Topline

Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are reportedly in talks to appear on the high-profile “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast in the final days of the presidential campaign, as both seek to broaden their appeal to young men. even though Rogan has made scathing comments about her.

Important facts

What podcasts has Harris appeared on?

Harris joined host Alex Cooper on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, which is consistently ranked as Spotify’s second-biggest podcast after Rogan’s and one of the top 10 most popular podcasts for women according to Edison Research. Cooper said the podcast has a “very diverse” political audience and doesn’t typically discuss politics with its celebrity guests like Miley Cyrus or Post Malone. The episode with Harris is now one of the most popular podcast episodes on Spotify. Harris also participated in the “All the Smoke” podcast, hosted by former NBA stars in a growing segment of athlete podcasts that cover sports and lifestyle. “All the Smoke” features guests like Will Smith and Kobe Bryant and has more than a million followers on YouTube. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — Harris’ choice for vice president — participated in the “Smartless” podcast, a top-rated show hosted by comedians Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes that has several hundred thousand followers on Instagram and YouTube . “Smartless” also hosted President Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, among others.

Which podcasts has Trump appeared on?

Trump’s media offensive included the “All In” podcast, a business and technology-focused podcast with more than half a million followers on YouTube; Lex Fridman’s Podcast, a top-rated show with a strong male audience that has hosted Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg for her more than 4 million followers on YouTube; Theo Von’s podcast, which hosted dozens of comedians and Senator Bernie Sanders alike for his more than 3 million YouTube followers; YouTuber Logan Paul’s “Impaulsive” podcast, which targets a male audience with its nearly 5 million YouTube followers by regularly hosting boxers and wrestlers; the “Full Send Podcast” by YouTube stars Nelk Boys, which became popular with its almost all-male audience of 8 million followers on YouTube through prank videos; and the comedy podcast “Flagrant,” which has more than 1 million followers and hosts guests from actor Peter Dinklage to UFC performer Dana White. Trump also appeared on a Kick.com livestream for controversial internet personality Adin Ross, which was later broadcast to his YouTube audience of more than 4 million followers. Most recently, Trump appeared on a podcast called “Bussin’ With The Boys” hosted by former NFL players – owned by digital media company Barstool Sports, which focuses on sports and college culture – which has more than half a million followers on YouTube has.

tangent

Comedian Theo Von — who hosted Trump on his podcast a few weeks ago — conducted a two-hour episode with billionaire Mark Cuban, who discussed his support for Harris. Von mentioned in the episode that the Harris campaign had been looking for a possible outcome.

Important background

On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Harris’ campaign was in contact with Rogan’s team and added another popular podcast to her media campaign in the final days before the election. An interview with Rogan could boost Harris’ campaign as she seeks to appeal to more male voters, a stated campaign goal. Trump has said he intends to appear on the podcast and revealed in an interview with the “Nelk Boys” podcast last week that he has been considering the move. The Twitter account for “Joe Rogan Experience” has also hinted that Trump might be on the show, posting daily articles about Trump possibly being on the show and this Sunday on X asking if Trump should be a guest. Rogan, who said he was not politically affiliated with the Republican Party, said in early August that he liked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a person and candidate, although he did not endorse his presidential candidacy. In 2020, the podcaster expressed his appreciation for Bernie Sanders and later said he would rather vote for Trump than President Joe Biden. He announced on his show that he voted for Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgenson in 2020. Rogan has often been criticized for the conversations he hosts on his show, which often provide a platform for far-right commentators and potentially dangerous conspiracy theorists. He has also been criticized for spreading false information during the Covid-19 pandemic and the vaccine.

Further reading

ForbesHarris takes part in her first Fox News interview this weekFrom Stephen Pastis
NytimesJoe Rogan is too big to cancel (released 2021)