In his first appearance on the very popular Joe Rogan Experience podcast, former president and 2024 GOP nominee Donald Trump touched on cultural and political issues he has faced in the past.
He noted that the war in Ukraine would not have happened if he had been president; complained that the moderators did not sufficiently vet Kamala Harris during their only debate; and doubled down on his thoughts that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen from him.
At one point in the three-hour conversation, Joe Rogan asked Trump to further explain how the election was stolen, as he has continued to falsely insist for the past four years. The former president began to respond in a long and rambling way, underlining that some changes to the electoral law had not been approved adequately.
“That election was so dishonest, it was the most dishonest election,” Trump noted, as Rogan asked for concrete examples.
“Well, let's start, let's start from the top and the easy ones. They would have to get legislative approval to do the things they did, and in many cases they didn't get it. They didn’t get it,” he said, as the podcast host asked, once again, “What things?”
“Anything,” Trump continued, to which Rogan asked, “Legislative approval of?”
“As for the extension of the vote, for the early voting. All different things. By law, they had to get legislative approval,” the presidential candidate said. “You don't have to go any further. If you take a look at Wisconsin, they basically admitted that the election was rigged and stolen and stolen. In some areas they would not give access to the ballots because the ballots were not signed. They weren't original. They were… We could go into these things further. We could go to the polls or to the general classification. I'll give you another way.
When Rogan asked him if he would ever present this evidence, he responded with, “Uh.” As the conversation progressed, Trump seemingly admitted that he lost the 2020 election before walking back what he had said and correcting himself.
“I lost by… I didn't lose, but they say I lost, Joe,” he said. “They say I lost by 22,000 votes, which is a tenth of 1% less. It's a small thing, 22,000 votes distributed in this period.
Trump is courting the young male vote and an interview on Rogan's show was the first prize for the candidates, as the show, which recently went from being a Spotify exclusive, is now available on other platforms too , including Apple Podcasts and YouTube. Vice President Kamala Harris has been trying to increase her appeal among male voters as well, and an interview with Rogan could certainly be helpful, given that the weekly show's audience is 81 percent men, of which more than 50 percent are men. under 35, according to a YouGov survey.
In August, Rogan made comments that many interpreted as support for independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. Following his comments, a MAGA backlash ensued, and Trump quickly added to the pile, trying to fire up fans of final fights to turn on Rogan in person when he wrote on his Truth Social platform, “It will be interesting to see how loudly Joe Rogan gets booed the next time he steps into the UFC ring. MAGA2024.”
Rogan later clarified that his comments did not amount to an endorsement of Kennedy, who dropped out of the race soon after the back-and-forth. Kennedy continued to support Trump for the presidency.
Before Rogan, Trump appeared on podcasts such as This week with Theo Vaughn AND Complete submission. Meanwhile, Harris visited the Call her dad podcast and Howard Stern's Sirius XM show. The podcast appearances come as their campaigns near a conclusion, signaling a new strategy around non-traditional media interviews by both candidates. Polls show that these appearances may not have the impact their teams hoped for, as less than 30% of respondents, who were over the age of 18, had listened to any of the candidates' guest spot podcasts.
In addition to hosting his own podcast, Rogan has a gig as a commentator for Ultimate Fighting Championship, the mixed martial arts promotion company. Trump also has close ties to the organization as he considers Dana White a close friend. White also spoke about Trump at the Republican National Convention.