Maybe Im done. Its about getting to know people and them getting to know you, Buttigieg says when I see him after the Brooklyn fundraiser, where he at least pretends to recall our earlier meeting and what we talked about. Now she has carefully orchestrated her own books launch doling out choice anecdotes to her beloved New York tabloids: De Blasio didnt trust NYPD security to keep secrets, ex-aide Lis Smith claims, blared one headline, which elicited an on the record statement from De Blasio himself. 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. She recalled tellingde Blasio chief of staff Phil Walzak over drinks that she and Spitzer were a couple. 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. My observation, said Axelrod, who worked with Smith on Obamas 2012 reelection campaign, is that she is the quiet hero of his emergence.. Wren: Lets talk about another Cincinnatian: Joey Burrow, your Bengals politically outspoken quarterback. Still, she still sought to rationalize her relationship with Spitzer. Wren: Could see a political career for him? Im just going to leave it there because I thought it was funny. It was a slim path. Wren: Did you have a good handle before the campaign on Petes vulnerabilities? He laid out his case for how a millennial municipal official from a town the size of a New York City Council district could somehow seize the Democratic nomination. Lis Smith entered politics after watching The War Room, the 1992 documentary about Bill Clinton's successful bid for the presidency. Smith: I dont know, because I think one thing we saw was that he was pretty good about handling stuff. Maybe they wont focus on the former reigning champion [Spitzer], for once. Lets be real, Adam. Theyre just not looking in the right places. Smith: All the good candidates are comfortable in their own skin. Lis Smith Net Worth 2023, Age, Height, Relationships, Married, Dating, Family, Wiki Biography. [33][34][35] She has written for publications such as The New York Times, Vanity Fair and The Washington Post. She and Spitzer then jetted to Jamaica to get away from the media frenzy. Okay, so Im working for tabloid target #1 in Bill de Blasio. Not possible, Smith says. Smith said she felt violated after learning she was being followed. [2][3] During her time at Dartmouth, she volunteered for John Edwards' 2004 presidential campaign. | Scott Olson/Getty Images, Lis has an insurgent mentality, said Axelrod, a top aide for both of President Obamas campaigns. [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 guy didnt have time to say hello before Smith could hear screaming over the line. They lead with emotion. There were, Smith guesses, probably 150 such meetings with the national press corps, and when he traveled across the country, speaking to local county party dinners and fundraisers across the Midwest and Great Plains, they would make time for one-on-ones with the local political press there, too. You write: Here we go said Larry Grisolano, Petes media consultant, stating the obvious. 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. Maybe a story that would be 80-20 bad you can get down to 60-40 bad, and that little bit is worth it.. When they gave me the job I thought, first of all this job exists? Seeing how Pete cuts through with people and what a truly effective messenger hes become for the Democratic Party, it makes you realize: Theres not just one Mayor Pete. Terry McAuliffe, and President Barack Obama, Lis Smith is finally flacking for Lis Smith. | Wren: Much has been made about Trump Derangement Syndrome this idea that, true or not, he scrambles rational political responses from otherwise reasonable people. 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 two of us talked this week about Buttigiegs political future, whether Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow could jump into politics, and the ingredients of a good political candidate. Published on July 13, 2022 06:12 PM. 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. Unless youre a total psychopath . The White House Correspondents Dinner is shrinking back to the boring awards ceremony journalists claimed to prefer. Wren: You write pretty transparently in the book about times youve been fooled by a candidate. Whats especially important to me, is, you know, making sure to take a lot of young women under my wing. January 25 2022 01:38 PM A prosecution barrister has told a non-jury court it will hear evidence that Lisa Smith's husband took a sniper course on her advice while he was carrying out border. She knew Axelrod from 2012, when she worked as director of rapid response for President Barack Obamas reelection effort. And so my advice would just be, get out there more, especially with Kamala, go out there more. She is a talented communicator. After news broke on the relationship, more photos were released, and Smith was eventually forced to come clean to fellow campaign members about the love match she had formed with Spitzer. [39] Time and Politico included her on their lists of the best political Twitter feeds. But I love politics because it touches everything in our lives. [2][11], She was the deputy campaign manager for the Martin O'Malley 2016 presidential campaign. [6] She became communications director for the Democratic Governors Association in 2011. 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. He lives in New York. Even in decline, AM radio matters more than you might think. [2] In 2014, she became a communication consultant for Adriano Espaillat's congressional campaign. But he is also the kind of person journalists tend to like: bookish, somehow earnest with a sense of irony, and willing to talk the way journalists like people to talk, playing the pundit and getting into the political process and discussing his own ambitions. 