November 4, 2024 • 18 mins
Host Ramses J and cohost Q Ward continue their series profiling the distinguished ladies of the 2024 National Council of Negro Women. Today's guest is the Co-Founder and CEO of The Seneca Project and former CNN political commentator, Ms. Tara Setmayer
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to our special series Distinguished Ladies of the NCNW
here on the Black Information Network. Recently, myself, Ramsey's Jah,
and q Ward made our way to Baltimore for the
sixty first Annual Convention of the National Council of Negro Women,
and we're able to have some meaningful conversations with some
of the most powerful and influential Black women in America.
(00:20):
We discussed politics, education, healthcare, economics, and everything in between.
So sit back and enjoy today's episode of the Distinguished
Ladies of the NCNW here on the Black Information Network. Okay, well,
this party is only getting better. Indeed, I think we
knew what we were going to walk into and then
(00:43):
we got surprised. So how foolish did we look? Because
we thought it was going to be amazing and it's
just absolutely incredible. And you know, our next guest is
proof of the fact that, you know, the good times
just don't stop. Here at the NCNW twenty twenty four
National Convention in Baltimore, Maryland. Our guest she goes by
(01:07):
the name of Tara set Mayor, and she's the co
founder and CEO of the Seneca Project and she's a
former CNN political commentator and contributor to ABC News and
former GOP communications director on Capitol Hill, So a heavy
hitter would be an understatement. Welcome to the Black Information Network.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Thank you, gentlemen. What a pleasure.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
It's such a pleasure to be here in this moment
now that we're facing as a country and just the
how what's at stake here. It's just it's amazing to
be in a room with this much power and purpose.
So thank you for having.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Me absolutely now now speaking of power and speaking of purpose,
you know, we went through some of the things that
you're affiliated with or have been affiliated with, and for
folks that may not know, I want to give you
the floor, will open it wide up. Talk to us
about the Seneca Project.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yeah, my co founder Michelle Kinney and I decided this
year that we really needed to speak to women in
a way that was a bit apolitical because a lot
of what's happening in this environment post Row being overturned,
I think opened up a new universe of women to
(02:20):
the consequences of not being politically active and what can happen.
So when we looked at the landscape going into twenty
twenty four, we had no idea that there would be
a woman running for president. We originally thought it was
going to be Joe Biden. But we are bipartisan. I
come from Republican politics. I spent twenty seven years in
the Republican Party. I quit the party because of Donald
(02:42):
Trump and the fact that the party just became unrecognizable
and dangerous frankly, to our democracy. We weren't just arguing
over marginal tax rates or healthcare policy anymore. We're literally
discussing the future of our democracy and democratic institutions. And said, no,
no more of that. And so I've been part of
(03:03):
the pro democracy movement for several years, and I felt,
really I felt it was really important that we brought
that same energy to speaking to women because women's lives
are literally on the ballot in twenty twenty four, and
it's on the ballot in several states with health care
and reproductive rights and abortion rights being codified. After the
(03:26):
Dobbs decision took a right away from women. It's the
first time in the history of this country that a
right has been taken away from a group of people.
So the Seneca Project was born out of the desire
to recreate the sentiment of the Seneca Falls Convention, which
is the birthplace of the women's rights movement in eighteen
forty eight and Seneca Falls, New York, and it was
(03:47):
a coalition effort. It was not only just women who
were sick and tired of being treated as second class
citizens back then, but you had male allies as well
and abolitionists.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
So we knew going into.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
This election year that it was going to take all
of us, because all of women our rights doesn't matter
if you're left right, red, yellow, green, richipoor. Everyone at
some point will need reproductive care in their life or
know someone who will, and that right has been taken
from us nationally. So we decided to create the Seneca
(04:23):
Project to speak to women, buy women for women, not
at them, because there's a lot of organizations that do that,
and we said that will not be us.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
So it's poetically ironic that we're in Baltimore, Maryland. The
first time I went to an RNC event was in
Baltimore almost twenty years ago, and I met a lot
of Republican friends working in the charity space in Baltimore County,
(04:52):
YEP in Reisterstown in Towson and Owings Mills and That's
when I learned something that we probably all echoed in
these years as things have gotten a bit more tumultuous
and adversarial. We have so much more in common than
the small list of things that divide us. And we
could disagree on candidates back then, but we wanted good
(05:15):
outcomes for each other, even if we didn't see the.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Same different ideas of how we got there, we didn't
see each other as enemies. Correct.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
So I heard about you saying, you know, you kind
of broke up with the party because the direction changed drastically.
