Donald Trump’s second term has ushered in a new era in American politics. It’s brasher, crueler, more direct, more super online, and certainly more dystopian.
Democrats and sometimes even Republicans have struggled to compete with Trump’s monopoly on the attention market. But the leaders of both parties are only mortal—yes, even Trump—and they’re not going to be around forever.
A new generation of political talent is muscling its way onto the scene, armed with new ways of connecting with the masses and original visions of the country they want to live in. Here are the candidates, the influencers, and the insiders on both the left and the right that we think you’ll keep hearing from, and why. You might just remember when you spotted a future president in this edition of WIRED.
After the shock of the 2024 election loss, some Democrats became convinced of the need for a “liberal Joe Rogan”—someone to appeal to the podcast-bro demographic that helped put Trump back in the White House. But there are already Democrats and progressives who know how to mobilize an online audience—and think they know where the party’s communications have gone wrong.
Melted Solids
Production agency,
Brooklyn, New York
If you were caught up in the avalanche of content coming from the New York City mayoral primary race, you likely saw a video by Melted Solids, which worked with Zohran Mamdani early on in his campaign. Cofounders Anthony DiMieri and Debbie Saslaw come from advertising and content production backgrounds, not politics. They bring a documentary-style approach focused on platforming regular people. “Listening, not lecturing,” as Saslaw describes it. One of their most viral collaborations with Mamdani is a video of the candidate interviewing Trump voters (and nonvoters) in Queens and the Bronx.
But not everyone can nail the essence of a Melted Solids video, or even understand what makes them special. In Andrew Cuomo’s unsuccessful attempt at mimicking Mamdani, he’s seen hand-shaking and back-slapping potential voters, but their voices remain unheard. You’re likely to keep seeing DiMieri and Saslaw’s influence on political messaging, though, thanks to Mamdani’s upset victory in June.
Chi Ossé
City Council member, New York City
“Before I am an elected official, before I am a son, before I am a brother, I am a shitposter, and I have always been,” says Ossé. “If there’s another language that I speak, it is the internet.” The 27-year-old City Council member is the creator of several videos with millions of views on Instagram, including his series “Why Shit Not Working?” that breaks down the most intransigent elements of New York City’s dysfunction.
Ossé frequently uses his online presence to galvanize public opinion and even once to pass policy. With one social media call in 2023, he got more than 1,000 people to attend a board meeting on rent guidelines to voice concern about a double-digit percent proposed increase on rent-stabilized apartments. Now other politicians are taking cues from his success, including Mamdani—Ossé says he had to remind the mayoral candidate to post his campaign launch video on TikTok.
Deja Foxx
Digital strategist, Arizona
Foxx’s star rose practically overnight in 2017, when the then-16-year-old’s exchange with US senator Jeff Flake over his vote to restrict funding to Planned Parenthood went viral. The activist and content creator built a career on that moment, working as a digital strategist for the Kamala Harris 2020 campaign and then appearing as a speaker at the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
This year, the 25-year-old launched her own campaign in a special election for the late Raúl Grijalva’s Arizona congressional seat. In a July TikTok video that she filmed with family members, she reminisced about filing campaign paperwork online: alone, in her bedroom, “with no staff, no donor list.”
The rest of her social media is just as earnest and direct, featuring front-facing videos that ground her progressive policies in her life experience: Foxx was raised by a single mom, experienced homelessness, and relied on federally funded programs like Section 8 and Title X.
