Adam22: The Adult Filmmaker/Bro Podcaster Trying To Save Dems

Summary

Bulwark Takes: Adam22—The Adult Filmmaker/Bro Podcaster Trying To Save Dems

Host: Will Sommer
Guest: Adam22 (Adam Grand Mason)
Release Date: April 4, 2025

In this compelling episode of Bulwark Takes, reporter Will Sommer engages in an in-depth conversation with Adam22, the influential YouTuber behind the popular channel No Jumper. The discussion delves into the intricate challenges Democrats face in connecting with younger audiences, the shifting landscape of political influence in media, and the personal experiences of Adam22 navigating his political identity amidst evolving cultural dynamics.

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1. The Struggle for Democratic Influencers in the Digital Age

[00:00] Will Sommer opens the conversation by highlighting the ongoing debate within Democratic circles about finding influential figures akin to Joe Rogan—individuals who can effectively engage and resonate with younger demographics through platforms like YouTube and podcasts.

Adam22 responds by outlining the difficulty Democrats face in identifying and cultivating such influencers. He articulates a sense of disillusionment with the current state of left-wing media and its inability to capture the interest of his audience:

“It feels like the left is so, you know, not appetizing to my audience... the Democratic brand is just completely toxic.”
([02:30])

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2. Adam22’s Political Background and Current Disillusionment

Raised in a family of Democrats, Adam22 shares his upbringing amidst active political rallies and his father’s involvement in Bernie Clinton's presidential bid. However, over time, he expresses a growing disconnect with the Democratic Party:

“... I also just feel kind of lost at sea and just don’t really feel like I have a home politically at this point.”
([02:30])

He observes that the realm of hip hop and related media has increasingly been dominated by right-wing voices, leaving little room for leftist influencers to gain traction.

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3. The Branding Dilemma: No Jumper’s Controversial Image

Will Sommer probes into how No Jumper's branding might be impeding Democratic figures from appearing on the show. Adam22 acknowledges that his platform's association with controversial elements—such as hosting past gang members and porn stars—creates barriers for mainstream Democratic politicians:

“You would think that it would actually be a pretty palatable spot for them to show up just because I’m more just interested in even putting forth any kind of face in terms of the left that might make sense to my audience.”
([04:09])

This unique branding, while attracting a specific audience, inadvertently alienates potential Democratic guests who may find the environment too unconventional or risky.

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4. Democratic Messaging: Alienation of Young Men

A significant portion of the discussion centers on how Democratic messaging has become a stumbling block for engaging young male audiences. Adam22 criticizes the party's focus on social justice issues, arguing that it alienates his demographic:

“The Democrats are the party of social justice ism... it feels like the worst things that the most extreme leftist commentators and influencers have put out there...”
([06:30])

He points out that the aggressive stance on topics like trans rights and the portrayal of Democratic figures as out-of-touch contribute to a perception that the party is not relatable or appealing to young men.

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5. The Disconnect Between Democratic Politicians and Media Engagement

Adam22 highlights the challenges Democrats face in media engagement compared to their Republican counterparts. He contrasts the ease with which right-wing figures secure high-profile media appearances to the left's struggle to find suitable platforms and guests:

“...that’s obviously a huge part of the problem when somebody like Trump or JD Vance can go on Joe Rogan and get 50 million views. And meanwhile on the left, it’s like hard to even think of who would fill that sort of role.”
([03:45])

This disparity underscores the broader issue of media representation and the consequent impact on political influence and voter engagement.

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6. Potential Strategies for Democratic Outreach

When asked about solutions, Adam22 admits uncertainty but suggests that Democrats need to adopt more relatable and authentic communication strategies. He emphasizes the importance of having ambassadors who can normalize Democratic politics and engage in genuine conversations across political divides:

“They need ambassadors who are willing to go out there and be able to have conversations that can normalize their politics... and putting forth a message that young men could be on board with.”
([09:31])

He draws attention to figures like Destiny, who have successfully navigated multiple media platforms to reach diverse audiences, suggesting that a similar approach could benefit the Democratic Party.

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7. The Quest for Relatable Democratic Voices

In expressing his desire for more relatable Democratic figures, Adam22 names Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) as his "dream guest" for No Jumper. This indicates his yearning for influencers who can bridge the gap between the party's policies and the everyday experiences of young men:

“I think I need AOC on no Jumper for sure. That would be the one for me.”
([11:09])

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with Will Sommer thanking Adam22 for his candid insights into the challenges facing Democrats in the current media landscape. Adam22’s reflections highlight a critical need for the Democratic Party to reinvent its communication strategies to better engage younger audiences and navigate the complexities of modern digital influence.