I think with regards to being bipartisan, it's a pretty
easy time to do that because you can present factual
information and one side is let's just say there's polarity.
(05:45):
You know, there's very very clear differences in the parties now,
and they don't seem to be aligned on good outcomes
for everyone. Yes, speak to us about how different your
messaging has been since the parties have taken such a
US versus them stance publicly.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
You know, you summed that up. It's true. Twenty years ago.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
That probably would have been about the time that my
good friend former R and C chairman Michael Steele.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
Michael Steele was the person who introduced me to the RNC.
We did some work with Theistic Fibrosis Foundation back then,
and I was so naive back then. I didn't know
that there were black Republicans coming from a city like Detroit, Michigan,
where every person that I knew was black and all
we voted was Democrats. When I came here and invited
(06:31):
by Michael Steele, ironically, I got to meet some really
wonderful people, saw a different candidate than I did, but
wanted the same outcomes for me and from my family
and for our collective of future as Americans instead of
this kind of divided place that we are in now.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
You know, I absolutely adore Michael Steele. He is like
an uncle to me. He's one of my mentors, and
he was someone who even to this day now, although
he's still in the party, he's trying his best to
bring some sanity back and responsibility. And he kept I
wanted to leave a bunch of times during the Trump
(07:09):
the Trump years, and he used to tell me, no, no,
we don't let them run you out, because someone's gonna
have to be there to rebuild this when when it's
all over, And I said, all right, Michael, all right,
all right. But then I after Donald Trump refused to
concede the election, and now we were looking at a
constitutional crisis, I said, there is no way I can
(07:30):
still stay in a party that believes in nothing, because
that used to be Sancro sacro, sanct We could argue
over policy differences, okay, fine, but some of the rhetoric
from the Tea Party era, some of the racial rhetoric
and the xenophobia, it bothered me. I didn't like that.
And then it got progressively worse. And Donald Trump gave
(07:50):
a license for the most for the lowest common denominator
aspects and unearthed so much of that division that you're
talking about, and that us first them. He really empowered that.
And that is not why I got into politics. That's
not why I followed Republican ideology. That was not where
I came from. And I said enough, and once we
(08:11):
started looking at constitutional crises, I said, they believe in nothing.
They are cynical political hypocrites, and I want nothing to
do with them. And then a couple months later, obviously,
January sixth happened, and I had never been more validated
for making the decision that I made to leave the party,
and I hope it burns to the ground. But now
when it's the only way it's going, it's the only
way it's going to reform, it's so diseased, and so
(08:34):
the cancer of trump Ism has me tastitized so badly
that there is no recovering in its current form. So
as far as I'm concerned, and I always joke with
Michael about this, I know he still he says he
likes to still sit there with the light on, and
let's want people to come welcome, you know, be welcomed
in when when it's all said and done, and he'll
be there to fix it. And I say, I applaud
(08:54):
him for it for that, but I could no longer
be associated with the party in its current form because
it literally presents danger to all of us into what
we cherish as a democracy in this country. So versus them,
that normalization of lying and deception and propaganda and recreating
(09:16):
the similar similar ideologies and tactics that we saw coming
out of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy and those movements.
They're given mainstream credibility now with a major party in
this country, and that is not acceptable. So for us
(09:36):
with Seneca. When we say we're bipartisan, we're probably more
nonpartisan because my co founder, she comes from democratic politics.
Like I said, I came from Republican politics. But we
don't care who you voted for before. We don't care
who you vote for after this election at this point.
But you cannot vote for Donald Trump and MAGA now.
You cannot because if you believe in our democracy, if
(09:57):
you believe in equality, if you believe in your own
agency over your body and decision making, you cannot possibly
cast a vote for someone who thinks that you are
lesser than, who's a convicted felon who wants to be
a dictator on day one and has no respect for
what makes America actually great.
