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Former Obama speechwriter Jon E. Favreau slammed Democratic politicians for ineffective outreach to voters and a lack of authenticity during the second Trump administration at an Institute of Politics Forum on Thursday night.

Favreau, who founded the progressive political media company Crooked Media, argued that Democrats struggle to communicate candidly on political issues and suffer from a lack of “discipline” in their messaging, especially in response to Republican maneuvers in Washington and the government shutdown that began on Wednesday.

The ongoing shutdown began after Democrats and Republicans in Congress failed to reach a deal after Democrats attempted to reverse cuts to Medicaid and extend Affordable Care Act tax credits as part of the funding bill. Favreau contended that while the Democrats’ middle-class oriented policies may be popular, the party has failed to present them with cohesive messaging.

“To just go out there like a robot and say ‘middle class’ 15 times, maybe it’s helpful in an ad that someone’s going to get for 30 seconds, but that’s not a good way for a politician to talk,” Favreau said.

“The language the Democratic politicians continue to use is not the way that people talk to each other,” he added.

Favreau also criticized Democrat politicians for a tendency to “talk down to people in the middle of the country” and their inability to connect with key constituencies they are losing ground on, such as young men. Polls after the 2024 election indicated that Democrats’ support among men aged 18 to 29 had eroded, with a 12-point shift towards Republicans.

“I think that sometimes Democrats overthink it and treat young people, now young men, like anthropological studies, and it’s like ‘be careful of approaching the young man in the wild,’” Favreau said.

Favreau also expressed his disappointment at Democratic politicians’ attempts to appeal to young people through memes and social media trends. He pointed to Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as a politician Democrat leaders should look towards as a model of authentic political communication.

“He doesn’t try to figure out exactly how to reach people in different demographics. He just says what he believes,” Favreau said. “And I wish a lot more Democrats would do that.”

In the hourlong talk, moderated by the director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy Nancy R. Gibbs, Favreau emphasized the role of humor acting as a check on those in power, referencing the temporary suspension of comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late night show after he was criticized by Trump-appointed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr.

“Authoritarians all around the world, and throughout history, really do not like being mocked,” Favreau said. “And the reason they don’t like being mocked is because mockery and humor are powerful tools, because they never gain power by keeping people afraid of them.”

“And I do think it’s very important to be able to mock our leaders. Donald Trump knows that too, which is why he went so hard at Jimmy Kimmel,” he added.

Favreau also urged Democrats to engage directly with podcasters and other rising media figures, even those they disagree with politically, rather than dismiss them.

“If Joe Rogan is an extraordinarily influential podcaster who is excited to start talking about politics, even if he says some things about politics that are correct or that aren’t correct, but if we just don’t agree with, then the best way to handle that is to debate Joe Rogan,” he said.

Favreau concluded the forum by calling for Democrats to focus on meaningful conversation and listening to the issues that matter to voters.

“I have very strong political views, but I am very willing to be convinced and to have a conversation with someone where they try to convince me, and I try to have an open mind about things,” Favreau said.

“And so I think that if we approach people that way, as opposed to just sending them numbers and figures and all that, we might have some more success,” he added.