Campaign HQ with David Plouffe

Latest Episodes:

The Man In Trumps Head May 07, 2020

Show notes

The Lincoln Project’s Rick Wilson joins David to discuss the Lincoln Project’s Mourning In America ad, and Trump’s reaction. The Lincoln Project’s mission statement is to “Defeat President Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box.” and adds that “electing Democrats who support the Constitution over Republicans who do not is a worthy effort.”

Presidential Historian Jon Meacham on lessons from the past. Apr 30, 2020

Show notes

Presidential Historian Jon Meacham joins David for a look at what history tells us about the current election. Jon’s new podcast Hope Through History explores some of the most historic and trying times in American History, and how this nation dealt with these moments, the impact of these moments and how we came through these moments a unified nation.

Battleground Bonanza Apr 23, 2020

Show notes

Dan Wagner, CEO of Civis and Analytics and Chief Analytics Officer on Barack Obama's 2012 election campaign joins David to discuss his take on the pathway to victory for Joe Biden in core battleground states and how the pandemic alters the tactics to achieve those vote goals.

The Economy Apr 16, 2020

Show notes

How bad will it get and what can be done to prevent the worst? What was smart about the CARES act, what was lacking and what needs to be in the next relief package. How should Joe Biden handle the crisis in the campaign? David is joined by Austan Goolsbee who served as the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers President Obama and currently serves on the Economic Advisory Panel to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as well as teaching economics at the University of Chicago.

The Incumbent Advantage Apr 09, 2020

Show notes

Longtime Democratic strategist Jim Messina, who served as the campaign manager during Barack Obamas re-election bid in 2012, discusses the advantages of incumbency in presidential re-elects, what Biden needs to do to catch up and how the Covid-19 crisis may affect the contest.

What you can do online right now Apr 02, 2020

Show notes

Is your candidate on Pinterest and TikTok? What about World of Warcraft? Stefan Smith was Pete Buttigieg’s online engagement director and has some great ideas for people to get more involved in the election digitally, where Democrats need to invest more and the advantages of being everywhere.

“Will We Vote?” Mar 26, 2020

Show notes

Will we vote in November, how will we vote, and what will it take to protect elections this year and in the future? David is joined by Marc Elias, the leading voting rights and election attorney in the Democratic Party, to discuss all that and more.

Gangster Capitalism Season 2: The NRA Mar 25, 2020

Show notes

Gangster Capitalism is back. This season, the NRA is in the crosshairs. This past year has rocked the country’s most powerful special interest organization like none other. Internal power struggles have exposed the group’s questionable, and possibly illegal practices which now threaten the nearly 150 year old nonprofit like never before. We’re pulling back the curtain to reveal that this has little to do with guns. It’s about money.

Ron Klain, Obama’s Ebola czar on COVID-19, and Presidential debate. Mar 19, 2020

Show notes

Ron Klain, chief of staff to two U.S. vice presidents – Al Gore and Joe Biden, served as the United States Ebola response coordinator where he worked on both stopping the epidemic and shaping the economic response. Ron shares what he feels must be done to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and where the failures have been so far.

In the second half of the podcast, David and Ron speak about prepping Joe Biden for this year’s upcoming debates, a role he has played in the last 5 Presidential elections.

Ron currently co-hosts the podcast Epidemic

The CAFE Insider Podcast - the SCOTUS Showdown (with Preet Bharara and Anne Milgram) Mar 16, 2020

Show notes

CAFE Insider helps you make sense of law and politics. In this excerpt from the CAFE Insider podcast, former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and former New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram break down the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision in the first abortion case to come before the justices since Trump’s appointment of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. The case, June Medical Services LLC v. Russo, could threaten the long-standing legal precedent established in Roe v. Wade. For more CAFE Insider, visit cafe.com/insider.