Kamala Harris to Skip Joe Rogan Podcast: What We Know

 

Vice President Kamala Harris will not be making an appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast before Election Day, her campaign confirmed on Thursday.

During an interview with MSNBC, Harris spokesperson Ian Sams stated that although the campaign engaged in discussions with Rogan’s team, the scheduling conflicts in the current phase of the campaign made it impossible. "We talked with Rogan and his team, but it’s not going to work out right now due to the scheduling of this period of the campaign," Sams explained.

Last week, Reuters reported that Harris, the Democratic nominee for the 2024 election, had considered appearing on Rogan's podcast, *The Joe Rogan Experience*, which remains one of the most popular on platforms like Spotify. Sams reiterated that Harris remains open to reaching a wide range of voters, stating that she is "happy to go anywhere and any place to talk to a broad segment of the country."

In contrast, former President Donald Trump announced last week his plans to join Rogan’s podcast. The interview is scheduled to be recorded on Friday, with new episodes generally released online shortly after recording.

*The Joe Rogan Experience* boasts an audience of approximately 14.5 million listeners per episode, according to Digital Music News. Harris’s potential appearance could have been aimed at connecting with Rogan’s predominantly male audience, a demographic where Trump holds a commanding lead.

Polls indicate that Trump has solidified his advantage among male voters, with the gap widening as Election Day nears. However, the same polling data shows Harris enjoying substantial and growing support from female voters.

David Karpf, an associate professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University, told *Newsweek* that a Harris appearance on Rogan’s show would fit into the Democratic candidate's media strategy. "Some of [Rogan’s] listeners will surely back Trump, but some are up for grabs," Karpf noted. "She'll want to get her message out and draw a clear contrast with Trump."

Rogan had previously endorsed independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who later suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump.

Recently, Harris has made appearances on the podcasts Call Her Daddy and All the Smoke, as well as on radio shows hosted by Howard Stern and Charlamagne tha God. Despite these efforts, a poll conducted by USA Today and Suffolk University suggested that Harris’s podcast strategy may not be gaining traction. 

The poll of 1,000 likely voters revealed that 51 percent of respondents who had listened to Harris on a podcast said it made them less likely to support her, while only 34 percent indicated it made them more likely to back her campaign. Additionally, 21.5 percent said the podcast appearances made no difference to their vote.

Interestingly, the majority of those surveyed had not heard either Harris or Trump on any podcast platforms.