October 26, 2024 - 5:00pm
With the US presidential election less than two weeks away, both campaigns are smacking of a certain desperation to win over as many voters as possible. For Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, this meant recruiting stars like Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen to her rallies this week. For Donald Trump, it required finally appearing on the Joe Rogan Experience.
The pair covered everything from whale psychiatrists to bird carcasses during their three-hour conversation, but also went deep on Russian President Vladimir Putin, pesticides, golf, Hillary Clinton, ISIS, Kamala Harris, The View, UFC fights, immigration, and much more.
Rogan picked Trump’s brain on topics most journalists ignore, and the freewheeling format allowed for some constructive exchanges. Unlike the majority of people who get the opportunity to interview Trump — or any politician — Rogan wasn’t chasing easy soundbites, plaudits from the press corps, or gotcha moments. He approached areas of disagreement, like environmentalism, and the 2020 election, with genuine curiosity and a flattering premise that Trump’s position had been filtered through dishonest lenses.
The host started by asking Trump about a legendary clip from The View in which all of the hosts praised Trump not long before he ran for president. Trump said he really thinks about the time before and after his political career as “two different lives”. When he got into the Oval Office, Trump told Rogan, “I had two things, governing the country and survival”. “How did you know who to appoint?” Rogan asked. Trump replied, “I didn’t.” The former president continued: “The biggest mistake I made […] was that I picked people that I shouldn’t have picked.”
Trump, ever the opportunist, told the UFC commentator he should “do the same thing” as Elon Musk and offer an endorsement. “I’ve watched you for years, you’re not a Kamala person,” he quipped. Rogan laughed.
On Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Rogan asked if Trump was receiving pressure from his team to work with him. Trump said yes. The former president also claimed Google CEO Sundar Pichai called him after last week’s McDonald’s trip and referred to it as “one of the biggest things we’ve ever had on Google”. Pressed by the comedian on why he didn’t unseal the remaining files about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Trump said what’s left “addresses people that are still living”. But if he wins in November, he said: “I think it’s going to be just time to open it”.
Trump’s 2016 victory both presaged and boosted the podcast era, treating voters to what felt like a more authentic version of politics, where Trump’s reality television experience even sucked his highest minded opponents into the vortex.
On this podcast, Trump was the same as he always is. Whether on “60 Minutes” or Theo Vonn’s show or even those old-school debates, he never strays far from his schtick. Surely Rogan will be pilloried for failing to push Trump sufficiently on his continual refusal to accept the outcome of the 2020 election and what he thinks of Israel’s war in Gaza. But Rogan doesn’t purport to be a journalist, and his goal is simply to have a good conversation.
Rogan once expressed trepidation over how his interviews with politicians could potentially change the course of the country. During a discussion with fellow podcast host Lex Fridman in 2022, Joe Rogan said he’d declined opportunities to have Trump on the show. “I don’t want to help him. I’m not interested in helping him,” he explained. This time round, it looks like Rogan may have done just that.
In a tied race, every little boost counts. Trump has already made his way around the podcast circuit, chatting with comedians Andrew Schulz and Theo Von. In this sense, appearing on the JRE may be appealing to a similar crowd and preaching to the already converted. But throughout these forays into podcast world, Trump has seemed extremely relaxed while Harris is still finding her tone. Even still, in a race too close to call, it’s a testament to our brave new world that success or failure may rest on talking a good game with Joe Rogan.
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SubscribeI don’t think Trump wins a bunch of new voters by appearing on Rogan. Maybe it encourages some unlikely voters to get out there and cast their ballot. More than anything, it underscores the growth of alternative media and the slow death of the regime media.
Trump’s days in the political spotlight are quickly drawing to a close. If he loses the election, he disappears right away. If he wins the election, he’s gone in four years – maybe sooner due to the likelihood of assassination.
Ironically, Trump’s exit might be the final nail in the coffin for the regime media. As much as they hate him, Trump is the only thing propping up their crumbling profits.
If you think about it, perhaps he doesn’t need to win more votes. If all he does is persuade people not to vote for Harris and abstain, the impact is much the same.
