Famed podcast host Joe Rogan has refuted allegations that his actions had an undue, detrimental impact on the Kamala Harris campaign. Accusations swirled around his failure to invite the then U.S. Vice-President to discuss crucial election issues on his popular program, ‘The Joe Rogan Experience.’ Rogan made it clear on his recent episode that the team behind the Harris campaign was not given any misleading information by his team.
His explanations surfaced after a section of the recently published book ‘Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House’ raised questions on why Harris missed out appearing on his podcast. Authored by Jonathan Allen and Ami Parnes, the book chronicled the trials and tribulations of Harris’s campaign and how her team tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to get the VP candidate on Rogan’s show.
The book amusingly claimed that a Harris campaign event on October 25 in Houston, Texas, involving the music star Beyonce, had a sole purpose of placing the Democratic candidate in proximity to Austin where Rogan records his podcast. Apparently, Austin was too far out of reach for the Democratic campaign team, and it seems they would rather rub shoulders with celebrities in Houston than engage in meaningful dialogue on influential platforms.
However, what dropped like a rock into still water were the statements from Harris’s team suggesting Rogan’s schedule was plotted to coincide with President Trump’s podcast appearance. Supposedly deluded, they alleged the day was booked as a ‘personal day,’ only to find out later it was the day Trump visited Rogan’s podcast.
Rogan, on the other hand, rejected the accusation, emphasizing that the course of events they postulated simply did not happen. Rogan’s issues with the authors originated from the lack of effort put into verifying the story from his side. He felt that the portrayal was an unfair distortion of what had transpired.
Strikingly, ‘super easy’ was the term Rogan used to contrast the experience of having Trump on the podcast to the rocky road with Harris’s team. He revealed that the Harris campaign’s non-committal stance and seemingly wavering interest stood in stark contrast to Trump’s swift acceptance of the invitation.
Rogan offered a nugget of truth that contradicts the claims made by Harris’s team. The Beyonce event in Houston was allegedly organized to facilitate the team’s presence in Texas and thereby, an appearance on Rogan’s podcast. But Rogan insisted that this claim was nothing more than a fabrication, given that Harris’s team never formally agreed to appear on his podcast.
Rogan openly shared his ambitious dream for the podcast – to release both Trump and Harris’s interviews on the same day. To accommodate Harris’s schedule, Rogan was even willing to record her interview late into the night. But despite his enthusiasm and attempt at balancing the platform, the Harris campaign chose not to proceed.
Rogan expressed his disappointment at Harris’ campaign continually suggesting he visit Washington for an hour-long interview show. He asserted his belief in giving ‘the actual real show’, dispelling any notion of compromise for a short, watered-down gig in a conference room. For him, it seemed Harris’ team did not understand the authenticity and honesty his podcast represents.
His theory is that the prevailing ‘wokeness’ among Harris’s staff built a wall between the campaign and his podcast. It was only after Trump’s interview, which brought in a record 50 million views and elicited a massive response, that Harris’s team were left scratching their heads and questioning their logic.
Left in disbelief, Rogan felt he got a raw deal despite his transparency. He shared how the aftermath of Trump’s appearance sparked regret in Team Harris and triggered a cycle of blame-shifting within the campaign. ‘Why didn’t we do it?’—a question that may still be haunting them today.
Not one to shy away from confrontation, Rogan made it clear that ‘we have all the receipts’ to back his story. He perceived the claims by Harris’ team and the authors as ploys to cover up their own tactical failures.
Rogan’s final thoughts posed the intriguing, unanswerable question: Would a Harris appearance on his podcast have produced a positive result for the campaign? Well, it’s too late to know now. But one thing is certain–Rogan is not culpable for the missed opportunity, regardless of the narrative some are bent on spreading.