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“In a highly anticipated interview, Donald Trump touched on a wide range of cultural and political issues [last] Friday night in a three-hour conversation with Joe Rogan, who hosts one of the biggest podcasts in the world.” NBC News
“Rogan declined the Harris campaign’s offer to record an interview with Kamala Harris on Tuesday because he ‘would have had to travel to her and they only wanted to do an hour.’… ‘The Harris campaign has not passed on doing the podcast,’ Rogan said in a post on X. He wants it to take place at his Austin studio, saying his ‘sincere wish’ is to ‘get to know her as a human being.’” Politico
The left criticizes Trump’s interview and blames Rogan for not agreeing on terms with Harris.
“Rogan’s initial questioning of Trump was inquisitive and unexpected. He asked about what it felt like entering the White House with no political experience. Trump responded honestly, saying it was more surreal than later being shot in the tip of one of his ears. He said that he ‘had made his money largely on luxury’ and that he was amazed by how beautiful it was inside. He talked about the difficulties of transition for a non-politician… It seemed like Rogan’s inquisitive style might get something new from the former president…
“But very quickly the interview descended into a long, rambling and often boring venture through Trump’s greatest hits. He demonised migrants, spoke warmly about Vladimir Putin and falsely claimed the 2020 election had been stolen from him. Rogan tried to push him on nuclear power and the environment. But Trump only wanted to discuss how ugly he finds wind farms – and how their vibrations upset the whales.”
Sam Wolfson, The Guardian
“[Many in Rogan’s young male audience] surely enjoyed watching the former president bro out with their favorite podcaster about mixed martial arts and drop tantalizing hints about space aliens and the JFK assassination files. Still, in three hours, it’s remarkable how little he promised to do for that audience on the level of policy…
“Taken seriously, his proposal to completely replace income taxes with tariffs might work out to be a recipe for the biggest upward redistribution of wealth in American history. Instead of progressive income taxes, where you at least pay a bigger percentage as your income increases, Trump’s tariff proposal would transfer the burden to the bottom of the economic hierarchy, with higher prices for everything manufactured abroad that anyone buys at a grocery store…
“And if you think the long-term effect of all this would be that more things would be produced in America (and hence that the pain at the grocery store would only be temporary), that would also entail that the funds brought in by tariffs on foreign goods would shrivel up over time. That’s a recipe for an even more miserly welfare state than what we’ve got right now.”
Ben Burgis, Jacobin Magazine
Regarding a potential interview with Harris, “Rogan’s argument appears to be one of continuity: If all of his episodes are taped in his studio, it would look a little weird if he recorded somewhere else to cater to a political candidate who could benefit from going on the most popular podcast in the country…
“But then again, why is he requiring the sitting vice-president to come to his house? Rogan records his show inside his multimillion-dollar lakefront mansion in Austin. He does only three or four episodes per week, and there are no major MMA events for him to announce this week… Meanwhile, the Trump campaign is willing to meet Rogan at his doorstep.”
Matt Stieb, New York Magazine
The right praises Trump’s interview and criticizes Harris for failing to agree on terms with Rogan.
The right praises Trump’s interview and criticizes Harris for failing to agree on terms with Rogan.
“Those old enough to remember when the national narrative was driven by the likes of Walter Cronkite, Barbara Walters and Peter Jennings — respectable, suit-and-tie capital-J journalists — might be wondering why the old order has been upended by often-uncredentialed talking heads with no real institutional backing and closets full of t-shirts. The answer is simple: Longform podcasts are harder to fake or filibuster your way through. By contrast, the typical cable news segment is just a few minutes long…
“Even the panel portions of shows devote scant time to complex topics, leading to shallow exchanges in which very little substance is delivered. Such exchanges are plagued by time constraints, which participants can take advantage of when pressed…
“[Harris’s] interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier was illustrative. She was asked when she first noticed that President Biden’s ‘mental faculties appeared diminished.’ Knowing the interview was nearing its end, she took a pause, slowed her speech, dodged and talked through Baier’s attempts to pin her down. The public never got an answer.”
Rafael A. Mangual, New York Post
“Rogan and Trump bonded over undergoing a series of relentless, and often inaccurate, media hatchet jobs. Rogan singled out the Russiagate story and the frequently misrepresented ‘very fine people’ line — Trump helpfully added the recent ‘bloodbath hoax.’ Rogan too has fallen victim to coordinated assaults from the media, which included a successful push for Spotify to remove several of Rogan’s earlier episodes…
“The two men agreed that the media’s failures, including CBS News’s recent Kamala Harris-favorable edit of her 60 Minutes interview, opens the door for newer mediums like Rogan’s show, which he told Trump he’d have started even without his wildly successful career as a professional fighting commentator… The former president sat down with the podcaster for just under three hours — and absolutely nailed it.”
Matthew Foldi, Spectator World
Regarding a potential interview with Harris, “Let's face it -- Harris needs Rogan and his audience a lot more than he needs Harris to appear on his show, although that would be a fine 'get,' in industry parlance. She has less than a week to try to turn the tide with the younger men who comprise the main part of Rogan's audience if she has any chance of winning the election…
“Harris had every opportunity to do this show in Rogan's studio -- she was just in Texas last Friday… If Harris can't get what she wants out of a willing Rogan, why should we have confidence in her ability to deal with others more hostile and cunning than Rogan? Trump has four years of that experience and at least two big wins in deal-making: the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade and the Abraham Accords. Harris has… what, exactly?”
Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
