Peter Daou

Last updated

Peter Daou
Born1965 (age 58–59) [1]
Beirut, Lebanon
Education American University of Beirut
New York University
Political party Independent (2020–present)
Democratic (before 2020)
Relatives Molly Jong-Fast (cousin)

Peter Daou (born 1965) is a Lebanese-American political activist, musician, and author. [2] [3] [4] A former member of the Democratic Party and advisor to Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign, Daou served as the campaign manager for Marianne Williamson's presidential campaign in the 2024 Democratic primaries for the month of April 2023, before joining the Independent presidential campaign of Cornel West as campaign manager in September 2023.

Contents

Early life

Daou was born and raised in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War. [5] At 15, he says he was conscripted by the Lebanese Forces, a Christian militia, and underwent three years of military training alongside his schooling. [6] He attended the American University of Beirut, and amid ongoing strife in Lebanon, moved to New York to study philosophy at New York University. [7] [8] Daou's father was Catholic and Daou was baptized into his father's faith. [9] Daou is of Jewish descent on his mother's side; his mother is an American who was born and raised in New York. [10]

Career

Music

During the 1990s, Daou was a producer and keyboardist, appearing on hundreds of remixes and recordings by artists including Björk, Frankie Knuckles, Miles Davis, Mariah Carey, and Diana Ross. A jazz pianist, he produced three #1 Billboard Club singles and was signed to Columbia Records and Universal Music Group. He toured the U.S. and Europe, and was featured in Vibe , Spin , Billboard , and Time . [11] Daou also formed The Daou, a New York City-based dance music group. [12] He and then-wife Vanessa Daou made a number of albums together in the latter part of the 1990s. [2]

Politics

Daou was an online communications adviser to the John Kerry 2004 presidential campaign. In 2006, when he was hired as a consultant by the Hillary Clinton campaign, The New York Times described him as "one of the most prominent political bloggers in the nation." [13]

According to The Washington Post in 2007, Daou was seen by early political bloggers "as the Yoda of the blogosphere because of the Daou Report, a comprehensive snapshot of the Web's blue and red blogs that he wrote until joining the Clinton campaign." [14] He led Hillary Clinton's digital operation in her 2008 campaign and was an outspoken Clinton advocate in 2016. [15]

During the 2020 primaries, Daou penned an op-ed for The Nation in which he implored Democrats, progressives, and leftists to move past their 2016 battles over the candidacy of Bernie Sanders, uniting behind a shared goal of defeating Trump. [16] In November 2019, he appeared on the Sanders campaign "Hear the Bern" podcast in support of the #NotMeUs movement. [17] In March 2020, he explained on The Intercept his support for Sanders and insights gained from past experience working for the Democratic Party's establishment. [18]

In 2019, Daou and his wife, Leela, became advisors to the progressive congressional campaigns of Lindsey Boylan (NY-10), Lauren Ashcraft (NY-12), Rebecca Parson (WA-06), and Melanie D'Arrigo (NY-03). [19] [20]

In April 2020, Daou posted on Twitter that he was leaving the Democratic Party. [21]

On February 14, 2022, Daou posted a tweet where he denounced capitalism and stated that he considers himself a non-specific "leftist". However, he views David Graeber as an influence and sympathizes with anarchism. [22]

In April 2023, Daou announced that he was joining the presidential campaign of Marianne Williamson as her campaign manager. He said he joined her campaign "because I've known her for years and deeply appreciate her lifelong dedication to helping people." [23]

In May 2023, Daou announced on Twitter that he was resigning from his campaign manager position of the presidential campaign of Marianne Williamson. [24] A few days later in a joint statement with the campaign, he cited his and his wife Leela Daou's obligations to care for their ailing parents. [25]

On September 10, 2023, Daou became the campaign manager of 2024 Green Party presidential candidate Cornel West. [26] [27] Daou told New Yorker interviewer Isaac Chotiner that "there has been a systemic eradication of all the routes that third parties can take, which is a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Let alone this constantly propagandistic vote shaming. Vote shaming is voter suppression." [28] In October 2023, Daou described West's decision to leave the Green Party to run for president as an independent by saying West wanted "to be 100 percent laser-focused on people as opposed to the party process." [29] On October 26, 2023, Daou announced via X (formerly Twitter) that he was resigning from West's campaign over "ongoing emotional distress" from the Israel–Hamas war, its effects in Gaza and the Biden administration's response. [30]

