Podcast appearances helped some Ohioans confirm their presidential choices in 2024
By Luke Gehm/Kent State NewsLab
President-elect Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign’s targeted outreach, through streaming platforms like Twitch and Kick and various podcasts, may have helped him reach new voters.
In particular, a last-minute appearance on podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience” allowed Trump to directly address a younger, predominantly male audience, potentially influencing swing voters who may not have been receptive to traditional media.
“I’ve only listened to Rogan’s podcasts in parts,” said Summit County resident Rick Simmons, 20. “I started seeing highlights from Trump’s interview with Rogan on my Instagram feed, and I was interested in what he had to say. I knew Rogan would be fair, something I feel doesn’t happen when Trump appears on big TV interviews.”
Simmons said he was pretty sure he would vote for Trump before listening to the interview, but he believed Rogan’s audience and reach helped many people who were undecided choose to vote for Trump.
According to Edison Research, 80% of Rogan’s listeners are male. Just over half of those listeners are between the ages of 18 and 34.
The success of this approach has ignited conversations about the importance of diversifying campaign strategies and looking to nontraditional outlets, such as podcasts, to galvanize voters.
Harris also made stops on some podcasts as well, the largest being “Call Her Daddy.” Similar to Rogan’s podcast, that show is an advice and comedy podcast created by Alexandra Cooper and Sofia Franklyn in 2018. Their audience is 70% women, according to NPR reporter Elena Moore, and 93% of listeners are under 45.
“I learned about Harris’ appearance on [Call Her Daddy] from my social feeds,” said Avon resident Maria Hawtrope, 24. “As I listened to the episode, I liked what Harris had to say, but I personally thought it was a waste of her time. Not that being on is a waste, but the message she was sharing I felt was already told to most of that audience. I think she would have been better served going on Rogan’s show.”
Rogan said in a post on X that the Harris campaign did not pass on doing his podcast, but he did not want to travel to record the episode.
According to Edison Research, “The Joe Rogan Experience” was the top podcast in the U.S. for Q1 and Q2 in 2024, while “Call Her Daddy” was fourth. Rogan’s Trump interview episode has over 47 million views on YouTube. Harris’ episode of “Call Her Daddy,” while not available in full on YouTube, has a clip that has been seen over 810,000 times.
“Once Trump went on, in my eyes, any opposing campaign strategist should do everything they can to get their candidate on as well,” said Canton resident Isaac Miller, 55. Miller has listened to Rogan’s show since its debut in 2009 and believes it’s the best source for unscripted, unedited information.
Miller believes individual platforms like Rogan’s helped shape the discourse — and potentially the election’s outcome.
According to AP VoteCast, Trump increased his success with Gen Z voters, aged 18 to 29, from 36% in 2020 to 46% in 2024. Among men aged 18-44, Trump increased his support from 45% in 2020 to 52% in 2024.
For Harris, 55% of women aged 18-44 supported her, down from the 61% support Biden had among that demographic group in 2020.
“For Democrats and Republicans alike, I feel this election result gave an answer to a question many older people would ask, how to reach the younger generation?” Miller said. “I would not be surprised to see other political figures use podcasts and different streaming platforms in the future to reach voters. The lesson: it’s not about just posting on social media, it’s about who you’re posting it with.”
This story was originally published by the Kent State NewsLab, a collaborative news outlet publishing journalism by Kent State students.