DNC launches new 'war room operation' to keep up with GOP's digital media dominance

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The Democratic National Committee launched a new "war room operation" initiative Monday aimed at combating the right's dominance in digital media.

The new initiative intends to leverage influencers, opposition research, policy matter experts, appearances on podcasts and a revamped rapid response program aimed at challenging the narratives pushed by the Trump administration online.  

Newly installed DNC Chair Ken Martin told media outlets that the party's rapid response efforts would be among his top three priorities going into the position. He won the election this year to be the DNC's next chair.

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Ken Martin, a longtime leader of the Democratic Party in Minnesota, won an election this year to become the Democratic National Committee's next chair. (Getty Images/Fox News)

"We are the opposition party. Our job is to put the Republicans on their heels, to put them on defense," Martin told the Washington Post after news of the new war room initiative. "We have one role, and that is to litigate the case against Donald Trump, Elon Musk and JD Vance."

In the same interview, Martin lamented that Republicans were quicker to realize the strategic importance of digital media in the smartphone age, telling the Post that the GOP has taken a more aggressive stance in the realm of podcasts, social media and more since 2020. 

"I would argue that for 3½ years, they spent time beating the hell out of Joe Biden and the Democrats, really, in an unimpeded way," Martin said. "They defined us before we ever got a chance to define ourselves."

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One element of the new "war room" initiative from the DNC entails a "People's Cabinet" of policy experts and local community voices who will stand ready to engage with the media to counter "the lies from the Trump administration." (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson | iStock)

Per the DNC's press announcement, the new "war room" initiative will incorporate "four main pillars."

These include "expanding Democrats' reach into new information spaces," "modernizing the rapid response operation to drive aggressive daily messaging to counter the Trump administration," "leveraging creative opposition tactics and an expansive research operation" and "launching a modernized misinformation counter programming verticil to combat the lies from the right." 

One element of the new initiative involves a "People's Cabinet" of policy experts and local community voices who will stand ready to engage with the media to counter "the lies from the Trump administration." The new program also plans to boost its "media-monitoring and research operation" to keep tabs on Trump officials as they appear on various networks and across the internet.

The press announcement adds that the initiative will seek to "reach beyond traditional audiences" with their efforts, including by "prioritizing efforts to compete in conservative and mixed media spaces." This strategy has already been picked up by some in the Democratic Party, such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who recently began a podcast that emphasizes speaking with guests he disagrees with, usually a conservative. 

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(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/File)

Tim Hogan, a longtime Democrat operative who has worked in communications for the likes of Hillary Clinton and Amy Klobuchar, said to the Post that one of his top goals will be to recruit influencers with a broad reach to assist in building support in places Democrats typically have not in the past.

When reached for comment, the White House pointed to a post on X by White House Communications Director Steven Cheung. 

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"Democrats have no idea how to actually set up a functioning war room and response operation. That's why they're pitching stories with vague descriptions and pie-in-the-sky promises that show how far back they are in this race," Cheung said. "Team Trump has been doing this since 2016."

The DNC declined to comment on this story, pointing Fox News Digital to its Monday press announcement with details about the new program.