X Close

Trump joins podcast circuit to increase appeal with young voters

The Republican candidate spoke at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. YouTube/Theo Von

August 21, 2024 - 10:09pm

Donald Trump has recently featured on numerous popular podcasts in an apparent attempt to court the youth vote.

Most recently, the former president was interviewed by comedian Theo Von, which has so far garnered over four million views. During the one-hour conversation, Trump spoke at length about his lifelong sobriety and his late brother’s struggle with alcoholism, which eventually led to his death — a much more personal subject matter than what he usually discusses.

Over the summer, the former president has sat down for interviews with YouTuber Logan Paul, the All-In Podcast, streamer and Gen-Z influencer Adin Ross, and former daytime television personality Dr. Phil, which generated a combined 27 million views on YouTube alone. Last week, Trump also had a two-hour conversation with Elon Musk, which was live-streamed on X. According to Musk, the conversation was viewed 73 million times, alongside 998 million subsequent views of various postings of the interview on X.

The shift from traditional to alternative media comes alongside a shift in polling. While Donald Trump lost by 24 percentage points among voters under 30 in the 2020 election, he has polled strongly with Gen Z voters in this election cycle, leading Biden in several polls from the past year. With Biden now replaced by a younger candidate who’s beating Trump in the polls among young voters by 20 percentage points, Trump has lost a great deal of this support.

Harris, for her part, has not taken any interviews since Biden exited the race, though she’s nonetheless been the subject of countless glowing articles on her “joy”-themed campaign and online fandom. Memes drawing on her oft-repeated catch-phrases have drawn considerable media attention, as has the trend of linking Harris to Charli xcx’s new album, Brat.

In past campaigns and during his presidency, Trump’s media strategy was focused on mainstream outlets, granting interviews and exclusives to the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman, who has made a name for herself as the “Trump whisperer.” Elsewhere, some of his most memorable past interviews have been with mainstream outlets including Axios and 60 Minutes, wherein hosts tended to push back against Trump’s claims. In the new format, podcast hosts are less inclined to challenge Trump, preferring instead to allow the conversation to run without interruption.

Trump used to be a frequent guest on Fox News, but his relationship with the network soured after he lost the 2020 election. The network was enmeshed in a lengthy legal dispute over statements aired on the network about Dominion voting machines and the 2020 presidential election — a dispute which ended with an $800 million settlement to be paid out by Fox. Trump didn’t appear on any Fox weekday programmes for two years, and has claimed that the network blacklisted him, though he has appeared on Fox shows this year.

The youth vote, which Trump is aiming to court with his podcast appearances, has been credited with winning 2020 for Joe Biden, and with polls indicating a close race between Harris and Trump, this fast-changing demographic could determine the outcome of this election as well.


is UnHerd’s US correspondent.

laureldugg

Join the discussion


Join like minded readers that support our journalism by becoming a paid subscriber


To join the discussion in the comments, become a paid subscriber.

Join like minded readers that support our journalism, read unlimited articles and enjoy other subscriber-only benefits.

Subscribe
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

10 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Champagne Socialist
Champagne Socialist
1 month ago

The venue doesn’t really matter – the clown embarrasses himself every time he opens his stupid yap.

J B
J B
1 month ago

Look in the mirror…

Champagne Socialist
Champagne Socialist
1 month ago
Reply to  J B

Just did and what a handsome devil I am!

N Forster
N Forster
1 month ago

Cu*t

Champagne Socialist
Champagne Socialist
1 month ago
Reply to  N Forster

Ah! The wit and wisdom of the far right!

N Forster
N Forster
1 month ago

Nonc*

Champagne Socialist
Champagne Socialist
1 month ago
Reply to  N Forster

Fantastic! This just gets better and better!

Catherine Conroy
Catherine Conroy
1 month ago

Don’t need to be far right to agree with N Foster.
Besides, you’re not worth wasting wit on.

Carlos Danger
Carlos Danger
1 month ago

Speaking of memes, I like the one that has Kamala Harris saying, “I don’t understand why everyone is so mad at me. I didn’t do anything!”

John Taylor
John Taylor
1 month ago

What’s interesting is that the cohort of low-information voters that will determine the 2024 election results is not older rural voters, but young, white, educated women that get their news from Tik Tok. “Brat” memes and the like are the perfect format that Harris is exploiting to cover up her lack of substance and policy, with a focus on “vibes” perfectly suited for Tik Tok.