Opinion: Harris' 'Call Her Daddy' podcast interview was a smart way to excite her base

On Sunday, Vice President Kamala Harris made a consequential media appearance of this election cycle. It wasn’t with a mainstream news outlet or a local station. It was with Alex Cooper, the host of the hit podcast “Call Her Daddy.”

“I urge all the Daddy Gang: Don’t hear ‘no,’ ” Harris advised at one point, using the term Cooper calls her fans.

While I was surprised to hear that the vice president would be making an appearance on a podcast, the decision could prove to be a smart move that motivates a bloc of voters – Gen Z and millennial women, specifically – to go out and vote. "Call Her Daddy" was one of the most listened to podcasts on Spotify last year, second only to "The Joe Rogan Experience." The podcast also has 2.4 million followers on Instagram and 3.9 million followers on TikTok.

The decision to host Harris is in line with what we know about Gen Z women. Women under 30 are more liberal than previous generations, and Harris is leading 70% among among likely female voters in that age range.

In an election this close, Harris' appearance on the show could prove to be a smart move to get out her base at the same time Donald Trump is riling MAGA voters up.

What did Kamala Harris talk about on 'Call Her Daddy'?

Clad in a violet hoodie and heeled boots, Cooper asked Harris relatively easy questions about a range of topics that affect women. The conversation was friendly and frank, a far cry from the limited full-length interviews Harris has done with the mainstream news media since announcing her bid for the presidency.

They spoke about how a high school friend’s story of sexual abuse inspired her to become the top prosecutor in California. In one poignant moment, the two discussed the steps women should take when they are being sexually abused.

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A portion of the interview focused on abortion access. At one point, they spoke about Amber Thurman, a Georgia woman who died in 2022 after having complications from a medication abortion.

Other topics discussed in the 40-minute interview included student loan debt – the first time I’ve heard someone ask Harris about this on the campaign trail – as well as her economic plan.

The rise of the 'Call Her Daddy' podcast

“Call Her Daddy” was started in 2018 by Cooper and her roommate at the time, Sofia Franklyn. The stories of their sexual exploits as young women in New York City quickly caught the attention of Barstool founder and CEO Dave Portnoy, who signed the duo to his company soon after airing.

In 2020, Franklyn left the show over salary negotiations. Cooper then signed a $60 million three-year deal with Spotify, according to Variety, pivoting to more intimate interviews with the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and Miley Cyrus.

More recently, she inked an even bigger deal with SiriusXM to provide exclusive content on satellite radio starting in 2025.

Clearly, Cooper is not a mainstream media journalist, something she acknowledged at the top of the episode.

“At the end of the day, I couldn’t see a world in which one of the main conversations in this election is women, and I’m not a part of it,” she said of her decision to interview Harris.

That sentiment is exactly why Harris went on the show.

“Call Her Daddy” is the fifth most listened to podcast among U.S. women. Nearly 8 in 10 listeners to “Call Her Daddy” are under 35, and about half of her listenership identifies as Democrat while a quarter are Republican.

This is the Harris base.

Harris knows she has to reach past mainstream media

Much like Harris’ foray into "brat summer" and the decision to invite influencers to the Democratic National Convention, her campaign is trying to reach Gen Z where they are instead of relying on the mainstream media to make the case for her presidency.

It’s a smart move, considering that younger generations are less likely to trust traditional national news outlets than older folks.

In meeting these voters where they are and aided by Cooper’s soft line of questioning, Harris used the moment to really introduce herself to the young women who listen to “Call Her Daddy.” She stressed the issues that young women specifically care about and encouraged them to think of voting as a form of power.

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The decision to interview Harris was not without controversy, for both the Democratic nominee and the host. A New York Post headline called Harris' appearance "a joke." Cooper has faced criticism from fans for tackling politics on the show in the first place.

Critics of Harris will say she wasted her time talking to an audience that was already likely to vote for her, but I disagree. Critics of Cooper will say she failed to ask important questions, like about hurricane relief efforts and immigration. But at the end of the day, both women accomplished what the interview set out to do: reintroduce Harris to a friendly audience and stress the importance of this election.

While I doubt anyone is going to change their mind about voting just because of an interview, it was a smart move for Harris to go on the show and make a case for why she should be our next president.

Follow USA TODAY elections columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno