis Smith was supposed to become de Blasio's press secretary until The Post revealed that she was dating former Gov. She puts the word fuck through every part of speech the word can be bent into: noun, pronoun, gerund, verb, term of endearment, sobriquet, epithet, honorific. A text arrives from John Weaver, a top adviser to former Ohio Governor John Kasich. Bill de Blasio, too. The photographer also snapped Spitzer leaving Smiths apartment early the next morning wearing a skullcap and hooded sweatshirt, Not exactly the wardrobe of an innocent man, she notes. The good candidates have humility. Lis Smith entered politics after watching The War Room, the 1992 documentary about Bill Clinton's successful bid for the presidency. [44] She describes herself as an "oyster-tarian," which she defines as a vegetarian who will eat oysters. I thought you had cancer or something. He motioned to the bartender again`Well take two shots of Jameson on top of that roundbefore turning back to me and clearing his throat. Your knowledge of the process? Still, she still sought to rationalize her relationship with Spitzer. 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. The spotlight turns to Kamala Harris, the only Black candidate on stage. AFP via Getty Images She dished about the former mayor's. Weaver says that recreating that atmosphere in the days of Twitter, and in the days when the national political press corps has metastasized into a constantly hungry and multiheaded beast equipped with cell phones, is 10 times harder than when his team tried it in 1999. Obama had David Axelrod. Shes a Black half-South-Indian woman. I think I am impressive because I am a violinist and I went to Dartmouth and I speak French and have traveled all over the world and, I dont know, I know a lot about great apes, she says. I am here to get you clips. This sign-up form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Theyre out in country working on campaigns. Click here. What is this new phase of your career about? How consequential was that looking back? Weve got that Joey Burrow swag, but he does have humility to him. She became obsessed with the idea of working for him, then became further obsessed when she actually met him, and developed the notion that once people got to meet him they would start to like him. She knew Axelrod from 2012, when she worked as director of rapid response for President Barack Obamas reelection effort. The New York tabs may have sharpened her game, but people who've known her for years say Smith came ready for the fight. And I am,' Smith toldWalzak. I romanticize it. That means that shes held to a different standard than sometimes other candidates. She was my girlfriend., Later, says Smith, when he was a state lawmaker, I would say to her, I am going to talk to such-and-such group, and she would tell me, This is what you should say. And I would say to her, Lis, I am not going to say that, its not my style, its not going to work. Built to deal with people who are reasonable sought to rationalize her relationship with Spitzer the eatery at around a.m.! 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