The PAC changed its name to Democracy Defense Action in 2023.[4] The MeidasTouch name continues to be used by the MeidasTouch Network, the news organization.[2]
The group name and slogan come from their mother and father, combining their father's last name, Meiselas, and their mother's maiden name, Golden,[15] while alluding to the mythological Greek king Midas known for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold.
On July 21, 2023, MeidasTouch filed paperwork to rename itself to Democracy Defense Action,[20] and later that year, news reporting indicated the MeidasTouch name was being used for a news network called MeidasTouch Network.[21][22][2]
Notable projects
2020 U.S. presidential election
On April 22, 2020, the committee released their first video, titled "Are You Better Off?", an allusion to Ronald Reagan's famous line in the 1980 general election presidential debate,[23] which criticized Trump's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States;[24] The committee shared the video in a Twitter reply to George Conway, which was then retweeted by him.[15]
On June 6, 2020, another video was released, called "Bye Ivanka"; it took parts out of her commencement speech and focused on her relation with China and criticized Trump's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.[25] Her Wichita State University Tech speech was canceled due to student and teacher pressure.[26][27]
On June 17, 2020, another video was released, "Gop Cowards", which accused Republican senators of being cowards. Near the end of the video, followers are urged to vote 11 Republican legislators out.[28]
On June 23, the committee released a video called "Trump Kills US".[29] The video focuses on Trump's comment at his Tulsa rally which urged doctors to "slow the testing down".[30] MeidasTouch called it "Mass murder on a national scale".[31]
On July 8, a new video was released called "Creepy Trump". It compiled Kellyanne Conway's comments on Joe Biden and put it together with Trump statements.[32] The ad uses clips of Conway's comments and remarks Trump has presented about women, and was played on Fox News, CNN and MSNBC.[33]
On July 14, another video was released called "#ByeDonJr". It takes Donald Trump Jr.'s comments on Fox News about Biden and applies them against Trump. The video also further criticizes the older Trump's handling of the pandemic.[34][35]
The group continued its activities after the November 3 elections. On November 27, it claimed credit for making #DiaperDon the top Twitter trending topic in the US, via a tweet that mocked (as summarized by The Independent) a "press briefing ... which saw [Donald Trump] furiously assail a reporter from behind a surprisingly small desk", and provoked Trump into calling for the immediate abolishing of Section 230 "for purposes of National Security".[36]
Most notably, MeidasTouch aired an advertisement called "The Grinches of Georgia." CNN said of the ads, "Humor is the chosen route for Democrat-backed Meidas Touch. Their television ads show Perdue and Loeffler with green faces and Grinch-like features. A nursery rhyme narration includes the verse, "Their stockings were stuffed from the stocks that were sold, when they heard Covid was coming, before we were told."[37]The Hill credits MeidasTouch as framing the Republican candidates Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue as "Looting Loeffler" and "Chicken Perdue," respectively. "The ad takes aim at the senators—dubbed 'Looting Loeffler and Chicken Perdue'—and highlights the controversies surrounding their stock purchases," The Hill said.[38] The "Grinches" ad campaign also included matching billboards and mailers.[39]
2024 U.S. presidential election
On July 22, 2024, shortly after JD Vance was named Donald Trump's running mate, MeidasTouch editor-in-chief Ron Filipkowski posted a clip from a 2021 Fox News interview in which Vance stated, "we are effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too." The resurfaced remarks from Vance sparked viral outrage against the candidate across social media, with many celebrities weighing in, including Jennifer Aniston and Taylor Swift.[40][41][42] Swift, referencing Vance's comments, signed off her post endorsing Kamala Harris as a "childless cat lady."[43]
Reception
In April 2021, Seth Hettena of Rolling Stone magazine said their campaign fundraising was "nonsensical and a more effective tool for fundraising than for helping Democrats win elections" and that "MeidasTouch's grandiose self-promotion doesn't match reality".[44]
In February 2022, singer-songwriter India Arie shared a compilation of podcaster Joe Rogan saying the racial slur "nigger" on The Joe Rogan Experience on Instagram.[45] Rogan apologized, calling his past language "regretful and shameful" while also saying that the clips were "taken out of context" and he only quoted the slur to discuss its use by others.[46][47][48] The footage in question was first published by the political action committee PatriotTakes,[49] an affiliate of MeidasTouch.[50] This resulted in allegations of a defamation attempt by MeidasTouch, which the founders denied in an interview with Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy, instead attributing the source of the footage to Alex Jones, who was a recurring guest on Rogan's show.[51] Rogan described the video compilation as a "political hit job".[52][53]
MeidasTouch was described in the Columbia Journalism Review as being made for social media, unlike a lot of more traditional left-leaning media outlets, and does a better job than most of exploiting the perception that the mainstream media was too sympathetic to Trump.[4]
^Aratani, Lauren (February 5, 2022). "Joe Rogan apologises for repeated use of N-word after footage emerges". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 27, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2022. The podcast host Joe Rogan has offered "sincere and humble apologies" after footage emerged of him repeatedly using the N-word on his hit show. The comedian, 54, who has a lucrative deal with the streaming giant Spotify, said it was the "most regretful and shameful thing" he has ever had to speak about, but stressed the clips were "taken out of context". Rogan has come under fire recently for sharing coronavirus misinformation on his hugely popular podcast The Joe Rogan Experience. Prominent musicians including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell have withdrawn their music from the service over its decision to continue hosting the show, which was reportedly acquired for more than $100m (£77m) in 2020.
^Stolworthy, Jacob (February 5, 2022). "India Arie shares resurfaced clips of Joe Rogan using N-word 22 times". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2022. Resurfaced Joe Rogan footage, shared by musician India Arie, shows the podcaster using the N-word multiple times. On Tuesday (1 February), the Grammy-winning singer said she was removing her music from Spotify because of Rogan's "language around race". She branded the podcaster "problematic", saying that she came to her decision as she felt she should "walk" through a door "opened" by Neil Young. The week before, Young asked that his music be removed from the platform due to its affiliation with Rogan, whom he said had spread "false information" regarding Covid-19 vaccines.