Speaker 5 (10:17):
If my voice didn't matter, people wouldn't be trying so
hard to silence me, And if my vote didn't matter,
they wouldn't work so hard to take it away. So
you know why I'm voting this November because I know
they don't want me to. Your voice is powerful, your
voice matters. Don't let your voice be silenced. To register,
confirm your voting status, or get information about voting in
(10:38):
your area, visit vote dot gov. That's vote dot goov
a message from the Perception Institute and the Black Information Network.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Now you say that, and you would think that it's
just that easier, I do you know, I would think
everyone had I mean, we all are presented with the
same set of facts. Our interpretations can vary, but for
the most part, we all know that January sixth is
(11:10):
a day in this country where there were people that
were in the capital that were not welcome. There were
people that died. Donald Trump invited those folks out. You know, again,
it was a coup.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
I don't care what anybody says at this point. It
was an insurrection. It was violent, and it was an
attempt to overthrow a free and fair election period.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
First time in American history.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
There you go, right now, you coming from Republican background,
Republican policies able to look at this taking place and say,
at least on January sixth, I made the right decision.
But prior to that, yeah, deciding you know what, that
is not something that does not resemble the party that
I am affiliated with. This does not resemble the country
(11:51):
that I have come to espouse. What is it about
folks who are still hanging on to Donald Trump? In
your estimation what is happening there where it is not
happening with you.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
I think that I underestimated, like many people, the amount
of grievance that people feel in this country. If you
look at a lot of folks who are so committed
to Donald Trump, this cult of personality that he's created
here that has now manifested itself into a whole political movement,
(12:30):
a lot of those people a are either upset that
they were wronged and not listened to, and Donald Trump
has made them believe he's their champion, which is which
is a skill set that a lot of con artists
are very good at doing, convincing people.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
That they that they are your outlet. I believe in you.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
You know a lot of preachers do that too, But
a lot of cult leaders and con artists are very
good at tapping in to what people are lacking. And
Donald Trump was beamed into people's homes for years. He
created this persona that was bs. We all know that,
but a lot of people did not, and they he
(13:14):
felt relatable to them because he doesn't speak or act
like your typical billionaire or your elitist. You know, he
sounds just like me. Meanwhile, it's all. In act, he
doesn't care about those folks. He doesn't care about people
in small towns or you know, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
He doesn't care and he loves the poorly educated.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
You know.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
I mean it's uh, but the.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
The visceral reaction in which people behave when they when
you try to speak about Donald Trump tell the truth,
they don't want to hear it because A it's difficult
for people to admit that they were wrong when they're
so committed, and B it makes them look inside themselves
as to what it was about that ugliness that attracted
(13:54):
them to him. And it's people don't like self reflection.
You don't want to take responsibility. And maybe I am
a little racist, maybe I am a little sexist.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Maybe I really don't.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Like those immigrants over there. And he tells me, I'm okay,
I don't have to apologize for that. Well, no, you
have every right to feel the way you feel. However,
if you want to live in a free and fair society,
you can't just pick and choose your facts. You can't
just disregard democratic institutions. You can't just you know, create
this all universe that they've created. They live on earth too,
(14:26):
you ever, listened to the media ecosystem that's been built
up that reinforces these really ugly tropes in this this
horrible world that Donald Trump has created so that people
have to rely on him. That's what dictators do. Only
I can fix it. And people who are looking and
longing for belonging to be listened to, they're susceptible to that,
(14:47):
just like any cult, and that's what it's become. It's
become a cult for a lot of those people. Now
for the political actors that's still that know better, I
have no patience for them because they know better, and
they are the enablers who have allowed Donald Trump to
get this much power and allowed MAGA to get this
much This is kind of a stronghold in our politics,
(15:09):
destroying not only our democratic institutions in our country, but
destroying families and communities are and ripping us apart for
what they know better. They're like the vhis in France
during Nazi Germany, where they went along to get along,
thinking all, well, if we do that, they won't come
for us.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Guess what they came for them.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
And these people, a lot of the enablers in the
Republican Party who still will in private. They know Donald
Trump is insane, they know that he's incompetent. They know,
but they have never been more politically relevant in their lives.
They got a taste of power and relevancy and cognitive
dissonance is a hell of a drug.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
We often say that most enablers are apologists for Donald
Trump are typically defending themselves. Yep, when they're defending him.