Yes, that’s an excellent point about Trump creating content – and income and relevance – for the legacy media. I think you’re not from the UK, so you may never have come across the fictional columnist called “Phil Space” in Private Eye (a satirical UK weekly news magazine) who’s sole puropse in life was to fill column space. They invented this character at least 40 years ago an the problem’s only got worse … there’s so much more space to fill these days.
If you’ve watched a Trump rally or two, then this was similar, but “Rogan picked Trump’s brain on topics most journalists ignore, and the freewheeling format allowed for some constructive exchanges.” Bingo!
A twenty-minute interview allows display of a campaign persona, but I suppose that there are few people who can maintain a campaign persona for more than an hour at a time. If DLJ had shown his business side, the boredom would’ve been palpable (e.g. Ross Perot). If he had shown the persona of a politician, it would’ve been false (e.g. … Kamala Harris). This was another helpful commentary to show the country the person in charge (e.g. barbeque lunches and fireside chats of olden times).
“Rogan doesn’t purport to be a journalist, and his goal is simply to have a good conversation”. Perhaps the author doesn’t know that there are few journalists around these days.
As the main stream media, in both print and video, devolves into a one sided support apparatus for the DNC and the Harris campaign, Joe Rogan and other alternative sources of information have become quite important to the political process. Not in a bad way, but in a more honest way. Voters are looking to understand who the candidates are, and in Harris’s brief candidacy, she has made a concerted effort to mask who she really is, probably in fear that Harris unmasked is unsaleable to the US voters.
Trump’s Joe Rogan interview gave voters a chance to get more of a feel for who Donald Trump is. A view into his authenticity if you will. I think the long form conversation helped humanize Trump, and dispel the mudslinging accusations by Harris and team that he is a fascist.
Harris on the other hand, in the last weeks of the campaign, is coming across as inauthentic, unprepared for the position she is running for, and not very joyful.
This past week has been far better for Trump’s campaign than it was for Harris’s.
Exactly.
Trump very much enjoyed this exchange, it is clear. As did I. A good listen.
As Farage repeatedly asserts, when people get to see the real Trump, they like him. He’s funny and can be good company. My wife used to work in one of his NYC businesses and always tells me of his delight at meeting staff and customers. It was real.
On the other side, it’s different. The real Harris seems not likeable or funny.
Agreed.
Quite a few years ago, I flew back from the US (SFO) to London on Virgin Atlantic (these are always overnight flights). As we slowly filed out of the plane (from the cheap seats at the back), Richard Branson was standing by the exit door chatting to passengers as they left. I’m really no fan of Branson, but he took the time and trouble to do something he didn’t have to do and this impressed me. The personal touch matters.
When Trump tells a family at a McDonald’s drive-through that “no, you’re not ordinary”, what’s important isn’t whether it’s genuine or not, but that he made the effort.
Trump and Branson. Both claim to be billionaires. Neither people I admire as individuals. But both somehow able to show they understand people’s experiences and feelings far better than the regular politicians and media types who’ll tell you they’re out of touch.
And that’s a large part of why Hillary Clinton lost. And why Kamala Harris probably will too.
If I didn’t think we were in Bizarro World before, I’m sure we are now.
Joe Rogan as kingmaker.
It’s better than Brian Stelter or Joe Scarborough.
Why do you think Joe Rogan made Donald Trump king?
Whether good or bad, Rogan is absolutely a king maker – not necessarily for Trump, but lots of alternative media guys started on Rogan.
Yes because he does the unthinkable and airs different views. Oh the nerve! He should abide by the official party playbook and only speak the “official” truth.
My comment randomly put into moderation for no reason. Ugh. That’s why I left the first time.
What was your initial comment? I always look forward to seeing what you have to say
Something about the rise of alternative media and the slow death of traditional media. A lot of these media need Trump to prop up what little profits they still have. Once he’s gone, it will likely accelerate their demise. The irony is pretty funny.
Jim your comment was posted…see above.
Is your comment back now? If so, I don’t see any trigger words, other than possibly assassination or coffin. Did your comment get blocked from even posting, or was it there for a while and then disappeared?
