Biden welcomes TikTokers and influencers to cover his State of the Union address and boost his support for Gen Zers as polls show him underwater with young voters

President Joe Biden hosted a young group of social media influencers at the White House this week as part of his State of the Union address.

Despite the president’s advanced age, White House staff continues to look for ways to make an impact on social media, where most young people get their news and information.

More than 70 social media figures attended a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, according to Wired magazine.

Biden’s senior adviser Anita Dunn spoke to the group about the president’s upcoming speech, domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden spoke to them about what Biden was trying to do on student loans, and First Gentleman Doug Emhoff spoke to them about vice president Kamala Harris. .

Emily Amick, who posts videos under the name @emilyinyourphone, with 135,000 followers on Instagram, went to the briefing and posted about it on her account.

Emily Amick, who posts videos under @emilyinyourphone, recalled struggling in journalism school when she told teachers that paper newspapers were dead.

“Today I went to a briefing for political influencers at the White House ahead of the State of the Union, and while there I told someone the story about how I almost got kicked out of journalism school for insisting that paper newspapers ☠️ and disaggregated news online is the future,” she wrote. “More than fifteen years later, it’s amazing to experience this change as it happens. I’m not sure I’d say it’s going well, but it’s going well and I’m glad those in power recognize that.”

Also in attendance was Johnny Palmadessa, a self-described “Gen Z” activist and Democrat strategist. Palmadessa has over 100,000 followers on Threads, 16,000 followers on Instagram and 26,000 followers on TikTok.

Palmadessa told the Daily Mail that he appreciated the White House’s outreach.

“They have demonstrated a genuine commitment to engaging with us directly and meeting us on our terms,” he said.

Palmadessa said the social in-person event brought together many people who knew each other from their work on social media platforms.

“Meeting other activists, strategists and influencers in person was inspiring,” he said.

Aaron Parnas, an attorney and Substack writer shared a photo of himself in the White House with the caption: “The state of our union is strong.”

Keith Edwards, a Democratic strategist with 52,000 followers, was also there, posting a photo of himself on the briefing room podium.

Keith Edwards, a Democratic strategist, posted a photo of himself with the caption “Fake News”

Aaron Parnas posted a photo of himself at the White House and called the State of the Union address “strong.”

More social media publishers were expected to meet with White House officials on Thursday.

While President Joe Biden is expected to meet with more traditional TV media hosts at the lunch, Vice President Kamala Harris plans to host a White House “influencers lunch” to spread their message through the media.

The Biden campaign created a TikTok account for the president in January, despite widespread administration concerns about the Chinese government’s use of the platform to spy on Americans.

The campaign also created a communications arm dealing with ‘digital persuasion’.

Cat Stern has been appointed ‘director of digital persuasion’ and Clarke Humphrey has been appointed ‘senior advisor for digital persuasion’. according to to wired.

Both new hires are expected to work to influence social media influencers and give them access to the campaign and the president.

Polls show Biden doing poorly among voters under 35 who want to support former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.

A New York Times poll in December showed that registered voters between the ages of 18 and 29 actually preferred Trump over Biden, 49 to 43 percent. Also a USA Today poll from December showed that Trump led Biden 37 percent to 33 percent.

Palmadessa said he was encouraged by the government’s outreach to Generation Z through TikTok and other social media platforms.

“Vice President Harris is actively listening to our concerns and perspectives – she has proven time and time again that she cares,” he said. “President Biden is certainly following her initiative – we saw that with his recent launch on TikTok. He meets us where we are!’