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When did Liz Smith make the statement about Democrat resistance strategy?
Executive summary
Available reporting shows Lis Smith — often cited as a Democratic strategist who worked for Pete Buttigieg and later for the DNC’s effort against third‑party candidates — described parts of the Democrats’ playbook for 2024 (framing RFK Jr. as a spoiler and running aggressive communications, opposition research and legal challenges) in interviews and media commentary in 2024 and afterward (for example, Smith’s comments about the DNC war room and messaging appear in Vanity Fair and NBC News coverage in 2024) [1] [2]. Exact phrasing of a single “Democrat resistance strategy” quote is not pinned to one clear date in the available sources; reporting documents related comments in March–May 2024 and continues to profile Smith through 2025 [2] [1] [3].
1. Who Lis Smith is and why her timing matters
Lis Smith is a veteran Democratic strategist credited with helping Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 campaign and later tapped by the Democratic National Committee to lead communications, opposition research and legal responses aimed at countering third‑party contenders in 2024; NBC News reported the DNC hired her for that role in March 2024 [2]. Because she was embedded in the DNC’s organized response, her comments about strategy — whether about messaging that a third‑party candidate is a “spoiler” or about “leaving nothing to chance” — carry weight as descriptions of operational intent rather than idle punditry [1] [2].
2. What the reporting actually quotes her saying
Coverage describes Smith explaining the Democratic approach toward RFK Jr. and other third‑party risks: she told interviewers the party was “leaving nothing to chance,” that Democrats should “fill in the blanks for voters” by arguing an RFK vote was a “wasted vote” or a “spoiler,” and that the DNC assembled an aggressive communications and research team to make that case [1] [2]. Vanity Fair framed those remarks around the idea of a Democratic “war room,” and NBC News emphasized the March 2024 DNC hire to run that aggressive communications component [1] [2].
3. When those statements appeared in the public record
The timing in the available sources clusters in spring 2024: NBC News reported the DNC’s hiring of Smith and formation of a counter‑third‑party team on March 15, 2024 [2]. Vanity Fair’s May 23, 2024 piece described Smith discussing the Democratic “war room” against RFK Jr. and quoted her language about messaging and strategy [1]. Longer profiles and interviews with Smith appear in later outlets, including New York Magazine and The New York Times in 2025, but the concrete tactical comments tied to the DNC counter‑third‑party effort are reported in those 2024 items [2] [1] [3].
4. Where the record is unclear or incomplete
No single source in the provided set reproduces a one‑line rallying quote labelled precisely as “the Democrat resistance strategy” uttered by Smith on a single date; the available reports instead quote several related formulations (for example, “leaving nothing to chance,” “fill in the blanks for voters,” and characterizing RFK Jr. as a “spoiler”) across interviews and reporting in spring 2024 [1] [2]. If you are seeking an exact phrasing and timestamp for “the statement about Democrat resistance strategy,” that precise formulation is not found in the current set of sources — available sources do not mention a single, definitive line with that wording.
5. Competing interpretations and political context
Journalists presented two linked interpretations: one view, from reporting like NBC News, frames Smith’s role as defensive — the DNC building infrastructure to blunt a third‑party threat that could hand the election to Trump [2]. Another perspective observable in outlets covering Smith’s broader views is prescriptive: she argues Democrats should normalize certain messaging and tactics to win over swing voters [4] [5]. Critics who distrust establishment Democratic tactics have contested whether aggressive anti‑third‑party campaigns are persuasive or politically risky, though such critiques are not documented in the provided sources (available sources do not mention organized, specific rebuttals to Smith’s March–May 2024 comments).
6. How to verify or locate the exact quote you’re asking about
To pin an exact line and timestamp, check the original interviews and the outlets cited here: the NBC News March 15, 2024 story on the DNC hiring Lis Smith [2] and the Vanity Fair piece from May 23, 2024 describing the Democratic “war room” [1]. Subsequent long‑form profiles and interviews with Smith in New York Magazine and The New York Times in 2025 provide broader context but don’t supplant the March–May 2024 reporting as the locus of her tactical statements [3] [6].
If you want, I can search the same sources for verbatim transcripts or look for other contemporaneous pieces (podcast transcripts, full interview texts) that might contain the precise wording you have in mind.