Media

Daou served as the chief executive of Shareblue Media (now The American Independent) and the co-founder of the media platform Verrit, which was shut down in 2018. [15] [31]

Daou and James Boyce claimed to have performed a founding role in the Huffington Post and said they were shut out of any profits from its sale to AOL. A suit was filed in 2010 by Daou and Boyce, which was settled in 2014. [32]

Daou is the author of Digital Civil War: Confronting the Far-Right Menace. [33] [34]

Personal life

Daou and Molly Jong-Fast are cousins. [35]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornel West</span> American philosopher and political activist (born 1953)

Cornel Ronald West is an American philosopher, theologian, political activist, social critic, actor, and public intellectual. The grandson of a Baptist minister, West's primary philosophy focuses on the roles of race, gender, and class struggle in American society. A socialist, West draws intellectual contributions from multiple traditions, including Christianity, the black church, democratic socialism, left-wing populism, neopragmatism, and transcendentalism. Among his most influential books are Race Matters (1993) and Democracy Matters (2004).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marianne Williamson</span> American author and politician (born 1952)

Marianne Deborah Williamson is an American author, speaker, and politician. She began her professional career as spiritual leader of the Church of Today, a Unity Church in Warren, Michigan. Williamson has written several self-help books, including A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles in 1992, which became a New York Times Best Seller. She was launched into prominence by Oprah Winfrey, being a frequent guest on her daytime talk show and becoming known as her "spiritual advisor".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jill Stein</span> American politician and physician (born 1950)

Jill Ellen Stein is an American physician, activist, and political candidate. She was the Green Party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2012 and 2016 elections and the Green-Rainbow Party's candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 2002 and 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 United States presidential election</span> 58th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket, businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of former secretary of state and First Lady of the United States Hillary Clinton and the junior senator from Virginia, Tim Kaine, in what was considered one of the biggest political upsets in American history. It was also the sixth presidential election in which both major party candidates were registered in the same home state; the others have been in 1860, 1904, 1920, 1940, and 1944.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neera Tanden</span> American political consultant (born 1970)

Neera Tanden is an American political consultant and government official serving as Director of the United States Domestic Policy Council since 2023. Tanden previously served as a senior advisor and staff secretary to President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2023 and as president of the Center for American Progress (CAP), a far-left policy research and advocacy organization, where she worked in different capacities since its founding in 2003 until she joined the Biden administration in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Parkhomenko</span> American political operative

Adam Julian Parkhomenko is an American political strategist and organizer who served in 2016 as the national field director for the Democratic National Committee. He was the co-founder and executive director of Ready for Hillary, a super PAC established to persuade Hillary Clinton to run for the presidency of the United States in 2016. In the 2017 party election, Parkhomenko was a candidate for vice chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Hillary Clinton is an American politician from the state of New York who was the Democratic Party's 2016 nominee for president of the United States. Clinton is the first woman in U.S. history to be nominated for president of the United States by a major political party. She was defeated in the 2016 general election by Republican Donald Trump.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign</span> First presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders

In the 2016 presidential campaign, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders sought the Democratic Party's nomination in a field of six major candidates and was the runner up with 46% of the pledged delegates behind former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who won the contest with 54%. Sanders, the junior United States senator and former Representative from Vermont, began with an informal announcement on April 30, 2015, and a formal announcement that he planned to seek the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States on May 26, 2015, in Burlington, Vermont. Sanders had been considered a potential candidate for president since at least September 2014. Though he had previously run as an independent, he routinely caucused with the Democratic Party, as many of his views align with Democrats. Running as a Democrat made it easier to participate in debates and get his name on state ballots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries</span> Selection of the Democratic Party nominee

Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 3,979 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention held on August 17–20 to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2020 United States presidential election. The elections took place in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and through Democrats Abroad, and occurred between February 3 and August 11.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kyle Kulinski</span> American political commentator (b. 1988)

Kyle Edward Kulinski is an American political commentator and media host. Kulinski is the host and producer of The Kyle Kulinski Show on his YouTube channel Secular Talk and is a co-host with his wife Krystal Ball on the progressive podcast Krystal Kyle & Friends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Verrit</span> 2017–18 American political website

Verrit was a liberal-leaning political site created by Peter Daou and his wife Leela Daou that showed talking points in card format for use in social media discussions. Each card contained a seven-digit identification code, allowing readers to verify that the card's content was unaltered.

