Some famous “white dudes” — including the guy who played “The Dude” — rallied in support of Vice President Kamala Harris, who would be the first female president if elected, in the inaugural event of a new group called White Dudes for Harris on Monday night.
The name may be a bit facetious, but the star-studded Zoom call attracted more than 180,000 participants and raised almost $4 million, according to organizers, who are themselves a group of white dude Democratic political operatives.
Over the nearly 3½-hour call, they said, they sold more than 5,700 White Dudes for Harris trucker caps — “not the pointy ones,” joked Ross Morales Rocketto, one of the organizers, referring to less PC gatherings of white dudes like the Ku Klux Klan.
“Throughout American history, when white men organized, it was often with pointy hats on,” said Rocketto before he added how proud he was of this group of white men, who he said are too rarely heard from.
Actor Jeff Bridges, who played “The Dude” in the cult classic “The Big Lebowski,” was excited when he heard about the gathering of his fellow white dudes.
“I qualify, man! I’m white, I’m a dude, and I’m for Harris,” Bridges said. “A woman president, man, how exciting!”
Guests included several of the white dudes Harris is considering to be her vice presidential running mate, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who announced he was withdrawing from consideration moments before the call began.
“The vibes are incredible,” Buttigieg said.
Walz, who has shot up the charts of progressives’ favorite white dudes in recent days as he has made the rounds on TV, said was thrilled by the idea of Harris’ beating former President Donald Trump.
“Make that bastard wake up afterwards and know that a Black woman kicked his a– and sent him on the road and you know that’s something that guy’s going to have to live with the rest of his life,” Walz said.
In a world where representation matters, the white dudes showed up in force.
There were white dude singers like Josh Groban and Lance Bass. White dude actors like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mark Hamill, Josh Gad, Paul Scheer and Sean Astin. And their white dude boss, director and Hollywood executive J.J. Abrams.
There were also plenty of white dudes from the world of Democratic politics, like White House infrastructure czar Mitch Landrieu, Rep. Adam Schiff of California, former Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama and Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, who pledged a $50,000 donation match.
“What a variety of whiteness we have here” said actor Bradley Whitford of “West Wing” fame. “It’s like a rainbow of beige.”
The “white dudes” call came after similar calls targeted toward Black women and white women held in recent weeks.
There were lots of self-deprecating jokes about the gathering Monday night — as well as opening remarks from a Black man, Working Families Party National Director Maurice Mitchell, whose helped reassure any uncomfortable participants that it was OK to be there.
But for all the jokes, the men also spoke candidly and movingly about their conflicted feelings about masculinity, how difficult it can be to open up emotionally and how they feel alienated from other white men, who are the core of Trump’s support.
“Black women have been showing up to vote for progressive white dudes for generations, and it’s time we show up for them,” said Broadway actor Rory O’Malley, who originated the role of Elder McKinney in “The Book of Mormon.”
Some said they felt a rare sense of community and catharsis in the event.
“White guys are really tired of the endless parade of weird MAGA Republicans trying to bend our democracy to its breaking point,” Brad Bauman, a longtime Democratic communications consultant who helped organize the call, told NBC News.
“They think they get us, but they don’t,” Bauman added. “And honestly, their dark vision for our future is just holding all of us back. That’s why we decided to start White Dudes for Harris.”
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