We do not have you forever. You have somewhere to
be and we don't want to hold you up. In parting,
is there any particular message that you want listeners to
gain from the perspective that you have in this realm
(16:10):
or somewhere people can go to learn more about you
and the work that you do.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
Yeah, well, we'll start with where they can find me,
the Seneca Project. Like I said, we target moderate women,
bipartisan Seneca Project dot us. You can see our ads
and our content and the messages that we put out.
It's really just the beginning because this election doesn't end
regardless of the outcome on November fifth. This is a
(16:34):
generational fight, and so it's important for people to feel
as though that they can be a part of that fight.
And we hope that we create that environment, particularly for women.
We love our male allies too, but Seneca project us
on all the socials. For me, I'm at taraset Mayor.
Luckily there's only one of me, so I'm easy to
find on all social media Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. But what
(16:59):
a harding words. I think it's really important for people
to realize that democracy doesn't defend itself and if you
want to have power in your purpose, then you have
to exercise it. And every single person in America has
the ability to exercise their power through their vote. The vote,
(17:22):
Their vote is their voice, and this election is too
important to sit out. You cannot, you cannot. Every vote
counts no matter where you live. Yes, the battleground states
are probably where this is going to be decided, but
it's not just about the presidential election. It's about who
is your city councilman, who is your state rep. Who
is going to be your congressman, your senator. These are
(17:44):
people who make decisions that impact our everyday lives and
they work for us. So if you want the government
that you want and you want the representation you want,
you have to actively defend your democracy before we lose it.
Because once you lose it, you're not getting it back.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Indeed, listen.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Tara set Mayor, the co founder and CEO of the
Seneca Project, formercy and in political commentator, contributor to ABC News,
and former GOP communications director on Capitol Hill, thank you
so much for coming on the show, having a conversation
with us that only you can have because you sit
at a unique intersection of politics, of media, of parties,
(18:30):
political parties, and culture and culture. And I can't thank
you enough. It's it's been a joy, it's been enlightening.
We're going to have to make sure that we do
this again when we have more pretty.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Please, Oh, I would love to thank you guys, Thank you,
thank you.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Be sure to check back for additional episodes right here
on the Black Information Network Daily Podcast
Welcome to our special series Distinguished Ladies of the NCNW
here on the Black Information Network. Recently, myself, Ramsey's Jah,
and q Ward made our way to Baltimore for the
sixty first Annual Convention of the National Council of Negro Women,
and we're able to have some meaningful conversations with some
of the most powerful and influential Black women in America.
(00:20):
We discussed politics, education, healthcare, economics, and everything in between.
So sit back and enjoy today's episode of the Distinguished
Ladies of the NCNW here on the Black Information Network. Okay, well,
this party is only getting better. Indeed, I think we
knew what we were going to walk into and then
(00:43):
we got surprised. So how foolish did we look? Because
we thought it was going to be amazing and it's
just absolutely incredible. And you know, our next guest is
proof of the fact that, you know, the good times
just don't stop. Here at the NCNW twenty twenty four
National Convention in Baltimore, Maryland. Our guest she goes by
(01:07):
the name of Tara set Mayor, and she's the co
founder and CEO of the Seneca Project and she's a
former CNN political commentator and contributor to ABC News and
former GOP communications director on Capitol Hill, So a heavy
hitter would be an understatement. Welcome to the Black Information Network.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
Thank you, gentlemen. What a pleasure.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
It's such a pleasure to be here in this moment
now that we're facing as a country and just the
how what's at stake here. It's just it's amazing to
be in a room with this much power and purpose.
So thank you for having.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Me absolutely now now speaking of power and speaking of purpose,
you know, we went through some of the things that
you're affiliated with or have been affiliated with, and for
folks that may not know, I want to give you
the floor, will open it wide up. Talk to us
about the Seneca Project.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Yeah, my co founder Michelle Kinney and I decided this
year that we really needed to speak to women in
a way that was a bit apolitical because a lot
of what's happening in this environment post Row being overturned,
I think opened up a new universe of women to
(02:20):
the consequences of not being politically active and what can happen.
