Trump scores a Joe Rogan interview for the first time, with an eye on male voters

Trump has appeared on a series of podcasts that cater to young men.

For a presidential candidate, the chance to speak your message directly into the ears of millions of potential voters is starkly different from most campaign messaging, which often takes the form of impersonal mass texts or emails.

But that’s exactly what former President Donald Trump has just secured for himself with a planned appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast — his first in the podcast’s 15-year run.

With more than 14 million followers on Spotify, The Joe Rogan Experience is one of the most popular podcasts on Earth. The episodes, which usually feature lengthy conversations between Rogan and a guest, regularly run more than two and a half to three hours.

Politico first reported on Tuesday that Trump was set to appear on the show, citing a person familiar with the matter. The outlet reported the episode was scheduled to tape on Friday at Rogan’s studio in Austin, Texas. Several other outlets confirmed the panned appearance.

Representatives for Trump and Rogan did not respond to requests for comment from B-17.

Rogan has not endorsed a candidate in the 2024 election. After Rogan made positive comments about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. when he was still in the race, Trump wrote on Truth Social in August that Rogan would be “BOOED the next time he enters the UFC Ring.”

In 2022, Rogan said he was not a Trump supporter “in any way, shape, or form.” He also said he turned down opportunities to have Trump on his show. “I don’t want to help him. I’m not interested in helping him,” Rogan said at the time.

On an episode of his show in September, Rogan said Trump was not a “dictator” as president despite what critics feared. He also said during Trump’s presidency “the economy really did well and he really did try to cut some of the bullshit down that’s going on in this country.” Though in reference to Trump’s personality he added, “We don’t necessarily want that as the guy with his finger on the button.”

The Rogan interview would be Trump’s latest appearance on a podcast that primarily caters to a specific block of potential voters who generally like him but don’t necessarily show up to the polls: young men. In recent months Trump has also sat down with popular podcasters Lex Fridman, Theo Von, and Shawn Ryan.

Though young voters generally appear to favor Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump polls better with young men. New York Times/Siena polls conducted in six swing states in August found young men, aged 18 to 29, supported Trump by 13 points. In contrast the polls found young women supported Harris by 38 points.

However young people often have relatively low voter turnout, with an estimated 50% of potential voters aged 18 to 29 actually casting a vote in 2020, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University. Meanwhile, men across age groups are less likely to vote than women.

Alison Dagnes, a political scientist and professor in political media at Shippensburg University, said that lower voter turnout explains why Trump is going on all these male-centric podcasts: mobilization.

“He’s doing ‘Get out the vote,'” Dagnes said, adding she thinks Trump sees young men as his bread-and-butter. “He’s not trying to get one more person to like him. He’s trying to get the people who like him to get out, and that’s why he’s going on Joe Rogan.”

In contrast, Dagnes said Harris’s recent media strategy appeared to be more focused on persuasion, or winning over voters who may not be sold on her. She pointed to the wider range of outlets Harris has appeared on, including “The View,” Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast,” Howard Stern, and Fox News.

Harris was reportedly in talks to appear on Rogan’s podcast, but nothing has been confirmed. Meanwhile, Cooper of “Call Her Daddy” said she also invited Trump to appear on her show, which overwhelmingly caters to young women.

Dagnes said both candidates’ media strategies this election cycle shows just how much the media landscape has changed, and she expects podcasts to continue to play a role in elections going forward.