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Kamala Harris’s fears of a progressive backlash killed a plan for her to appear on Joe Rogan’s podcast, a campaign official has said, shedding light on a decision that infuriated some Democrats who are reeling after Donald Trump’s election victory.
The Harris campaign and Rogan, whose audience is bigger than that of many television networks, had discussed an interview for his podcast — a move some Democrats hoped would help Harris reach young men who were gravitating towards Trump.
The talks faltered because of concerns at how the interview would be perceived within the Democratic party, said Jennifer Palmieri, a senior adviser to Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff.
“There was a backlash with some of our progressive staff that didn’t want her to be on it, and how there would be a backlash,” Palmieri said on Wednesday.
Palmieri, who previously worked in the White House and for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, is among the first officials from the Harris campaign to go into detail over a decision that some Democrats fear may have contributed to their loss.
Just over a week after Harris’s heavy defeat, the party is hunting for scapegoats, with some operatives blaming President Joe Biden. Others have said the campaign flubbed its media strategy and was too cautious with alternative outlets.
Rogan, who endorsed Trump the night before the election, is widely viewed as the most popular podcaster in the country. He holds a particularly large following among young men, a demographic Trump successfully spent much of the past year courting through appearances across a “manosphere” of YouTubers and podcasters.
Palmieri also said news leaking that Harris was in talks to do Rogan’s show created a “very weird dynamic” with the podcaster.
“Because all of a sudden he’s on his heels about how his audience is going to react to this, and the demands that they were going to put on him to be tough on her,” Palmieri said at a conference organised by The Clearing House, a payments group owned by large US banks.
A representative from Harris’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s interview with Rogan has been viewed nearly 50mn times on YouTube, while the podcaster’s interview with vice-president-elect JD Vance has racked up 16mn views.
By comparison, about 29mn people watched Harris’s speech at the Democratic National Convention and fewer than 8mn watched her interview on Fox News.
Rogan, a former Ultimate Fighting commentator, has gained a large following, particularly among men, for his hours-long, often meandering conversations with guests on a wide range of topics, including martial arts, aliens, workout routines and politics.
He also stirs controversy. In 2022, musicians including Joni Mitchell pulled their music from Spotify in protest against the platform’s ties with Rogan, who had recently interviewed a virologist critical of coronavirus vaccines.
Backlash swelled when musician India.Arie posted a video of Rogan using the N-word multiple times on his show. Spotify removed more than 100 of his podcast episodes from its app.
Democratic senator Bernie Sanders this week argued that members of his party should be speaking to podcasters such as Rogan. “I think we have got to get — and clearly you have an alternative media out there, a lot of podcasts that have millions and millions of viewers — get on the show,” he told CNN on Sunday.