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? You can unsubscribe at any time and you can contact us here. 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. And when I began asking around to figure out who was behind that strategy, the same name kept coming up: Lis Smith. You dont reach out to the 35-year-old gay mayor of South Bend, Indiana, because you think it will be an easy ride.. Wren: You mentioned that some people might view you as radioactive. Wren: What is your relationship with Pete like now? Martin OMalley, who got like 1 percent in the Iowa Caucuses. With her signature black bob, dark sunglasses, and red lipstick, Lis Smith cuts a striking figure in the world of politics . Smith did not let anyone featured in the book read it ahead of time, not even former principals like Buttigieg or Cuomo, whom she levels in the book in the way her beloved Cincinnati Bengals new right tackle Lael Collins might decimate an opposing player. She most recently worked as a senior advisor in communications to presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg. Jason Bergman for POLITICO. Isis bride Lisa Smith's husband was British Jihadist Sajid Aslam During an investigation conducted by the Irish Mail on Sunday, she said that Aslam, the father of her daughter, is dead - having been killed in the past three months. But Smith is still sour that de Blasio let her hang out to dry. | 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. [13][14], Smith met Pete Buttigieg on the recommendations of Axelrod and OMalley when he was considering running for Democratic National Committee chair in 2017 and became a consultant for the campaign. But it is kind of fascinating to watch., Smith met Buttigieg on the recommendation of Axelrod and former Maryland Governor Martin OMalley. Smith: I think a lot of people get a very one-dimensional view of me. Usually, it was all good-natured. Smith says thats worth it. Politics is really personal to me. There was only one path for us to break through. Smith has been studying the effort, reaching out to reporters who were there, and has been in regular contact with John Weaver, who helped engineer it. 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. What is Lis Smiths secret sauce? Theres a public Terry and a private Terry. 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 the car, wed go back and forth on random trivia, and pulling up things on Google. I think its just shaped up to be a perfect role for him. A text arrives from John Weaver, a top adviser to former Ohio Governor John Kasich. In fact, other than Spitzer, Smith appears to have been flying solo for the last few years. Political strategist Lis Smith reveals in her new book how The Post exposed that she was dating prostitution-loving former Gov. Its that everyday when I go into work to try and get these people elected its because it will impact lives. And its something that forever Ill be thankful to him for. He knows the importance of building up our bench. 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. Mistakes that Ive made with media. Wren: You and Pete have very different brands. I really did feel he treated me as an equal. The scandal would serve as a distraction for both Smith and mayor-elect de Blasio but the political crisis communications guru thought she could ride out the storm. Weve seen a lot of cataclysmic things happen. Click here. Its a super-aggressive thing to do. Are you kidding me? Eliot Spitzer's girlfriend Lis Smith, 31, has not been asked to take up a position in New York mayor Bill de Blasio's new City Hall team in the wake of her affair with the disgraced former governor. How much of his success was because of you, and how much was because of him? People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. My end goalsbeing able to stay in New York with Eliot and serve as the New York City mayors press secretarywere in sight. I know of one person in particular who said you were making a catastrophic career mistake working for a total nobody. He did. Wren: This book is in some ways a tell-all about the role of a political consultant. And what Pete understood, and why I believed in him, was that to beat Trump, we didnt need to be him. [40], Smith dated Missouri politician Jeff Smith after meeting him at Dartmouth and handled some of his publicity during his campaign. Not long after that, at the presidential primary debate in Miami on June 27, you take us inside the greenroom backstage as you watched Pete get asked about this incredibly fraught moment. Elliot Spitzer (pictured), the election of Donald Trump and former Maryland Gov. There is nothing too big for her. The "Dame of Dish" passed away on Sunday. That was my philosophy. Lis Smith Wiki Bio: Age, Husband, Net Worth, Children, Education, Career, Family, LinkedIn. Also how many, like, mind-games campaigns are playing with others. 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. Pete helped pull back that part of me, because while that might work when youre dealing in the New York tabloids, that doesnt sell as well in the Des Moines Register. The Covid pandemic. [31][32], Smith is also known for her commentary and analysis of United States politics. If you read through the many, many profiles written of presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg in the past several months, its hard not to notice just how many reporters happen to have had personal encounters with the candidate, often months before he was in the headlines. It was written over a period of 18 months,[25] and covers her life and political career. But they did teach me the importance of always making sure that candidates are reflecting the values of their voters. Theyre out in country working on campaigns. 