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Peter Daou

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Peter Daou
Born1965 (age 58–59)[1]
Beirut, Lebanon
EducationAmerican University of Beirut
New York University
Political partyIndependent (2020–present)
Democratic (before 2020)
RelativesMolly Jong-Fast (cousin)

Peter Daou (born 1965) is a Lebanese-American political activist, musician, and author.[2][3][4] A former member of the Democratic Party and advisor to Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign, Daou served as the campaign manager for Marianne Williamson's presidential campaign in the 2024 Democratic primaries for the month of April 2023, before joining the Independent presidential campaign of Cornel West as campaign manager in September 2023.

Early life

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Daou was born in Beirut and lived there for part of the Lebanese Civil War.[5] At 15, he says he was conscripted by the Lebanese Forces, a Christian militia, and underwent three years of military training alongside his schooling.[6] He attended the American University of Beirut, and amid ongoing strife in Lebanon, moved to New York to study philosophy at New York University.[7][8] Daou's father was Catholic and Daou was baptized into his father's faith.[9] Daou is of Jewish descent on his mother's side; his mother is an American who was born and raised in New York.[10]

Career

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Music

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During the 1990s, Daou was a producer and keyboardist, appearing on hundreds of remixes and recordings by artists including Björk, Frankie Knuckles, Miles Davis, Mariah Carey, and Diana Ross. A jazz pianist, he produced three #1 Billboard Club singles and was signed to Columbia Records and Universal Music Group. He toured the U.S. and Europe, and was featured in Vibe, Spin, Billboard, and Time.[11] Daou also formed The Daou, a New York City-based dance music group.[12] He and then-wife Vanessa Daou made a number of albums together in the latter part of the 1990s.[2]

Politics

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Daou was an online communications adviser to the John Kerry 2004 presidential campaign. In 2006, when he was hired as a consultant by the Hillary Clinton campaign, The New York Times described him as "one of the most prominent political bloggers in the nation."[13]

According to The Washington Post in 2007, Daou was seen by early political bloggers "as the Yoda of the blogosphere because of the Daou Report, a comprehensive snapshot of the Web's blue and red blogs that he wrote until joining the Clinton campaign."[14] He led Hillary Clinton's digital operation in her 2008 campaign and was an outspoken Clinton advocate in 2016.[15]

During the 2020 primaries, Daou penned an op-ed for The Nation in which he implored Democrats, progressives, and leftists to move past their 2016 battles over the candidacy of Bernie Sanders, uniting behind a shared goal of defeating Trump.[16] In November 2019, he appeared on the Sanders campaign "Hear the Bern" podcast in support of the #NotMeUs movement.[17] In March 2020, he explained on The Intercept his support for Sanders and insights gained from past experience working for the Democratic Party's establishment.[18]

In 2019, Daou and his wife, Leela, became advisors to the progressive congressional campaigns of Lindsey Boylan (NY-10), Lauren Ashcraft (NY-12), Rebecca Parson (WA-06), and Melanie D'Arrigo (NY-03).[19][20]

In April 2020, Daou posted on Twitter that he was leaving the Democratic Party.[21]

On February 14, 2022, Daou posted a tweet where he denounced capitalism and stated that he considers himself a non-specific "leftist". However, he views David Graeber as an influence and sympathizes with anarchism.[22]

In April 2023, Daou announced that he was joining the presidential campaign of Marianne Williamson as her campaign manager. He said he joined her campaign "because I've known her for years and deeply appreciate her lifelong dedication to helping people."[23]

In May 2023, Daou announced on Twitter that he was resigning from his campaign manager position of the presidential campaign of Marianne Williamson.[24] A few days later in a joint statement with the campaign, he cited his and his wife Leela Daou's obligations to care for their ailing parents.[25]

On September 10, 2023, Daou became the campaign manager of 2024 Green Party presidential candidate Cornel West.[26][27] Daou told New Yorker interviewer Isaac Chotiner that "there has been a systemic eradication of all the routes that third parties can take, which is a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Let alone this constantly propagandistic vote shaming. Vote shaming is voter suppression."[28] In October 2023, Daou described West's decision to leave the Green Party to run for president as an independent by saying West wanted "to be 100 percent laser-focused on people as opposed to the party process."[29] On October 26, 2023, Daou announced via X (formerly Twitter) that he was resigning from West's campaign over "ongoing emotional distress" from the Israel–Hamas war, its effects in Gaza and the Biden administration's response.[30]

Media

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Daou served as the chief executive of Shareblue Media (now The American Independent) and the co-founder of the media platform Verrit, which was shut down in 2018.[15][31]

Daou and James Boyce claimed to have performed a founding role in the Huffington Post and said they were shut out of any profits from its sale to AOL. A suit was filed in 2010 by Daou and Boyce, which was settled in 2014.[32]

Daou is the author of Digital Civil War: Confronting the Far-Right Menace.[33][34]

Personal life

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Daou and Molly Jong-Fast are cousins.[35]

