Typically, the sign that a party is bad is that all the guests are glued to their phones. A post-convention gathering in Chicago aimed to do just that.
Late Tuesday night, another group of liberals with a distinct identity of their own gathered at an exclusive, carefully curated event: the Hotties for Harris after-party.
The party focused on feminism, sex and its consequences. The messages adorning the walls, in shades of pink and army green, were designed to shock – the exact kind of content that works well on platforms like TikTok.
The bill for the morning-after emergency contraceptives was being distributed from a gumball machine. “Plan B, yum yum yum,” the machine said. In fact, early pregnancy tests, morning-after pills and medicines for urinary tract infections were distributed in every room at the event.
The event organizers strived to provide a sensory experience for content creators who could share their message on social media platforms.
Upon entering, there was a “wall of weirdos.” J.D. Vance, of course, was hanging in a portrait high on the wall, alongside a prominent photograph of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, Donald Trump, his two children, Sen. Marco Rubio, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Jim Jordan, among others.
The next wall was the “salon of beauties.” No Republicans graced this wall. Governor Tim Walz had a portrait front and center alongside Kamala Harris. They were joined by portraits of Doug Emhoff, Joe Biden, Stacey Adams, Jason Kelce, Ariana Grande, Nancy Pelosi and Olivia Rodrigo.
The portraits have little in common physically, and neither has ever appeared on the cover of People magazine’s “Most Beautiful” issue. So what is “sexy” to Harris?
‘Sex’ is generally a trait assigned by outside observers, but the organizers of this group want people to identify themselves as sexy.
They say Doug Emhoff is a hottie because he supports his wife Harris’ career, considers her his equal and doesn’t conform to traditional gender roles.
They say Walz is a hot guy because he signed up to be the founding faculty advisor for his school’s gay/straight alliance in 1999.
“Supporting women’s rights is sexy. Being anti-abortion is not,” said Liz Plank, who uses the Instagram handle @feministabulous and has nearly 600,000 followers.
“As a woman who has frozen her eggs and plans to pursue IVF, I am horrified that JD Vance wants to take away our right to have a family. Men who take away women’s rights are not modest or very conscientious.”
The harassment of JD Vance was a recurring theme at the event, even more so than that of Trump.
Next to a gaudy gold couch with a tag reading “property of J.D. Vance,” stood a statue of the vice presidential candidate. “This statue honors J.D. Vance, the clumsiest man in America,” it said, listing rhyming, alliterative nicknames like “the bearded weirdo” and “the awkward guy.”
Throughout the event, there were signs claiming that a Trump presidency would mean the end of sex.
“Sex may soon be illegal! Everyone must leave,” “Trump-Vance. Sex ends November 5th,” “Stop sex, vote Republican!” read some of them. “Tim Walz made me get laid!” read one.
Party favors also included sleep masks labeled “my kink is equality” and drinks included coconuts with straws and cocktail umbrellas — a reference to Harris’ now-infamous line about falling out of a coconut tree.
In another room there were arcade-style games like “Whack a weird policy” and “Skeetball on abortion access.”
There was a “feminist mini-golf” where each hole had a different theme: a “single women with cats” hole was adorned with cats, there was a “men-splaining” hole, and a “period tax” hole adorned with tampons.
Rapper Megan Thee Stallion debuted ‘hotties for Harris’ at a campaign rally on July 30.
“For me, being a Harris Girl means we have fun, we dance, we listen to fun music, we have fun, we have fun. We talk about reproductive health care and what it means to have freedom in all aspects of our lives,” Mariana Pecora, a spokesperson for the youth advocacy group Voters of Tomorrow, told DailyMail.com.
Back at the United Center for the Democratic National Convention, influencers have displaced traditional journalists for space and access, while Harris’ team is betting big on viral online videos that will help get their message across to young people.
The DNC has credentialed more than 200 “content creators,” giving a first-time recognition to YouTube, TikTok and Instagram stars who command young followings often unreached by traditional media.
A new poll by Voters of Tomorrow found that 67 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds had heard of Project 2025, the leftist political plan from the Heritage Foundation that has been criticized by even Trump himself. Sixty-five percent of them had heard about it through social media.
“Social media and specifically organic user-generated content that comes from an authentic place, from young people, is driving the information ecosystem around this election cycle in a way that’s really important,” Pecora said.
“Our generation is increasingly dominating the electorate. In 2028, young people and millennials will be the largest voting bloc.”
