A Democratic strategist wants a Joe Biden hologram projected over the Grand Canyon, 'Fortnite'-style

Remember when Travis Scott went on tour in Fortnite as a massive hologram and debuted a song with Kid Cudi that hit no. 1? Well, former Pete Buttigieg spokesperson Lis Smith does, and she thinks that’s just what the Democratic National Convention needs to get the young voters jazzed up in August.

Smith, a Dem establishment side character who isn’t going anywhere, joined Politico’s Jake Sherman for a virtual interview from home. Among other things, they discussed how she’d alter convention plans during the pandemic. One of her former colleagues pointed to Scott’s over-the-top virtual recent performance, which made the rapper skyscraper-sized and drew more than 12 million viewers. “Stefan Smith, who had done digital work for Pete Buttigieg, cited the other day how Travis Scott’s takeover of Fortnite and how that was a really creative way to think about it,” she said.

Smith wants to apply this to the Joe Biden campaign, which struggled for weeks to master basic livestreaming and webcam technology from his basement. “If we could do that with Joe Biden, you know, Joe Biden and project it against the Grand Canyon, that might be a little bit ambitious, but we could have exclusive musical content from some of the biggest musical artists in the game at this driving eyeballs to the convention so that people watch them,” continues.

It’s at least a little funny to see the same tactics that failed so spectacularly last time be recycled once again. The too-bloated, big-budget spiritual sequel to some of Hillary Clinton’s cringiest moments on the 2016 trail, Smith’s ideations prove that we’ll be Pokémon Going to the polls, crossed with a side of chilling in Cedar Rapids for eternity. The Democratic party is nothing if not committed to shoving younger voters into the dustbin on the issues most impactful to their life, only to embrace symbolic gestures for relevance in lieu of meaningful solutions.

Pursuing broadly popular policy proposals tailored to prevent tens of thousands from dying while sick and uninsured, millions from suffering under student loan debt, or the uninhibited devastation of climate change might be a better place to start than a Joe Biden hologram tour, but what do I know.