In this year’s presidential election many comedians and podcasters like Theo Von and Joe Rogan played important roles in influencing the public. Political figures like President Trump went on their podcasts and the effect was massive.
Joe Rogan is a comedian, UFC commentator and the host of the iconic podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience”. His importance in this year’s election came when Donald Trump appeared on the show for a three hour interview in late October 2024. The large platform allowed Trump to share his ideas and views with Rogans audience, mostly consisting of young men who would not likely watch traditional news platforms.
Theo Von, another popular comedian and podcaster, also contributed to help Trump and J.D. Vance spread their policies and gain support. In August of 2024 Trump went on Vons show “This Past Weekend”. Trump showed a more human side of himself where he and Von discussed serious topics such as addiction, sobriety, and many personal experiences. Von also later brought on Vice President J.D. Vance where the two discussed things such as Vances early life and political journey. This allowed many people to start to know Vance and made him very popular. Von also appeared at Trump’s inauguration where his chair collapsed and he fell into the lap of Logan Paul causing a minor and humorous disturbance.
Trump also previously made appearances on “The Full Send Podcast” by The Nelk Boys, Logan Paul’s podcast “Impaulsive”, and went live with popular Twitch streamer Adin Ross. Trump showed a very relatable and likable side of himself on these platforms where not only did he talk about politics, but he also just had friendly conversations talking about sports, the rapper Young Thug, and Zyns.
These things demonstrated how there has been a major shift in the political world. The most important voice, the youth, is no longer on traditional media platforms and political figures need to find new unique ways to communicate with the public and reach wider audiences. The casual setting of a podcast allows politicians to be more authentic and relatable, clearly an important thing for todays voters.
