Monika McDermott was born into a family of artists: a father who taught theater, a mother who paints, sisters who act and curate art, and a brother who draws tattoos.
“I didn’t have that gene, but I kept looking until I found something I really loved—and it was politics,” said McDermott, who teaches political science at Fordham.
Over the course of her career, from serving as an election night polling analyst for CBS News to conducting election surveys for The Los Angeles Times, McDermott has collected a trove of political paraphernalia. Take a look at some of her quirkiest possessions in her Rose Hill office.
Pasta for Two Parties
McDermott has two very expired boxes of pasta.
“While polling at CBS News during the 2000 election, I was given a box of Republican pasta. My Democratic pasta has mysteriously disappeared, but I found a box from 1996 on trusty old eBay. The pasta shapes are elephants and stars for the Republican box, and donkeys and stars for the Democratic box,” McDermott said. “But I have never opened them. They are probably not safe to eat at this point.”
A Collection of Campaign Buttons
Pinned on her bulletin board is a collection of campaign buttons, including buttons for former presidents Richard Nixon, Dwight Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy. Some are gifts from McDermott’s grandparents, while others are souvenirs from campaigns that McDermott and her friends worked on.
‘One of the Most Notorious Elections in American History’
Among the framed photos in her office is an image of McDermott on November 7, 2000—one of the most “infamous” presidential election nights in American history.
“I was working as a research analyst, interpreting the exit polls between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore. It was a disaster. On the left is me, trying to explain to a very intelligent Ed Bradley why we kept changing the call on the state of Florida. I was there until 4 a.m. We still didn’t know who won Florida, and that dragged out for more than a month,” McDermott said. “The rewarding part was being involved in one of the most notorious elections in American history.”
A Famous Former Boss
As a political scientist, McDermott is often given political gifts, including a miniature bobblehead of former president Barack Obama.
“I actually worked on polling for both of Obama’s presidential campaigns and attended his first inaugural ball in 2008. Never got to personally meet him because we left town too soon, but he was a pretty inspiring guy,” McDermott said. “Obama did a lot to turn out the youth vote, which is the same thing that Zohran Mamdani is doing now in New York. When young people get involved, that’s when change happens.”
Mini RBG
Still preserved in the original packaging is a model of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, former justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
“A friend bought this for me because Justice Ginsburg was an icon of mine, standing up for women’s rights for most of her life. She was one of the first female graduates of Harvard Law, and she worked on women’s rights issues—something that no one really did or wanted to do during her time,” McDermott said. “I look up to her a lot.”
The Loudest Political Pen
McDermott can do an uncannily accurate version of Hillary Clinton’s laugh—and so could the pen sitting on her desk.
“You could hear Hillary’s own recorded laugh, which is infamous or notorious because it sort of sounds like a cackle,” McDermott said of the pen, which was gifted to her when Clinton ran for president in 2016. “Sadly, the pen doesn’t work anymore.”
The Trump Dammit Doll
McDermott has a voodoo-esque doll of President Donald Trump, bought in 2016.
“This is a Dammit Doll that you use to take your frustrations out. I don’t use him that way because I feel too guilty. It’s not very nice, and I try to stay apolitical. But I had never seen one in the shape of Trump, so I got it for myself because I thought it was really cool. I also have a dog toy of Trump that my dog loves and has never been able to tear apart, which is great. It’s impervious, just like he is.”
A Soapy Pope
Former Pope John Paul II continues to live on in many mediums, including soap.
“A friend bought me this as a joke. I’ve left him in his original packaging because I was not going to soap myself up with the pope,” McDermott said, laughing. “It was more of a gag gift than a useful gift, but it goes along with a lot of the political paraphernalia in my office.”
A Symbol of Democracy
In the late 1990s, McDermott found an old ballot box in an antique shop in Virginia and rehomed it in her office.
“It’s pretty primitive, so I’m assuming it was used far before the ’90s,” McDermott said. “But I fell in love with it because it symbolizes everything great about America, which is democracy.”
Our Country
When you leave McDermott’s office, one of the last things you’ll notice is her giant map of the U.S.
“This is a copy of a painting by Jasper Johns, a famous American artist. It’s one that I’ve always loved because it’s the United States, and it reminds me of elections,” McDermott said. “This was my first wedding anniversary gift from my husband, who is also a political scientist. But by the time we both get home, we don’t like to think about work. We go home and watch reality TV.”
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