“Thank you, Will. I appreciate it.”
([11:25])

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This episode of Bulwark Takes offers a nuanced exploration of the intersection between political affiliation, media influence, and generational engagement. Adam22’s perspective underscores the imperative for the Democratic Party to innovate and adapt to maintain relevance and connection with the evolving electorate.

Transcript

[A]

Hi, welcome back to the Bulwark. I'm Will Sommer. I'm a reporter here at the Bulwark and I'm joined today by YouTuber Adam22, aka Adam Grand Mason. One topic that has been very hot after the election is whether Democrats can find, you know, the quote unquote liberal Joe Rogan or some kind of other YouTube influencer or YouTube star who can connect with young people. So I wanted to check in with Adam. Adam, welcome to the Bulwark.

[B]

Happy to be here. Thank you, Will.

[A]

So, you know, I had heard that you were, you know, as we face this topic of, you know, right wing influence in the manosphere or shows like Joe Rogan. Theo Vaughn, I had heard you were kind of coming at it from a different tack. How would you describe your politics?

[B]

So I grew up in a whole family of Democrats. I got all these memories of being a young kid going to, you know, honking wave type political rallies. My dad was like a unpaid volunteer on Clinton's first presidential bid because I grew up in New Hampshire where everything was going down with the primaries at that time. So, yeah, always grew up around Democratic politics. Slash completely. Like that's the side of the aisle that I've always found myself on. But as time goes by, yeah, it's kind of, you know, the. The realm of hip hop has kind of been commandeered by the right, just like most of, you know, the manosphere adjacent podcasts. We all seen that infographic a couple months ago with Joe Rogan and Theo Vaughn and all these other podcasts that are heavily right leaning. And at this point in time, it definitely feels like the left is so, you know, not appetizing to my audience that it's like I'm usually better left, just kind of not even discussing it at all. And I've had this conversation with a lot of people who are on the left where they kind of just feel like at this point there's so little for the average fan of podcasts to relate to on the left, that it's almost like the Democratic brand is just completely toxic. And for me, it's like, you know, I don't really feel like there's a clear cut home for me on the right either. It just feels like it's everything is just such bullshit coming out of that side that it's like I can't really imagine myself switching teams. But I also just feel kind of lost at sea and just don't really feel like I have a home politically at this point.

[A]

So you have this really mega popular YouTube channel, no jumper on hip hop culture and other topics as Democrats sort of look for this sort of YouTube counterweight to the right. I mean, you've tried to have Democrats on your show and what has the reaction been?

[B]

You know, pretty, pretty mute. You know, it's not, I don't think we've had anybody of any significance who's really on the left and really involved in politics who's been willing to come on the show, which I realize is a problem for a lot of podcasts that are probably even safer homes for, you know, leftist candidates and influencers to go on. Like, I just recently heard David Pakman talking about how he can't even get anybody to really come on his show. Even his platform is considered kind of to out there, I guess, for a lot of these sort of mainstream politician types. And I think, you know, that's obviously a huge part of the problem when somebody like Trump or JD Vance can go on Joe Rogan and get 50 million views. And meanwhile on the left, it's like hard to even think of who would fill that sort of role. And on top of that, it's just they seem pretty unwilling to take part in conversations. It's like the Kamala Joe Rogan thing, but at scale where it feels like that's kind of the attitude of like the majority of people, people in these positions.

[A]

With that in mind, I mean, it seems like, why do you think, I mean, you've tried to get senators, you've tried to get members of Congress on your show, and as far as I know, there, there's been very little interest. At the same time, I mean, you look at Republicans, as you said, who are willing to go on all sorts of YouTube shows and reach new audiences. Why do you think Democrats are so reluctant to. To, to sort of expand the. What it looks like to the kind of interview show they would go on?

[B]

I mean, for sure, my personal brand and no Jumpers brand are a little problematic for certain people. You know, large percentage of the people that we interview and, and hosts that we have on the platform are like past or current gang members. I do porn. We have a lot of porn stars on the podcast. We're like, famously, one of our hosts is currently wrapped up in a federal RICO charge that was released a couple weeks ago. So there's a lot of like, more obvious branding things that could definitely hold people back from wanting to be involved. But you would think that it would actually be a pretty palatable spot for them to show up on just because it's like, you know, I'm not gonna. I'm not some, like, political troll that's going to be trying to get a crazy reaction out of these people. You know, I'm more just interested in even putting forth any kind of face in terms of the left that might make sense to my audience. And it just feels like that's just. Just impossible. They're just not interested. They only want to go with the safest possible alternatives. And, I mean, even. You know, I'm watching Gavin Newsome try to launch his podcasting career, and it feels like it's kind of. You understand why this is so problematic because, you know, he sits down with somebody like Charlie Kirk, and, like, it feels like his audience uses this as an opportunity to just laugh at him. And then his. His audience, Gavin Newsom's audience feels like this is just a complete and total waste of time for him to even sit down with a lot of these people. So, yeah, just kind of, like, furthers my personal belief that the left is just completely lost and might not win an election for a couple decades at this point. I mean, it might be shortsighted for me to think that this is such a sealed thing, but I really feel like the left just needs to figure something out in terms of how they're going to put themselves forward. Because at this point, in terms of, like, my demographic of young men from, you know, their. Their teenage years up through their mid-30s, like, just identifying yourself as a Democrat just seems like a pretty much guaranteed way for people to, you know, really kind of discount you automatically.

