Trump’s latest interview could be the one that wins him the election

If there’s one thing Donald Trump can do, it’s talk long. His rallies often last several hours, and the former president speaks on topics as varied as the winners Dancing with the Stars in East Asian foreign policy. His charisma is such that even a strange decision to shut up and start dancing to the hits of the 80s – this is enough to keep a significant stadium audience.

Appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast therefore it doesn’t seem serious. Rogan, a former MMA commentator, is the most influential podcaster on the planet, egging on everyone from Vermont socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones superstar rapper Kanye West. Rogan’s trusting manner (“Chimps eat people? Jamie, watch the video”) and non-PC humor make the time fly, which is a necessity given that many of his discussions are over four hours long.

An interview with Trump is a great benefit for both sides. Joe Rogan’s fans—more than 15 million and counting—don’t tend to fit into the typical party box. They are often socially liberal, advocating the legalization of cannabis (think: Elon Musk’s infamous appearance on the capsule), sexual freedom, universal health care and abortion rights. They are also extremely skeptical of gender ideology, gun control, DEI, and Covid lockdowns.

Skepticism is the lodestar of roganism: one recent guest wholeheartedly argued for the existence of a lost Ice Age civilization destroyed 12,000 years ago, and encouraged listeners to use the hallucinogenic drug ayahuasca. It’s no surprise that RFK Jr. decided to run for president after the well-received article about Rogan.

Rogan fans are exactly the kind of voters Trump needs to attract if he hopes to defeat Kamala Harris in less than two weeks. It is their iconoclasm that makes them so hotly contested in national elections. That Harris is still fighting back against her muscular podcast brother speaks to the kind of arrogant snobbery her campaign can ill-afford.

Personality will matter far more than politics in winning over independent podcasts. That’s a problem for Harris, who wouldn’t have charisma if it fell out of a tree on her head. Like Trump, she has avoided many traditional media interviews. She even refused to talk to Time magazinedespite receiving an ingratiating cover profile from a month before. Harris preferred to communicate more directly with key Democratic constituencies, as evidenced by her humiliating appearance on a millennial “sex podcast.” Call her dad and her patronizing appearance on Club Breakfast.

Rogan’s interview represents a golden opportunity for Trump, who hopes to ride on the back of the ghostly independent voter. The supposed shortcomings that plague his performances in choreographed television debates (rambling speech, fondness for oblique anecdotes, promotional remarks about political rivals) lend themselves well to the podcast format.

The Republican candidate shouldn’t expect an easy ride, but he has a chance to appeal to an audience of proud freethinkers who might otherwise shy away from mainstream politics. In a difficult election like the current one, this can be crucial.

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