Joe Rogan Reveals How He Wanted to Handle Kamala Harris Interview

Popular podcaster Joe Rogan said he would have guided former Vice President Kamala Harris through an interview on his podcast if she had come on the show ahead of the election, and he had no intention of being "antagonistic" toward the then-presidential candidate.

Newsweek filed out an online contact form for comment from Harris on Friday.

Why It Matters

Rogan is one of the most-listened-to media voices, and some strategists have suggested that Harris' decision not to appear on his podcast hurt her 2024 presidential campaign. Then-Republican nominee Donald Trump sat down with Rogan 10 days before the election he went on to win.

The comedian and podcaster endorsed Trump the day before the election but had previously spoken favorably of Senator Bernie Sanders and criticized Trump in the past.

What To Know

Rogan hosts the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, which has around 11 million listeners. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Rogan extended invites to both the Democratic and Republican candidates to sit down on his show. An interview with Harris never materialized, while Trump's was released just under two weeks ahead of the election.

A recently published excerpt from Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House by journalists Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes details a failed negotiation between Rogan's team and Harris' campaign, alleging obstacles set by Rogan's camp ultimately derailed the interview.

According to the book, Harris' campaign had initially sought to have her appear on the podcast in an effort to reach young male voters, a demographic where she was struggling. The negotiations, which began in October 2024, became a logistical struggle between Harris' campaign and Rogan's team.

Rogan has denied some claims made in the book, stating that his team never lied about a scheduling conflict, Harris' team never sent a staffer to scout his Austin studio, and that her team never fully committed to the interview.

On a Thursday episode of his show, he told guest Adam Curry that Harris' team "just lie. They cover their a**, and they lie. I would have been very happy to have her on, and like I said, the goal was to release both the same day," in reference to his desire to publish episodes from both Harris and Trump on the same day.

The host added that Harris' team "got scared" and that, he "would have held her hand, we would have had a conversation. Not that I need to hold, you know, the vice president's hand."

He continued that had the interview happened, he would have helped her explain her policy platform, "even if it doesn't make any sense." He told Curry, "I'm not going to be antagonistic. I'm not gonna be a sh**head. I have no desire to turn this into a viral clip thing."

What People Are Saying

Adam Curry said on the show that Harris didn't come on the podcast because: "We broke the elite messaging system; we broke it because they could not put her into the new system. They couldn't, because they knew that she would fall down."

Harris campaign adviser Jennifer Palmieri said in November: "Some of our progressive staff pushed back, not wanting her on the show and worrying about backlash."