So when we looked at the landscape going into twenty
twenty four, we had no idea that there would be
a woman running for president. We originally thought it was
going to be Joe Biden. But we are bipartisan. I
come from Republican politics. I spent twenty seven years in
the Republican Party. I quit the party because of Donald
(02:42):
Trump and the fact that the party just became unrecognizable
and dangerous frankly, to our democracy. We weren't just arguing
over marginal tax rates or healthcare policy anymore. We're literally
discussing the future of our democracy and democratic institutions. And said, no,
no more of that. And so I've been part of
(03:03):
the pro democracy movement for several years, and I felt,
really I felt it was really important that we brought
that same energy to speaking to women because women's lives
are literally on the ballot in twenty twenty four, and
it's on the ballot in several states with health care
and reproductive rights and abortion rights being codified. After the
(03:26):
Dobbs decision took a right away from women. It's the
first time in the history of this country that a
right has been taken away from a group of people.
So the Seneca Project was born out of the desire
to recreate the sentiment of the Seneca Falls Convention, which
is the birthplace of the women's rights movement in eighteen
forty eight and Seneca Falls, New York, and it was
(03:47):
a coalition effort. It was not only just women who
were sick and tired of being treated as second class
citizens back then, but you had male allies as well
and abolitionists.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
So we knew going into.
Speaker 3 (03:59):
This election year that it was going to take all
of us, because all of women our rights doesn't matter
if you're left right, red, yellow, green, richipoor. Everyone at
some point will need reproductive care in their life or
know someone who will, and that right has been taken
from us nationally. So we decided to create the Seneca
(04:23):
Project to speak to women, buy women for women, not
at them, because there's a lot of organizations that do that,
and we said that will not be us.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
So it's poetically ironic that we're in Baltimore, Maryland. The
first time I went to an RNC event was in
Baltimore almost twenty years ago, and I met a lot
of Republican friends working in the charity space in Baltimore County,
(04:52):
YEP in Reisterstown in Towson and Owings Mills and That's
when I learned something that we probably all echoed in
these years as things have gotten a bit more tumultuous
and adversarial. We have so much more in common than
the small list of things that divide us. And we
could disagree on candidates back then, but we wanted good
(05:15):
outcomes for each other, even if we didn't see the.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Same different ideas of how we got there, we didn't
see each other as enemies. Correct.
Speaker 4 (05:23):
So I heard about you saying, you know, you kind
of broke up with the party because the direction changed drastically.
I think with regards to being bipartisan, it's a pretty
easy time to do that because you can present factual
information and one side is let's just say there's polarity.
(05:45):
You know, there's very very clear differences in the parties now,
and they don't seem to be aligned on good outcomes
for everyone. Yes, speak to us about how different your
messaging has been since the parties have taken such a
US versus them stance publicly.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
You know, you summed that up. It's true. Twenty years ago.
Speaker 3 (06:07):
That probably would have been about the time that my
good friend former R and C chairman Michael Steele.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
Michael Steele was the person who introduced me to the RNC.
We did some work with Theistic Fibrosis Foundation back then,
and I was so naive back then. I didn't know
that there were black Republicans coming from a city like Detroit, Michigan,
where every person that I knew was black and all
we voted was Democrats. When I came here and invited
(06:31):
by Michael Steele, ironically, I got to meet some really
wonderful people, saw a different candidate than I did, but
wanted the same outcomes for me and from my family
and for our collective of future as Americans instead of
this kind of divided place that we are in now.
Speaker 3 (06:49):
You know, I absolutely adore Michael Steele. He is like
an uncle to me. He's one of my mentors, and
he was someone who even to this day now, although
he's still in the party, he's trying his best to
bring some sanity back and responsibility. And he kept I
wanted to leave a bunch of times during the Trump
(07:09):
the Trump years, and he used to tell me, no, no,
we don't let them run you out, because someone's gonna
have to be there to rebuild this when when it's
all over, And I said, all right, Michael, all right,
all right. But then I after Donald Trump refused to
concede the election, and now we were looking at a
constitutional crisis, I said, there is no way I can
(07:30):
still stay in a party that believes in nothing, because
that used to be Sancro sacro, sanct We could argue
over policy differences, okay, fine, but some of the rhetoric
from the Tea Party era, some of the racial rhetoric
and the xenophobia, it bothered me. I didn't like that.
And then it got progressively worse. And Donald Trump gave
(07:50):
a license for the most for the lowest common denominator
aspects and unearthed so much of that division that you're
talking about, and that us first them. He really empowered that.