References

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  1. ^ Klion, David (December 3, 2019). "What Happened to Peter Daou?". The New Republic. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "The strange life of Peter Daou". The Outline. September 6, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  3. ^ Walters, Joanna (December 28, 2017). "Vanity Fair under fire for urging Hillary Clinton to quit politics and knit instead". The Guardian – via theguardian.com.
  4. ^ Klion, David (December 3, 2019). "What Happened to Peter Daou?". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  5. ^ Klion, David (December 3, 2019). "What Happened to Peter Daou?". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  6. ^ "Rebuttal to Those Who Distort My Childhood War Experience". Archived from the original on November 17, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  7. ^ "Home Page - PETER DAOU". Archived from the original on August 5, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  8. ^ Klion, David (December 3, 2019). "What Happened to Peter Daou?". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  9. ^ Daou, Peter (August 16, 2017). "Peter Daou on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  10. ^ Daou, Peter (August 16, 2017). "Peter Daou on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
  11. ^ "Hillary Clinton's political strategist Peter Daou was once a serious house music producer". Mixmag. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  12. ^ "The Secret House Music Career of Peter Daou, Controversial Verrit Creator and Clinton Adviser". Pitchfork. September 8, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  13. ^ Hernandez, Raymond (June 27, 2006). "A Well-Known Political Blogger Is Hired by the Clinton Campaign". The New York Times. Retrieved October 19, 2023. Mr. Daou.. will be a Web consultant for the campaign
  14. ^ Vargas, Jose Antonio (May 4, 2007). "Meet the OPOs" – via washingtonpost.com.
  15. ^ a b Horowitz, Jason (September 22, 2016). "Inside Hillary Clinton's Outrage Machine, Allies Push the Buttons". The New York Times.
  16. ^ Daou, Peter (April 23, 2019). "I Was Bernie's Biggest Critic in 2016—I've Changed My Mind". The Nation. ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
  17. ^ Hear the Bern Episode 34 | Turkey Talk with Bernie and Peter Daou, November 27, 2019, retrieved December 3, 2019
  18. ^ "Super Tuesday: Which Side Are You On?". About. The Intercept. March 3, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  19. ^ Klion, David (December 3, 2019). "What Happened to Peter Daou?". The New Republic.
  20. ^ McAuliff, Michael (July 8, 2019). "Democratic challenger to Rep. Jerry Nadler's seat raises more than quarter of a million dollars". nydailynews.com. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  21. ^ "I'm Quitting the Democratic Party". Twitter. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  22. ^ Daou, Peter (February 14, 2022). "Peter Daou on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
  23. ^ Daou, Peter (April 13, 2023). "As Marianne Williamson's campaign manager, I'm curious to know how many polls will be released that ignore her declared candidacy [...] I joined her campaign because I've known her for years and deeply appreciate her lifelong dedication to helping people". Twitter. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  24. ^ @peterdaou (May 20, 2023). "Personal Note: After much consideration, I've decided to leave Marianne Williamson's presidential campaign, where I was campaign manager. Details to follow" (Tweet). Retrieved May 20, 2023 – via Twitter.
  25. ^ Daou, Peter (May 22, 2023). "My friends and family know that my wife @leeladaou and I have been caring for our ailing parents. It's been tough to do that and focus full time on a presidential campaign. Here is the official @marwilliamson campaign statement for why I decided to leave". Twitter.
  26. ^ Fung, Katherine (September 11, 2023). "Democrat Who Left Party Over Ignored Groping Claims Backs Cornel West". Newsweek. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  27. ^ "Cornel West for President announces the hiring of political activist, author, and adviser Peter Daou as Campaign Manager". Cornel West for President 2024. September 10, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2023.
  28. ^ Chotiner, Isaac (September 28, 2023). "Peter Daou's theory of election interference -- by Democrats". The New Yorker. Retrieved September 29, 2023. What I'm trying to tell you is that I don't even believe we have a so-called democracy. What we have is a duopoly, or an oligarchy, in which the vast majority of people suffer.
  29. ^ Homans, Charles (October 5, 2023). "Cornel West, Dropping Green Party, Will Run as an Independent". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  30. ^ Trudo, Hannah (October 27, 2023). "Cornel West's campaign manager says he's leaving job". The Hill. Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  31. ^ Logan, Bryan (September 4, 2017). "Hillary Clinton promoted a news website 'for the 65.8 million' — here's what its founder says it's all about" – via businessinsider.com.
  32. ^ Bercovici, Jeff. "Huffington Post Founders Settle Lawsuit Over Its Origins". Forbes.
  33. ^ Kaiser, Charles (May 19, 2019). "Digital Civil War review: a stark call to save American democracy". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  34. ^ "Peter Daou, "Digital Civil War: Confronting the Far-Right Menace" (Melville House, 2019)". New Books Network. May 6, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  35. ^ Klion, David (December 3, 2019). "What Happened to Peter Daou?". The New Republic.
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