In an interview, Donald Trump said he wanted to be a “whale psychologist,” advocated replacing income taxes with tariffs, and praised Confederate General Robert E. Lee as a “genius.” That was the most impressive thing about my encounter with the president. His show with podcaster Joe Rogan was less content than it was long.
Over the course of three hours, perhaps the longest campaign interview ever with a presidential candidate, Trump said very little factually, but he did say a surprising amount about his temperament and how he would think if he returned to office. revealed.
It makes smart political sense for a Republican candidate to appear on Rogan. Rogan is a commentator and comedian for Ultimate Fighting Championship broadcasts, started his podcast in 2009 and is now the most successful host of all time. The Joe Rogan Experience continues to top the global charts on both Apple and Spotify, earning almost $500 million from the Spotify deal.
In recent months, the Democratic Party and its candidate, Kamala Harris, have received shockingly low support among young people compared to previous election cycles, sparking unrest among party insiders. Logan approaches young people who have low trust in Washington, D.C., are politically skeptical, and like the news media, who both sides believe could help them reach the White House.
That’s why there were rumors earlier in the week that Harris might be the one to appear on the podcast, as polls tightened and Democrats feared they would “miss” the election. It may have been one of the few media appearances that actually changed the conversation and could have garnered support from the undecided. However, her team ultimately declined to appear, perhaps concerned about the long, free-wheeling format. It was announced that Trump would appear on the show.
Mr. Logan’s first question to Mr. Trump was curious and unexpected. He asked about what it was like to enter the White House with no political experience. President Trump answered honestly, saying it was less realistic than being shot in the tip of one ear. He said he “made his money mainly on luxury items” and was amazed at the beauty inside. He spoke of the difficulty of the transition for non-politicians who “don’t have the experience and don’t know who to appoint.” He identified with Mary Todd Lincoln’s “Melancholia.” Logan’s inquisitive style made it seem like we might be able to get something new out of the former president.
But the interview quickly devolved into a long, rambling, often boring odyssey through Trump’s biggest hits. He demonized immigrants, spoke warmly about Vladimir Putin, and falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen from him. Logan tried to press him on nuclear power and the environment. But what Trump was trying to say was how ugly wind farms are, how their vibrations anger whales, and how environmental regulations would prevent them from being allowed to build in New York. It was just about that.
In May, New York Times and Siena College pollsters questioned why voters who supported Joe Biden over Trump in 2020 may switch to Republicans against Harris. We analyzed the data to investigate what are the key factors predicting the
They found that the first predictor was whether the voter was born in the Middle East, which reflected the Democratic Party’s position on the Gaza war. The second predictor was whether they had a favorable view of Logan. For some young male voters, he is their main source of political information.
Logan himself is a political mystery. Although he is often portrayed as a right-wing or Trump supporter because he is a conspiracy theorist and anti-vaxxer, he actually has complex and often conflicting beliefs. He is a fierce defender of abortion rights, gay marriage, and gun rights. He is attracted to outsider candidates like Bernie Sanders and RFK Jr., and voted for Libertarian candidate Joe Jorgensen in the last election. In 2022, Rogan described Trump as an “existential threat to democracy.”
The relaxed atmosphere may have helped Ms. Harris, who has struggled to define herself to voters, especially since Ms. Rogan always tends to agree with her guests.
He allowed Trump to brazenly lie about election fraud, the deficit, tax policy, and many other issues without ever challenging him. He also seemed to agree with many of the positions he has taken in the past, portraying election deniers as an oppressed group, saying, “What gets labeled is anti-vaxxers.” It’s like being labeled.”
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The two appeased the podcast host by discussing Mr. Rogan’s previous support for RFK Jr., who promised he could do “anything” when it came to the administration’s health care policy, but he also appeased the podcast host by saying that Mr. This may cause concern in the scientific and medical communities.
Mr. Rogan had a nice moment as an interviewer when he asked Mr. Trump if he was willing to “present” evidence of alleged election fraud. But he got Trump rambling on another topic: Hunter Biden’s laptop.
This easy ride left Trump sounding old, dull, and less intelligent, but politically unscathed. He was allowed to blame all of America’s ills on the Democratic Party and paint himself as a great leader. He attacked Harris, saying she has a “low IQ” and “can’t put two sentences together.” She was one of several women Trump and Rogan dismissed as “stupid,” perhaps a misogynistic young man who could be persuaded to vote for the former president. Probably with the voters in mind.
Most of the time, Logan would just nod, though he himself wasn’t all that smart. He said it was “a lot of fun” to use Trump at the end.
For others who made it through the 3 hours, that might have been the biggest lie.
