The 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, like this presidential election itself, has been unlike any other in recent history, with Lil Jon popping up to perform “Turn Down for What,” Barack Obama mocking Donald Trump’s insecurity about the size of his…crowds, and the Democrats in attendance exhibiting an energy that would be shocking to a time traveler from late June.
Max Tani—the 32-year-old media editor at the news publication Semafor, where he’s known for his scoops, and a blunt and quick-witted voice on Twitter—has attended the conventions for years (including this year’s RNC) and confirms that the vibes are good, although more akin to a high school reunion than the kind of party where you’d normally encounter Lil Jon. And don’t get Tani started on the outfits. The convention-goers are “probably collectively one of the worst-dressed large groups of people that you could possibly imagine,” he says. We called him for his takes on all this and more, including the attendees “who would not be opposed to the idea of hooking up with someone who is not their significant other.”
You had a tweet go viral before you even arrived at the DNC, when former NYC mayor Bill DeBlasio missed his flight and you wound up with his seat. Have you crossed paths with him since then?
I haven’t seen him yet, but apparently he did not get on a flight for a full day. I did get flight updates from people who had seen the tweet and were sending me his real-time locations as well as pictures of him. It’s one of those situations where you tweet about something and then because of the success of the tweet, people give you more information than you ever would have wanted about the subject that you tweeted about. So, yes, I do know that Bill De Blasio got off his flight from New York [on Monday] at like 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. or something. But I haven’t seen him yet.
Kamala Harris’s ascension has energized the party. What’s the vibe on the floor? Is the convention actually…fun?
I think it’s definitely got more energy than it certainly would have had if Biden was still the nominee. It’s loud in the arena. It’s totally full. And we know that a lot more people, both individuals in the Democratic Party as well as celebrities and high-profile individuals who are Democrats, wanted to come after the nominee switch. It’s less downbeat and chaotic than [the DNC in] 2016 in Philadelphia, which was incredibly hot, really crowded, and pretty disorganized. The weather here is really nice and there are a lot fewer people upset about the results of the primary than in 2016.
So there is a clear division here between the people here who have to work and the people who are here to have fun. There’s parties and concerts every night. I think that most of the socializing starts pretty late, because all the speeches and everything ends at 10 or 11. So it definitely encourages people [who are] out partying to drink and do it pretty quickly because the bars are gonna close.
There is a contingent of people who are here to party and hook up. There is also definitely a contingent of people, especially younger people and also probably some older people as well, who would not be opposed to the idea of cheating on their significant other or hooking up with someone who is not their significant other—there’s an undercurrent of that. It’s an event in which people who don’t get to see each other very often or are seeing each other for the first time [get together]. It has a reunion vibe because it’s the only time when the party comes together, which is good [but] also a little strange, especially later on in the night.
How does this experience compare to the RNC so far?
The RNC was an interesting and kind of strange moment because Trump had just been shot and Biden hadn’t dropped out yet. So there was this general feeling among Republicans who were there that they were coasting to reelection, and so people were in really, really good moods. You didn’t hear as much anti-media anger, at least from other attendees, directed towards people like me. People were generally in a good mood and kind of friendly. It had the aura of a party that thought it was gonna win.
I think it’s actually really important because a lot of people don’t know who Kamala Harris is. She literally became the presumptive nominee just a few weeks ago, and most people don’t really know very much about her at all beyond the fact that she’s vice president. So it gives the [party] a really good opportunity to introduce her, and they’re kind of trying to make the most of it.
People online were bemoaning the use of the “cursed” 2016 anthem “Fight Song” ahead of Hillary Clinton’s speech on Monday. What was the reaction in the room when that came on?
I wasn’t in the arena when that happened, but I was watching it at one of the little [press] areas. There was definitely a clear divide between the Democratic partisans who were literally cheering and very, very excited and loved hearing Hillary—some people were literally clapping at the TV—and the journalists who have some PTSD. There were definitely some people who were laughing a little bit, but none of the Democrats—just members of the media.
What are some of the dominant style trends? Are most men still rocking dress sneakers and skintight khakis?
Not to state the obvious, but it’s probably collectively one of the worst-dressed large groups of people that you could possibly imagine. You’re combining two famously not particularly well-dressed groups of people and you’re putting them together, which is political staffers and journalists. If there are dominant style trends, they are the worst style trends that have defined professional dressing for the last 15 years or so. You’ve got the casual bad dress, which is a plaid or checkered long-sleeve button-down shirt, untucked with tapered slim-fit jeans and Allbirds. That type of guy is here in large quantities. Then you have the guys who are trying to do business casual in a pretty poorly executed manner, which is slim-to-skinny-fit jeans with a suit jacket on top and some dress sneakers or chunky-soled sneakers. And then you have your standard political staffer [wearing] like Ludlow J.Crew suits and big pointy dress shoes—navy suits and brown dress shoes. It’s bleak.
Describe your fit today. Are you dressing any differently for this than you would on a normal day in Brooklyn?
It’s kind of an uncomfortable event to dress for because you’re like, Am I gonna choose to dress up for this event in which nobody really knows how to dress particularly well? Or am I gonna try to fit in? I try to straddle the line. Yesterday I wore my Mohawk General Store suit, which is black seersucker, and some plain speakers. It definitely was not what other people were wearing in the sense that the pants had any sort of room in them at all. Today I’m wearing this gray Brooklyn Tailors suit, which is more of a classic cut. They invited the influencers this year, so I’m seeing some mullets out there. I’ve seen some truly super baggy pants and some, like, Oakleys and stuff. You saw that at the RNC, but in an unironic way.
Harris has achieved a remarkable turnaround with her image. She was not highly rated in the 2020 primaries, and some argued that she was sidelined or ineffective as vice president. How important, if at all, was the press to repositioning her as a dynamic, exciting presidential candidate?
The news media is very much following the story. While I think that the media had a pretty large role in the critical coverage of Biden after his debate and continuing to raise questions about his fitness for reelection, what’s going on right now is the media is just following along with the rest of the public, and a lot of the reason for that is because a lot of these decisions that the Harris campaign is making, they’re being made on the fly. A lot of the big moments that people are remembering about her campaign so far are completely organic, like the Charli XCX tweet. A lot of the stuff is pretty serendipitous. I think that the news media’s role in this is very similar to the role of the public, which is reacting to the situation that’s going on right now. And I think over the next few weeks and months you’re gonna see more very basic questions like, Who is Kamala Harris? What does she stand for? But for now the media is just watching, just like everybody else.
As a reporter, do you ever find yourself moved by certain speeches or events like Biden stepping aside, or does professional obligation or habit insulate you?
Obviously, it’s my job to see things in the most fair and impartial way possible, so I do have a level of remove. But at the same time, I’m a human being, and of course there are moments [that move me], particularly as people talk about their biographical details. The conventions are meant to humanize these people, and if you’re not moved at various moments by the things people are sharing, maybe that’s something to think about.
Are there any media narratives coming out of the convention that you think are off base?
There were a lot of stories that were written about how this convention could have been a lot like 1968. They were both in Chicago and they both came during these unpopular wars that were being waged, with large potential protests disrupting Democratic incumbent presidents. [But] that really hasn’t so much been the case. It’s been really, really mellow in comparison to some of these stories that people were writing about how the convention was gonna be just like the chaos of 1968. That narrative ended up kind of being something that the media created.
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