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Former President Donald Trump’s Friday interview with Joe Rogan, the most popular podcast host in the country, highlights a trend this election cycle of presidential candidates using podcasts to zero in on target audiences.
During this truncated campaign – which remains tied as Election Day nears – some of the traditional giants of journalism are being pushed aside. The growing popularity of podcasts and their ability to help candidates in a tight race target a specific sliver of the electorate is a big reason why. Podcast listenership has essentially doubled since 2016.
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Trump, for example, has turned down interviews with "60 Minutes" and other major news outlets in favor of more male-dominated influencers like Adin Ross and Logan Paul. The former president has stuck largely to what he perceives as friendly venues with direct access to his base audience.
Side-by-side image of Vice President Kamala Harris (L) and former President Donald Trump (R). (Getty Images)
Vice President Kamala Harris, meanwhile, appeared on Alex Cooper’s "Call Her Daddy," the most popular podcast for women, and she did an interview for Super Bowl champ Shannon Sharpe’s podcast, "Club Shay Shay," that airs Monday. Harris’ campaign was in talks with Rogan for an interview, but reports say it didn’t work out.
A USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll found that most voters hadn’t heard Trump or Harris on a podcast yet, but those who had said they were more likely to vote for Trump.
Trump’s podcast interviews
Here’s a list of the podcasts Trump has appeared on this election cycle. According to Forbes, they collectively have more than 50 million views.
- "Six Feet Under" with wrestler Mark Calaway
- "Flagrant" with comedian Andrew Schulz
- Barstool Sports’ "Bussin with the Boys" with former NFL football players Will Compton and Taylor Lewan
- "This Past Weekend" with Theo Von
- Adin Ross — a streamer who was banned from Twitch for offensive comments
- "Lex Fridman Podcast"
- "Full Send Podcast" with the Nelk Boys
- "The Dan Bongino Show"
- "PBD Podcast" with Patrick Bet-David
- "Impaulsive" with Logan Paul
- "All in Podcast" with Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks and David Friedberg
- "Shawn Ryan Show"
Harris’ podcast interviews
Here are the podcasts and popular radio shows Harris has been interviewed on:
- "Call Her Daddy" with Alex Cooper – "Call Her Daddy" is the most popular podcast for women. In the roughly 40-minute interview, Harris spoke about the grit it takes to be a woman seeking public office, the toughness her mother instilled in her and the importance of reproductive rights in this election.
- "All the Smoke" with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson
- "The Howard Stern Show"
- "Unlocking Us" with Brené Brown
- "The Breakfast Club" with Charlamagne Tha God, Jess Hilarious and DJ Envy
- "Club Shay Shay" with Shannon Sharpe