Mayor Pete recently made an intelligent point.
During an appearance on Jon Stewart’s podcast on April 11, Buttigieg argued that the Democratic Party is wasting precious time by desperately longing for a new Joe Rogan who can amplify liberal ideas. Rather, Democrats should be seeking out established conservative spaces in order to connect with new voters. (Subscribe to MR. RIGHT, a weekly newsletter about modern masculinity)
“My party’s all up in arms about who’s our Joe Rogan. We’re not going to have a Joe Rogan of the left. That’s not how it works,” the former Biden official said.
Stewart agreed.
“It’s also not something you can conjure in the way that – they just think, ‘Oh, let’s inorganically build this thing.’ Those positions have been built over time, and they’ve earned their credibility, and they’ve earned their authenticity, and they’ve earned all those things that they have. You can’t just poof them into existence,” the comedian said.
They’re spot on. Joe Rogan is a singular success, and there will never be another like him.
This is why it might be a costly mistake for Democrats such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear to leap head-first into the podcast world instead of focusing their efforts on breaking into the media world that already exists. Newsom launched his podcast in February, while Beshear launched his on April 8. (RELATED: Gavin Newsom Invites The Only Guest On His Podcast That Could Make Him Look Cool)
I’m launching a NEW PODCAST. We need to change the conversation.
I’m talking directly with people I disagree with, people I look up to, and you — the listeners.
Egg prices? Tariffs? DOGE? We’re tackling all your big questions.
This is Gavin Newsom. Subscribe now ➡️… pic.twitter.com/WdzGeqdvZ4
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) February 26, 2025
Although Newsom has already hosted conservative figures such as Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk, will his new show actually attract the political independents and non-political Americans he must court in order to win the presidency in 2028 (if he does end up running)? It’s doubtful. The podcast will likely end up attracting partisans, thus becoming an echo chamber without much influence outside a tiny sliver of the internet or the clips that get reposted on a platform like X.
Likewise with Beshear’s show.
“We want this to be something that’s more like people’s everyday lives, where you’re going to talk about politics for 20 minutes and then you’re going to switch to entertainment or sports, family or faith,” Beshear said of his podcast, noting that he doesn’t want it to be “overtly political.”
Unfortunately for Beshear, no one wants to listen to a politician discuss sports or entertainment. If they want sports and entertainment, they will seek out sports pundits and Hollywood gossip vultures for hot takes. Not the milquetoast governor of Kentucky.
If Democrats are so unpopular nationally and have messaged so poorly on the internet, their first step should be simpler: Just make appearances on the podcasts that already exist. There’s no need for them to silo themselves off in neatly produced, slick bubbles that won’t produce anything remotely as interesting as the content created by someone like Rogan.
