With only three days left until the election, things are getting tight. I’ll write a longer pre and post election piece this week, but today I wanted to capture my thoughts on “podcasting as an electoral strategy”. Or in the common tongue, should you go on Joe Rogan if you want to win?
I’m an infrequent listener to Joe, despite what my personal demography may suggest. He is certainly good at what he does, but a lot of guests just don’t really interest me too much, and three hours is a lot to commit to.
However, there is no denying he is good at what he does. Trump went on his show last week, and I listened to the whole thing. It was ok, I guess, and it made me consider the whole thing from an electioneering perspective.
The never trumpers and the ultra MAGA types have already made their mind up, and Joe Rogan isn’t going to change that. But there are still a few undecideds out there, and a good showing can cause a move in the needle.
Personally, I thought it was the right thing for Trump to do, but he didn’t put in a great performance. Age has caught up with him, and what he calls “the weave” is actually just a ton of rambling. I wasn’t super impressed, but hats off to entering the arena, and I wish Harris had done the same.
A few days ago, JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, went on the show. I read Vance’s book, but even so, he is still a bit of an outsider, and the Harris ticket have done a good job as painting him a “weird”.
Well, I’m a little under an hour in, and I’m very impressed. The whole thing about JD is he is super smart, and that comes out in the interview. But he is also very personable, and because of his age (he turned 40 recently), he is quite relatable. Policy wise, he’s not always cup of tea, and I find myself on the left AND the right of many of his core beliefs. However, I think he may be a political star in the not so distant future.
Skip the Trump interview, but give the JD Vance a listen to with an open mind.