And that is not why I got into politics. That's
not why I followed Republican ideology. That was not where
I came from. And I said enough, and once we
(08:11):
started looking at constitutional crises, I said, they believe in nothing.
They are cynical political hypocrites, and I want nothing to
do with them. And then a couple months later, obviously,
January sixth happened, and I had never been more validated
for making the decision that I made to leave the party,
and I hope it burns to the ground. But now
when it's the only way it's going, it's the only
way it's going to reform, it's so diseased, and so
(08:34):
the cancer of trump Ism has me tastitized so badly
that there is no recovering in its current form. So
as far as I'm concerned, and I always joke with
Michael about this, I know he still he says he
likes to still sit there with the light on, and
let's want people to come welcome, you know, be welcomed
in when when it's all said and done, and he'll
be there to fix it. And I say, I applaud
(08:54):
him for it for that, but I could no longer
be associated with the party in its current form because
it literally presents danger to all of us into what
we cherish as a democracy in this country. So versus them,
that normalization of lying and deception and propaganda and recreating
(09:16):
the similar similar ideologies and tactics that we saw coming
out of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy and those movements.
They're given mainstream credibility now with a major party in
this country, and that is not acceptable. So for us
(09:36):
with Seneca. When we say we're bipartisan, we're probably more
nonpartisan because my co founder, she comes from democratic politics.
Like I said, I came from Republican politics. But we
don't care who you voted for before. We don't care
who you vote for after this election at this point.
But you cannot vote for Donald Trump and MAGA now.
You cannot because if you believe in our democracy, if
(09:57):
you believe in equality, if you believe in your own
agency over your body and decision making, you cannot possibly
cast a vote for someone who thinks that you are
lesser than, who's a convicted felon who wants to be
a dictator on day one and has no respect for
what makes America actually great.
Speaker 5 (10:17):
If my voice didn't matter, people wouldn't be trying so
hard to silence me, And if my vote didn't matter,
they wouldn't work so hard to take it away. So
you know why I'm voting this November because I know
they don't want me to. Your voice is powerful, your
voice matters. Don't let your voice be silenced. To register,
confirm your voting status, or get information about voting in
(10:38):
your area, visit vote dot gov. That's vote dot goov
a message from the Perception Institute and the Black Information Network.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Now you say that, and you would think that it's
just that easier, I do you know, I would think
everyone had I mean, we all are presented with the
same set of facts. Our interpretations can vary, but for
the most part, we all know that January sixth is
(11:10):
a day in this country where there were people that
were in the capital that were not welcome. There were
people that died. Donald Trump invited those folks out. You know, again,
it was a coup.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
I don't care what anybody says at this point. It
was an insurrection. It was violent, and it was an
attempt to overthrow a free and fair election period.
Speaker 2 (11:27):
First time in American history.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
There you go, right now, you coming from Republican background,
Republican policies able to look at this taking place and say,
at least on January sixth, I made the right decision.
But prior to that, yeah, deciding you know what, that
is not something that does not resemble the party that
I am affiliated with. This does not resemble the country
(11:51):
that I have come to espouse. What is it about
folks who are still hanging on to Donald Trump? In
your estimation what is happening there where it is not
happening with you.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
I think that I underestimated, like many people, the amount
of grievance that people feel in this country. If you
look at a lot of folks who are so committed
to Donald Trump, this cult of personality that he's created
here that has now manifested itself into a whole political movement,
(12:30):
a lot of those people a are either upset that
they were wronged and not listened to, and Donald Trump
has made them believe he's their champion, which is which
is a skill set that a lot of con artists
are very good at doing, convincing people.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
That they that they are your outlet. I believe in you.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
You know a lot of preachers do that too, But
a lot of cult leaders and con artists are very
good at tapping in to what people are lacking. And
Donald Trump was beamed into people's homes for years. He
created this persona that was bs. We all know that,
but a lot of people did not, and they he
(13:14):
felt relatable to them because he doesn't speak or act
like your typical billionaire or your elitist. You know, he
sounds just like me. Meanwhile, it's all. In act, he
doesn't care about those folks. He doesn't care about people
in small towns or you know, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:27):
He doesn't care and he loves the poorly educated.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
You know.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
I mean it's uh, but the.
