Do the Democrats Need Their Own Joe Rogan – Or Just a Compelling Argument?

Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom’s new podcast provides far-right influencers with a ‘safe space’ while he claims to be confronting difficult differences. The result is a symptom of a party that still doesn’t know what it stands for, writes Matt Gallagher

There’s a stock sentiment among America’s liberal commentariat in the wake of the 2024 Presidential Election: the left needs its own Joe Rogan.

It’s an admission that the Democrats have failed to break into new media, especially the podcast ecosystem now dominated by ‘MAGA’ and the ‘manosphere’. The party’s defects are stylistic rather than substantive, so the thinking goes, suggesting that the Democrats can podcast their way back to power in 2028.

But are free-form conversations with credulous hosts really a force for good? And are they enough to help the Democrats win back the public?

The Democrats are undeniably behind the times. Donald Trump’s election podcast circuit supercharged his appeal to young men, racking up millions of views. The Joe Rogan Experience regularly draws more viewers than primetime MSNBC, Fox News, and CNN combined.