In the week before the election, podcaster Joe Rogan has unexpectedly become one of the key players in the neck-and-neck race for president. After hosting Donald Trump for a three-hour interview on Friday, one of Rogan’s comedy acolytes in Austin — an insult comic named Tony Hinchcliffe — became the main focus of Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally when he joked that Puerto Rico was a “floating island of garbage.”
Rogan, who positions himself as an independent despite much evidence of a right-leaning tilt, is apparently feeling the pressure for contributing only to the Trump campaign. In a rare post on X early on Tuesday morning, he said that he had been in talks to do an interview with Kamala Harris as reported, but it just hasn’t worked out so far:
Rogan’s argument appears to be one of continuity: If all of his episodes are taped in his studio, it would look a little weird if he recorded somewhere else to cater to a political candidate who could benefit from going on the most popular podcast in the country. But then again, why is he requiring the sitting vice-president to come to his house? Rogan records his show inside his multimillion-dollar lakefront mansion in Austin. He does only three or four episodes per week, and there are no major MMA events for him to announce this week. Perhaps he just does not want to leave his house.
Meanwhile, the Trump campaign is willing to meet Rogan at his doorstep. CNN reported on Tuesday morning that J.D. Vance, Trump’s running mate, will appear on the podcast later this week.