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. She is the most competitive person I have ever known.. Hes going to sound so elitist. Or: Why does he have to answer every question with a proverb? Voters can smell when candidates are being authentic, and when candidates are not. Buttigieg reignited Smiths love for politics, she says, after a really difficult 2015 and 2016 due to her breakup with former New York Gov. Lis Smith, a Democratic communications operative, has written a memoir that pulls back the curtain on how campaigns are won and lost. Miller is darkly. I lost the media war thatId thought I commanded, Smith said. The bad candidates are people who are insecure, who put their finger in the wind, who dont trust their instincts enough and dont have the backbone to do the right things. Smith double majored in government and anthropology at Dartmouth College, graduating in 2005. 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. But I understand that what I do isnt just a game. A lot of people people whose opinion you respect told you that you were nuts when you chose to work for Pete. My mood changed when the Post story popped. She did, however, date a married man while serving as a campaign aide to former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. "[30] Some critics felt that it minimized her role in discrediting the sexual assault allegations against Cuomo. Pete asked the bouncer what the scene was like inside, and the bouncer told him it was lit. The term was lost on him. He's on his way into a black car to do Maddow. She ran it like he was trying to be president, getting him in front of as many microphones as she could. This 35-Year-Old Mayor From Indiana Is Wowing National Democrats The New Republic declared. She has also directed communications and strategy for a number of other gubernatorial, mayoral and congressional campaigns. Andrew Cuomo, had turned into a Nicorette-chomping ahole who ruined the lives of his staffers after letting national fame get to his head during the coronavirus pandemic. I see Donald Trump win the White House, which like everyone else, Im flabbergasted. It was total bullst. For example, you write in your book about going to a pop-up bar in South Bend with Pete and his best friend and campaign manager, Mike Schmuhl. Other candidates, they dont need to do it. Did I think I was going to walk into his office and tell him that I was dating Eliot Spitzer? On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. I want Republicans to read this book. Its just a personal part of my book. Whats that like? 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. In real life, I have a really close-knit family. Lis Smith, Buttigieg's top communications adviser . The actress who is the daughter of the late Lisa Marie Presley and musician Danny Keough met. I consider him a friend . Obama had David Axelrod. George Bush had Karl Rove; Bill Clinton had James Carville. Less than 24 hours after announcing the end of his marriage, former Gov. Even TMZ got in the act LEO DICAPRIO OFFERED BUTTIGIEG HELP DURING 2020 RUN, trumpeted the chyron. This is how we stop there from being a day three. Wren: Youre a very competitive person. They are already well-known.. [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. And if people like it they like it, and if they dont they were probably never going to vote for you anyway.. Yeah, I guess Id fallen in love with slightly problematic guy It wasnt like I was dating Ted BundyEliot was the former governor and attorney general of New York State, Smith said, referring to the serial killer. This is what day two looks like. My advice is just go out there more, communicate more. In my book, I sort of get at this, but we are sort of an odd couple. Smith: You never say never. She is 36, a year younger than Buttigieg, which, Thank God. Most people do have nerdy sides to them. I had gone through this awful breakup [with former New York Gov. 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. When you do more interviews, it reduces that gotcha instinct with the press, it reduces that cat and mouse game. Because even power needs a day off. I have talked to all the guys who see in the shots. [11][12] In 2018, Smith became spokeswoman for Andrew Cuomo's successful re-election campaign, who had endorsed the political entity. But I appreciate his courage in being willing to speak out about it. Smith: One of the reasons I wanted to write this book was because when I was thinking at 19 or 20 about getting into this world, [a book like this] didnt exist. And as you saw on Fox News Sunday, as I went to bed last night, [his clip] has 8 million views. She orders a beer, downs it and orders another. Spitzer leaves the apatment of Lis Smith at 5:44 a.m. on Dec. 19. And I am,' Smith toldWalzak. After his loss in the primary, Smith went to work on the winning election campaign and then the transition of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. After O'Malley's campaign, she advised several nonprofit organizations, and incumbent governors such as Montana governor Steve Bullock. But Joe Biden is president today, and Kamala Harris is his vice president. 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