Speaker 3 (13:32):
The visceral reaction in which people behave when they when
you try to speak about Donald Trump tell the truth,
they don't want to hear it because A it's difficult
for people to admit that they were wrong when they're
so committed, and B it makes them look inside themselves
as to what it was about that ugliness that attracted
(13:54):
them to him. And it's people don't like self reflection.
You don't want to take responsibility. And maybe I am
a little racist, maybe I am a little sexist.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Maybe I really don't.
Speaker 3 (14:04):
Like those immigrants over there. And he tells me, I'm okay,
I don't have to apologize for that. Well, no, you
have every right to feel the way you feel. However,
if you want to live in a free and fair society,
you can't just pick and choose your facts. You can't
just disregard democratic institutions. You can't just you know, create
this all universe that they've created. They live on earth too,
(14:26):
you ever, listened to the media ecosystem that's been built
up that reinforces these really ugly tropes in this this
horrible world that Donald Trump has created so that people
have to rely on him. That's what dictators do. Only
I can fix it. And people who are looking and
longing for belonging to be listened to, they're susceptible to that,
(14:47):
just like any cult, and that's what it's become. It's
become a cult for a lot of those people. Now
for the political actors that's still that know better, I
have no patience for them because they know better, and
they are the enablers who have allowed Donald Trump to
get this much power and allowed MAGA to get this
much This is kind of a stronghold in our politics,
(15:09):
destroying not only our democratic institutions in our country, but
destroying families and communities are and ripping us apart for
what they know better. They're like the vhis in France
during Nazi Germany, where they went along to get along,
thinking all, well, if we do that, they won't come
for us.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Guess what they came for them.
Speaker 3 (15:29):
And these people, a lot of the enablers in the
Republican Party who still will in private. They know Donald
Trump is insane, they know that he's incompetent. They know,
but they have never been more politically relevant in their lives.
They got a taste of power and relevancy and cognitive
dissonance is a hell of a drug.
Speaker 4 (15:47):
We often say that most enablers are apologists for Donald
Trump are typically defending themselves. Yep, when they're defending him.
We do not have you forever. You have somewhere to
be and we don't want to hold you up. In parting,
is there any particular message that you want listeners to
gain from the perspective that you have in this realm
(16:10):
or somewhere people can go to learn more about you
and the work that you do.
Speaker 3 (16:13):
Yeah, well, we'll start with where they can find me,
the Seneca Project. Like I said, we target moderate women,
bipartisan Seneca Project dot us. You can see our ads
and our content and the messages that we put out.
It's really just the beginning because this election doesn't end
regardless of the outcome on November fifth. This is a
(16:34):
generational fight, and so it's important for people to feel
as though that they can be a part of that fight.
And we hope that we create that environment, particularly for women.
We love our male allies too, but Seneca project us
on all the socials. For me, I'm at taraset Mayor.
Luckily there's only one of me, so I'm easy to
find on all social media Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. But what
(16:59):
a harding words. I think it's really important for people
to realize that democracy doesn't defend itself and if you
want to have power in your purpose, then you have
to exercise it. And every single person in America has
the ability to exercise their power through their vote. The vote,
(17:22):
Their vote is their voice, and this election is too
important to sit out. You cannot, you cannot. Every vote
counts no matter where you live. Yes, the battleground states
are probably where this is going to be decided, but
it's not just about the presidential election. It's about who
is your city councilman, who is your state rep. Who
is going to be your congressman, your senator. These are
(17:44):
people who make decisions that impact our everyday lives and
they work for us. So if you want the government
that you want and you want the representation you want,
you have to actively defend your democracy before we lose it.
Because once you lose it, you're not getting it back.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Indeed, listen.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
Tara set Mayor, the co founder and CEO of the
Seneca Project, formercy and in political commentator, contributor to ABC News,
and former GOP communications director on Capitol Hill, thank you
so much for coming on the show, having a conversation
with us that only you can have because you sit
at a unique intersection of politics, of media, of parties,
(18:30):
political parties, and culture and culture. And I can't thank
you enough. It's it's been a joy, it's been enlightening.
We're going to have to make sure that we do
this again when we have more pretty.
Speaker 3 (18:41):
Please, Oh, I would love to thank you guys, Thank you,
thank you.
Speaker 1 (18:45):
Be sure to check back for additional episodes right here
on the Black Information Network Daily Podcast
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