[A]

Yeah, I mean, if you could expand on that, I mean, what is it about Democrats, do you think that has. Has turned off young men?

[B]

I just feel like two young men. The Democrats are the party of social justice ism, you know, trans rights beyond the pale of, like, you know, reasonable conversation and people who just sort of, like, mindlessly will repeat that, you know, trans women are biological women or whatever. It feels like the worst things that the most extreme leftist, you know, commentators and influencers have put out there, the most extreme things get wrapped up as if those are sort of required, you know, default positions of anybody on the left. And, you know, you're sort of forced to, like, defend Joe Biden running for president into his 80s or, you know, Kamala Harris, who's, like, one of the most detestable politicians in recent memory, in the opinion of a lot of my audience. And, you know, I. I still remember in 2016 being so shocked and appalled at Kanye being willing to support Trump. And now we're at the point where. And that really, like, was the beginning in a lot of ways of him being sort of exiled out of the mainstream in terms of hip hop's conversation. But, I mean, these days, it's almost impossible to even find a rapper who would publicly want to identify as being on the left. And meanwhile, like, you know, rappers are eager to tell you about how they support Trump. And a lot of times they don't even have, like, a policy that they can land on that they are in support of. And if I were to get into a lot of Trump's more extreme positions, they would probably be confused. But it feels like that is just in and of itself, it's like a badge of honor and really like a sign that you haven't been co opted for for people to identify as Trump supporters within hip hop, which is not something I ever thought I would see 10 years ago.

[A]

What do you think of the current content being put out by Democrats? I mean, I think you had mentioned seeing Hakeem Jeffries on Jon Stewart and just thinking, my audience can't relate to this at all.

[B]

Oh, yeah. I mean, I just watched that and I went to the comments within 10, 15 minutes and was just like, oh, okay, everybody sees this the way I see it, which is basically just like an AI designed to sort of reiterate all the most basic boring boilerplate Democratic talking points. And it just felt like the absolute opposite of, you know, as. As far removed from the working man as Trump may be. I mean, he just sounds like way more of a normal person in comparison to somebody like Hakeem Jeffries, who goes on podcasts and just feels like he's just incapable of having a reasonable conversation and sounding like a human being. And I feel like that that's a huge part of the problem is it just feels like, you know, there's just so little room for the Democrats to have conversations in which they can relate to people.

[A]

So, you know, Adam, if you were in charge of the DNC or, you know, the Democrats media strategy, you know, what's one thing you would do to reach young men that Democrats fear they're losing?

[B]

Oh, man. Yeah, it's just like, honestly, that I feel so lost even beginning to think about that, because it feels like they need ambassadors who are willing to go out there and be able to have conversations that can normalize their politics and everything. And then I also feel like they just need to exile some fringe elements from the party, which in and of itself feels like a suicide mission, because as soon as you say anything that may. You know, I saw the reaction to Gavin Newsom saying that he doesn't think that trans girls should be playing in biological female sports. And I mean, I saw the reaction where it's like, you know, this. This horrifies a huge percentage of the left. And so as a result, I just. I have no idea what they could possibly do. But I think that the. The start of it for sure would be being willing to go out and have these conversations with people on the right. You know, that's one of the things that turned me into a big Destiny fan a couple of years ago when I first started having him on the podcast was just the fact that he was willing to go on Fresh and Fit or Tim Pool, which at the time was shocking to me. And, I mean, you do see more people on the left sort of running that game of being willing to go on all these podcasts and do the best job that they can at putting the right foot forward and, and putting forth a message that young men could be on board with. But it. It definitely feels like a lot of these, like, smaller streamer type characters can only do so much, as opposed to actually having politicians who represent some of the same ideas.

[A]

Who's your dream guest from the world of politics?

[B]

Yeah, I think I need AOC on no Jumper for sure. That would. That would be the one for me.

[A]

Great. Well, again, we've been joined here by Adam22, aka Adam Grand Mason of the no Jumper podcast and YouTube channel. Adam, thank you so much for joining us.

[B]

Thank you, Will. I appreciate it.