It hasn’t been posted yet. I’m familiar with the trigger words now, and I never really post hateful stuff. It was a pretty meh comment. Don’t get it at all.
Shoot. I see it’s posted below. Pretty tame stuff really.
Some comments seem to disappear after being reported. That’s why I wondered if it had posted and then disappeared.
Perhaps you didn’t identify the motorcycles correctly.
Holy crap!!! This was frickin funny. I’m still laughing. I’m mean really, really, really funny. I have frickin nightmares about traffic lights.
You’re welcome.
I would say “I’m here all week,” but in fact I’m letting my subscription lapse on Wednesday.
I mean Rogan extended the offer to Harris as well.
Not preaching, but a good conversation. A free-ranging chat, lasting 3 hours. Nice!
I listened to the interview (only occasionally watching) for an hour or so while doing some mindless work, but didn’t want to watch it anymore. Both Joe Rogan and Donald Trump are polished at this, and the conversation was entertaining, but it was not thought-provoking. Listening to them was as mindless as the work I was doing.
That made me realize again how silly our presidential elections are. By November 5 the election will have gone on for 775 days. Over $2 billion will have been spent (on the presidential election alone). And for what? Anyone who is not yet singing in one choir or the other is too tone-deaf to sing at all. Those yet undecided should not vote.
And we should cut the campaigns down to 2 weeks of campaigning followed by a national primary, and 2 more weeks of campaigning followed by the general election. Each party should be limited to spending $50 million. And that’s plenty. We spend too much time. We spend too much money.
It’s not just the presidential election that needs a drastic trim. All elections. The total spent on this election cycle will top $16 billion. And what will we get for that amount of money? What productive thing will have been produced for us to benefit from? Nothing.
We can do better. Look around the world, and most countries’ elections are short and cheap. Not a ridiculous spectacle that consumes money that could be put to practical use. America used to show more initiative and innovation in our politics, both in substance and in process. Let’s make America agile again.
Speaking as a non-American, I have always been amazed at how long US elections take, particularly in a year in which there is a Presidential election. In countries with a Westminster system, they rarely take more than 5 weeks or so.
In a modern quasi-democracy, every politician is ALWAYS in the middle of an election campaign. But in Britain or Canada, we have only a rough idea – or sometimes none at all – of when the next election will be, only of its certainty. In the US, I can tell you within 2 days when the next 20 elections for POTUS will be. That narrows the focus of anyone involved in the process.
Thanks Emily for reporting on this exceptional interview. This was the first time I’d ever watched an episode of Joe Rogan. That I watched the entire three hours was a complete shock to me. But I did and felt it was worth every minute. It was, in my opinion, the best yet of Donald Trump and I feel sorry for all those with TDS who will never understand themselves because they have no idea who Trump is and how much he has changed since the famous ‘coming down the escalator’ meme. The story of Uncle John from MIT and his warning to his nephew about the impending dangers of nuclear annihilation revealed an aspect of innocence and dimension in Trump, the raconteur, not seen at rallies or Fox interviews. I want to see him in office and trust he will keep his word about ridding the oceans of those gargantuan wind turbines that are devastating whales and all of ocean life. I rejoice at the sincerity of Elon Musk, RFKJr and Tulsi Gabbert and hope Nichole Shanahan resurfaces with a stronger presence, and that the promise of health, prosperity and peace be give its one and only chance. I honestly think the July 11 assassination attempt permanently altered the psyche of Donald Trump the man in a deep and positive way.
Emily, the youtube version of the interview already has more than 30 million views in less than 2 days! I suspect he touched more than just the converted. And I know that for a fact from people I know who were not previously Trump supporters. Perhaps not surprising because what this conversation showed was that Trump is completely relatable.
“continual refusal to accept the outcome of the 2020 election”
Emily, by now can’t you concede that the “refusal” by many to accept that outcome is borne mostly of immense chagrin at the media establishment along with a disbelief in the complete integrity of election procedures in certain places?
To hold these views — especially in a passive, i.e. inactionable sense — does not make one a refusenik so much as a sore loser…. is that in truth what you want from Trump and his followers, to let it go and complain no more?