Earlier this week, we received confirmation that former President Donald Trump would be interviewed on Joe Rogan's popular podcast on Friday. Rogan's show has more than 14 million followers on the Spotify platform.
Last week, Reuters reported that Kamala Harris "could sit down for an interview with popular podcaster Joe Rogan, whose audience leans heavily towards young men, as she works to shore up support with male voters." However, her campaign has now confirmed she won't be doing it.
“We talked with Rogan and his team about the podcast. Unfortunately, it isn’t going to work out right now because of the scheduling of this period of the campaign,” Harris-Walz campaign spokesman Iam Sams told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes Thursday evening.
It was always doubtful that Kamala would ever appear on Joe Rogan’s podcast, given her preference for tightly controlled interviews with sympathetic hosts. Just last week, her disastrous interview with Bret Baier on Fox News fueled speculation that she’d avoid taking risks like a Rogan appearance at this point in the race.
It should come as no surprise that her campaign officially backed out of doing Rogan's podcast in the wake of her disastrous CNN town hall on Wednesday.
Exclusively for our VIPs: Kamala's Own Campaign Is Sidelining Her
The main takeaway from the town hall was Kamala never seemed to answer any questions, relying on “word salads” instead of direct answers. CNN’s own pundits were unimpressed. Jake Tapper noted, “She focused a lot more on Donald Trump, I think it’s fair to say, than she did on many specifics in terms of what she would do as president.” Dana Bash echoed this by saying, “If her goal was to close the deal, they’re not sure she did that.”
Van Jones criticized Harris for being “evasive” and expressed irritation with her "word salad stuff."
David Axelrod, former Obama advisor, was particularly critical, saying, “The things that would concern me is when she doesn’t want to answer a question, her habit is to kind of go to word salad city.” He pointed out her seven-minute non-answer on Israel and felt she “missed an opportunity” on immigration by failing to acknowledge any voter concerns. “Sometimes you have to concede things, and she didn’t concede much,” Axelrod concluded.
Recommended: Kamala’s CNN Town Hall Was a Masterclass in Political Self-Destruction
It seems likely that Kamala Harris is going to do the bare minimum when it comes to media appearances going forward, as her campaign appears to have realized that she is the biggest obstacle they have to overcome. Instead of leaning on Kamala's personal appearances, her team is relying heavily on high-profile surrogates like Barack Obama and a roster of Hollywood stars to draw crowds and make the final pitch. Celebrities including Mark Cuban, Bruce Springsteen, and Eminem have hit the trail on her behalf. At a recent rally in Detroit, Harris’s own speech lasted less than seven minutes, with the spotlight falling squarely on Lizzo as the main attraction.
So, it's by no means surprising that Kamala Harris isn't doing Joe Rogan's podcast.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member