The 2020 presidential campaign of Marianne Williamson, an author, was announced on January 28, 2019, after the initial formation of an exploratory committee on November 15, 2018. Williamson's bid for the Democratic nomination was her second political campaign, after previously running as an independent to represent California's 33rd congressional district in 2014. Prior to her candidacy, Williamson was known as "Oprah's spiritual adviser" due to her frequent appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

This is a timeline of major events leading up to, during, and after the 2024 United States presidential election. This will be the first presidential election to be run with population data from the 2020 census. In addition to the dates mandated by the relevant federal laws such as those in the U.S. Constitution and the Electoral Count Act, several milestones have consistently been observed since the adoption of the conclusions of the 1971 McGovern–Fraser Commission.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's Party (United States, 2017)</span> Minor political party in the United States

The People's Party is a syncretic political organization in the United States aimed at "forming a major new political party free of corporate money and influence."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries</span> Ongoing electoral process in the United States

Presidential primaries and caucuses are being organized by the Democratic Party to select the delegates to the 2024 Democratic National Convention, to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2024 United States presidential election. The elections will take place in most U.S. states, the District of Columbia, five U.S. territories, and Democrats Abroad, and will be held between January and June that year. Incumbent President Joe Biden is running for re-election with Vice President Kamala Harris returning as his running mate. On March 12, Biden secured enough delegates for re-nomination and was declared the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Green Party presidential primaries</span> Nominee selection for President of the United States

The 2024 Green Party presidential primaries and caucuses is a series of electoral contests to elect delegates to the 2024 Green National Convention who will choose the Green Party's presidential nominee in the 2024 presidential election. The 2024 Green National Convention is scheduled to be held as a virtual event from July 11 to 14, 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United States presidential election in Florida</span> Election in Florida

The 2024 United States presidential election in Florida is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, as part of the 2024 United States elections in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia will participate. Florida voters will choose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote. The state of Florida has 30 electoral votes in the Electoral College, following reapportionment due to the 2020 United States census in which the state gained a seat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marianne Williamson 2024 presidential campaign</span> American political campaign

Marianne Williamson—an author, political activist, and candidate for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 2020—announced her campaign for the 2024 United States presidential election on March 4, 2023. Williamson was the first major Democratic candidate to officially announce their candidacy, as President Joe Biden did not announce his re-election bid until April 2023. Williamson suspended her campaign on February 7, 2024, as a result of her losses in the New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada Democratic primaries. She later retracted her campaign suspension and officially rejoined the race on February 28, 2024, following her third place finish in the Michigan Democratic primary ahead of Dean Phillips, whose campaign was still active at the time. On April 7, she announced her intention to again suspend active campaigning by the end of that month.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornel West 2024 presidential campaign</span> United States electoral campaign

Cornel West, a philosopher, academic, and political activist, announced his campaign on June 5, 2023, in the 2024 US presidential elections as a People's Party candidate via a video on Twitter where he called for "truth and justice" and pledged to use the presidency to accomplish that.

