‘It’s Everybody vs. David Hogg’: A Leaked Recording Leaves Democrats Fuming

Democratic National Committee leaders are accusing Vice Chair David Hogg of leaking a private conversation between himself and his colleagues over the weekend, exposing the deep rift between the 25-year-old newcomer and the party’s top officials.

In the clip, first reported by POLITICO Sunday, Chair Ken Martin addresses Hogg directly while making a plea to stop undermining his leadership of the party and expressing reservations about his ability to do his job.

After the leak surfaced, consensus within the party’s top ranks quickly coalesced around Martin and against Hogg, insiders told NOTUS.

“Every other leader is on the same side. It really is everybody versus David Hogg,” a Democratic strategist said.

DNC Vice Chairs Malcolm Kenyatta, Jane Kleeb and Artie Blanco all backed Martin and lashed out at Hogg Sunday, blaming him for the leak.

“Breaking news: A human being had a frustrating day at work. That’s all Ken expressed on that call — I was there,” Kenyatta told NOTUS. “For weeks I’ve pointed out David’s casual relationship with the truth. He proves he has no relationship with integrity if he’s willing to record and leak private conversations.”

Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin tells NOTUS that he is “not going anywhere.” Rod Lamkey/AP

“The endless, self-serving narratives—and the deliberate leaking of private conversations—by David Hogg and his allies must stop,” Kleeb added. “Instead of helping to rebuild the party he’s supposed to serve, he’s attacking it for personal gain. That might boost his PAC’s fundraising, but it erodes trust in the very institution we’re trying to reform and strengthen.”

A number of other DNC insiders weighed in as well, casting their lot with Martin.

“We have a lot of work to do as a party, and Chair Martin is doing it. I have total confidence in his leadership,” DNC Associate Chair Stuart Applebaum said. “The stakes are so high right now that we can’t afford distractions like the ones that David is creating.”

On the call, Martin told Hogg: “No one knows who the hell I am, right? I’m trying to get my sea legs underneath me and actually develop any amount of credibility so I can go out there and raise the money and do the job I need to to put ourselves in a position to win.”

“I don’t think you intended this, but you essentially destroyed any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to. So it’s really frustrating,” he added.

Martin also was skeptical about his own future with the DNC, saying that “for the first time in my 100 days on this job … the other night I said to myself for the first time, I don’t know if I wanna do this anymore.”

He told NOTUS on Sunday, however, that he is “not going anywhere.”

“Our Fight is not within the Democratic Party, our fight is and has to be solely focused on Donald Trump and the disastrous Republican agenda,” he said. “That’s the work that I will continue to do every day.”

Hogg denied that he was the source of the leaked recording Sunday afternoon and shared on X a text message that he claimed was from the reporter who broke the story. He did not respond to a request for comment from NOTUS.

The explanation was not enough to satisfy many Democrats.

“BS. It was you. Everyone knows it,” New York state Senator James Skoufis wrote in a response to Hogg. “Leaking audio of a private call with party leadership is a disgrace and shows how deeply unserious and uncommitted you are to building a better, stronger, more inclusive Democratic Party.”

“David, do better. I voted for you,” DNC Western Caucus Vice Chair wrote on X. “I believe you (possibly illegally) recorded a call of DNC Officers & that this screenshot is fake or staged. But even if you’re not lying—in your best case scenario—you’re now leaking a private convo to prove you would never leak a private convo.”

In February, Hogg was elected to one of the five vice chair positions within the DNC, a powerful post that gives him influence over the Democratic Party’s direction in the coming years.

But he quickly angered many within the DNC by pledging to spend $20 million on electing younger candidates through his group Leaders We Deserve, including primary challengers in safely Democratic districts.

It was a move that immediately put him at odds with his colleagues, who have traditionally shied away from supporting primary challengers for incumbents.

“While Trump creates new existential crises every day, too many elected leaders in the Democratic Party are either unwilling or unable to meet the moment,” he said in a statement at the time.

Hogg’s position is also threatened by an upcoming vote that begins Monday. The DNC is holding a re-do of February’s election for Hogg and another vice chair after an organizational panel approved a procedural complaint that claimed the party’s rules made it harder for a woman to be elected to the position.

The tally, which will be held via electronic ballot from Monday to Wednesday this week, is unrelated to the broader controversy surrounding Hogg.

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Brett Bachman is a senior editor at NOTUS.