“I had the opportunity to have him on my show more than once – I said no every time. I don't want to help him. I have no interest in helping him.” That's what podcast host Joe Rogan said about the marginalized former President Trump in 2022. He couldn't make it clearer that he is “in no way, shape or form a Trump supporter ” be.

How times can change. In the two years that followed, Donald Trump staged the most remarkable political comeback in living memory, outpacing his main rivals and fending off indictments and assassination attempts to become the successful Republican challenger in the 2024 election.

And Trump knew he needed Rogan. The podcaster, with 15 million subscribers and an A+ list of guests, had meanwhile warmed to Trump, even as he maintained the tough but fair assessment of both Republicans and Democrats that earned him wide popularity. Agnosticism turned to outright support when Trump gave his eleventh-hour endorsement on Election Day.

Rogan's official stamp of approval may have come too late to convince many voters, but his in-depth three-hour interview with the man he adamantly denied being on the show the week before may have certainly done so, and on YouTube alone, it was amazing Achieved 45 million views.

That Rogan's views are so interesting is a testament to his continued relevance and popularity. So it was strange that Kamala Harris turned down the opportunity to appear on the show after Trump, citing her apparent scheduling issues, her unwillingness to fly to Austin, Texas, and her desire to do so Limiting the interview to one hour – what any Joe Rogan superfan has experienced would know is tantamount to sacrilege.

Don't let Rogan's eventual endorsement retroactively unsettle him: He already expressed his legitimate admiration for Harris in his conversation with Trump and was clearly genuinely interested in hearing what she had to say. Rogan has enjoyed hosting Democratic voices before and had a warm chat with John Fetterman, Pennsylvania's Democratic senator.

So call it hubris. The Harris campaign, backed by Silicon Valley super PAC Future Forward, spent $700 million on cutting-edge advertising. She also significantly outperformed Trump on the ground, scornfully rejecting Elon Musk's (admittedly chaotic) contributions.

Shaken by criticism that she was avoiding the press, she finally agreed to a few short television interviews. Some extremely selective podcast appearances followed – in hindsight, appearing on “Call Her Daddy” while Hurricane Milton was ravaging North Carolina might have been a bad decision – but Rogan clearly went a step too far.

Trump was smart enough to follow Rogan's star. Credit goes to Alex Bruesewitz, the young Vance aide who apparently pushed Trump to use alternative media networks.

The Joe Rogan listener is not all that dissimilar to the Donald Trump voter: both are skeptical of establishment authority, hate foreign intervention, are vehemently anti-woke and, as this morning proved, represent a diverse snapshot of modern American life Identity. He cannot be dismissed as a “bro” influencer in the same way as the pro-Trump YouTube pranksters Nelk Boys. As the world wakes up to the election results, it is clear that America is now Rogan's country.