References

  1. ↑ Klion, David (December 3, 2019). "What Happened to Peter Daou?". The New Republic. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  2. 1 2 "The strange life of Peter Daou". The Outline. September 6, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  3. ↑ Walters, Joanna (December 28, 2017). "Vanity Fair under fire for urging Hillary Clinton to quit politics and knit instead". The Guardian– via theguardian.com.
  4. ↑ Klion, David (December 3, 2019). "What Happened to Peter Daou?". The New Republic. ISSN   0028-6583 . Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  5. ↑ Klion, David (December 3, 2019). "What Happened to Peter Daou?". The New Republic. ISSN   0028-6583 . Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Rebuttal to Those Who Distort My Childhood War Experience". Archived from the original on November 17, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 5, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ↑ Klion, David (December 3, 2019). "What Happened to Peter Daou?". The New Republic. ISSN   0028-6583 . Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  9. ↑ Daou, Peter (August 16, 2017). "Peter Daou on Twitter". Twitter . Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  10. ↑ Daou, Peter (August 16, 2017). "Peter Daou on Twitter". Twitter . Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Hillary Clinton's political strategist Peter Daou was once a serious house music producer". Mixmag. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  12. ↑ "The Secret House Music Career of Peter Daou, Controversial Verrit Creator and Clinton Adviser". Pitchfork. September 8, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  13. ↑ Hernandez, Raymond (June 27, 2006). "A Well-Known Political Blogger Is Hired by the Clinton Campaign". The New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2023. Mr. Daou.. will be a Web consultant for the campaign
  14. ↑ Vargas, Jose Antonio (May 4, 2007). "Meet the OPOs" – via washingtonpost.com.
  15. 1 2 Horowitz, Jason (September 22, 2016). "Inside Hillary Clinton's Outrage Machine, Allies Push the Buttons". The New York Times.
  16. ↑ Daou, Peter (April 23, 2019). "I Was Bernie's Biggest Critic in 2016—I've Changed My Mind". The Nation. ISSN   0027-8378 . Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  17. ↑ Hear the Bern Episode 34 | Turkey Talk with Bernie and Peter Daou , retrieved December 3, 2019
  18. ↑ "Super Tuesday: Which Side Are You On?". About. The Intercept. March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  19. ↑ Klion, David (December 3, 2019). "What Happened to Peter Daou?". The New Republic .
  20. ↑ McAuliff, Michael (July 8, 2019). "Democratic challenger to Rep. Jerry Nadler's seat raises more than quarter of a million dollars". nydailynews.com. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  21. ↑ "I'm Quitting the Democratic Party". Twitter. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  22. ↑ Daou, Peter (February 14, 2022). "Peter Daou on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  23. ↑ Daou, Peter (April 13, 2023). "As Marianne Williamson's campaign manager, I'm curious to know how many polls will be released that ignore her declared candidacy [...] I joined her campaign because I've known her for years and deeply appreciate her lifelong dedication to helping people". Twitter. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  24. ↑ @peterdaou (May 20, 2023). "Personal Note: After much consideration, I've decided to leave Marianne Williamson's presidential campaign, where I was campaign manager. Details to follow" (Tweet). Retrieved May 20, 2023– via Twitter.
  25. ↑ Daou, Peter (May 22, 2023). "My friends and family know that my wife @leeladaou and I have been caring for our ailing parents. It's been tough to do that and focus full time on a presidential campaign. Here is the official @marwilliamson campaign statement for why I decided to leave". Twitter.
  26. ↑ Fung, Katherine (September 11, 2023). "Democrat Who Left Party Over Ignored Groping Claims Backs Cornel West". Newsweek . Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Cornel West for President announces the hiring of political activist, author, and adviser Peter Daou as Campaign Manager". Cornel West for President 2024. September 10, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  28. ↑ Chotiner, Isaac (September 28, 2023). "Peter Daou's theory of election interference -- by Democrats". The New Yorker. Retrieved September 29, 2023. What I'm trying to tell you is that I don't even believe we have a so-called democracy. What we have is a duopoly, or an oligarchy, in which the vast majority of people suffer.
  29. ↑ Homans, Charles (October 5, 2023). "Cornel West, Dropping Green Party, Will Run as an Independent". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  30. ↑ Trudo, Hannah (October 27, 2023). "Cornel West's campaign manager says he's leaving job". The Hill . Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  31. ↑ Logan, Bryan (September 4, 2017). "Hillary Clinton promoted a news website 'for the 65.8 million' — here's what its founder says it's all about" – via businessinsider.com.
  32. ↑ Bercovici, Jeff. "Huffington Post Founders Settle Lawsuit Over Its Origins". Forbes .
  33. ↑ Kaiser, Charles (May 19, 2019). "Digital Civil War review: a stark call to save American democracy". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Peter Daou, "Digital Civil War: Confronting the Far-Right Menace" (Melville House, 2019)". New Books Network. May 6, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  35. ↑ Klion, David (December 3, 2019). "What Happened to Peter Daou?". The New Republic.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.