“I want to thank Nelk Boys, Adin Ross, Theo Von, Business with the boysand last but not least, might and power Joe Rogan,UFC CEO said White Dana when giving the microphone during Donald Trump‘S victory speech on election night. Instead of criticizing a series of Republican senators, White singled out just a handful of prominent voters. podcaster and influencer who arguably had more to do with Trump taking the stage at about 2:30 a.m. that night than your average politician in Washington.
White’s comments speak to Trump’s campaign Smart communication strategy belong to flirt large male audience—and a harbinger of the “Democrats need a Joe Rogan” trend discourse that does followed the party’s resounding defeat. In conversations I’ve had since then with prominent voices on the right and left, as well as with journalists who understand internet culture, it’s clear that the Democratic Party needs to engage more effectively through non-traditional media. And while there are opportunities for the group to connect, there are no quick fixes to accommodate a media ecosystem that leans right-wing, male-centric, or manosphereit is evolving into a MAGA megaphone.
“This change has been going on for many years,” said Taylor Lorenz, a technology journalist and author of the book Extremely online. “You can look at the development of something like sports bar stoolsThat’s also part of this. The right has always succeeded in a personality-oriented environment. They realized that in the 90s, the days of talk radio, personality-driven media was much more effective in reaching people and promoting their message.” She also points to sports, gaming and YouTube prank culture as subtle ways in which young people are gradually exposed to increasingly conservative ideology.
Lorenz, who produces an online cultural publication on Substack, User Magsays that the content space tilts to the right because the creators of the environment have always felt “isolated” from traditional media channels, Hollywood and mainstream pop culture, from which they feel “ controlled by liberals.”
During the final stretch of the 2024 election, Trump appeared on numerous podcasts and livestreams, including Joe Rogan Experience, Last Weekend with Theo Von, Full Send, and more, while rigid mainstream media. (J.D. Vance also appeared on Rogan’s show, as well Elon Musk, who convinced the podcast host let an eleventh-hour endorsement.) Trump’s 18-year-old son, Barron, has been is credited By encouraging such appearances, it allows the president-elect to reach a younger demographic in a more conversational, even meandering way—a far cry from an on-air interview. policy-oriented Sunday program.
As a result, conservative homeowner Candace Owens told me, the public can access “the other side of Trump and that’s what people want to see.” Owens claimed that “90%” of the mainstream media “are essentially eliminating people on the right.”
“They communicate that way with piety and arrogance. And people are tired of it,” she added, arguing that the right is winning in the independent media space because it promotes more “human conversation.” .
Don’t forget, a former CNN anchor who was draw praise to his man-in-the-street videos across the country this election cycle, tells me that Trump has “smartly recognized that the impact that streaming, digital and What social media can do to a weakening traditional, corporate, old-school economy.” media.”
Meanwhile, Kamala HarrisHis campaign, he said, “really missed that.”
“She is a much younger, more vibrant person” than Trump, Lemon argued. “She is not a sourpuss and those people want to embrace her,” referring specifically to Black independent media. “There were a lot of places, kind of centrist or center-left, people who weren’t in the crazy right-wing, white-boy, bro space where she could have moved on.”
Lemon argues that Harris’s campaign is simply too cautious, concerned that any podcast host could stir up unwanted controversy as they exploit the online ecosystem. “The rules are different,” he said, noting that it should not have been a concern for Democrats that Trump surrounded himself with people who “speak out theories every day.” far-right conspiracies and views.”
According to Lorenz, a voice on the left has had similar success in growing its audience Hasan Piker, a livestreamer, influencer, and political speaker who provides an alternative to hyper-masculine Trump supporters while remaining “culturally relevant.” On election night, Piker was the only one The streamer leans left to rank in the top 10 on Twitch. In the ranking, Piker, in third place, is surrounded by people with conservative views such as Dan Bongino, Steven Crowder, Podcast PBD (featuring Owens), Charlie Kirk, And Tucker Carlson.
Piker, in an interview, identified different streams of commentary on the right, from more explicitly political “propaganda” outlets, like The Daily Wire, to “centrist content circuits,” pointing to podcasts on which Trump has appeared like Von’s Last weekend. “Von is not an overtly right-winger,” he said, adding that Rogan “falls somewhere in the middle,” but has recently “become a right-wing guy that goes from supporting Bernie Sanders in 2020 to support Donald Trump in 2024.”
Notably, Sanders appeared on Rogan’s show during the 2020 Democratic primary campaign and appeared to win the host’s support, which led to criticism from one number of leftists because of Rogan’s views. controversial commentincluding in relation to transgender athletes. (On Sunday, Sanders has been withdrawn was “vilified” for being on Rogan’s show while urging Democrats not to ignore “the alternative media out there.”)
