Kamala Harris Slipping With Podcast Audience as Trump Takes on Joe Rogan

An overwhelming majority of Americans say they haven't heard either Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump on a podcast, according to a poll. However, those who have heard the two candidates say they are more likely to vote for Trump after his appearances than for Harris.

The extraordinarily tight 2024 election has seen both the Democratic and Republican nominees embrace nontraditional means of reaching new audiences, with podcasts emerging as one of the top formats.

Despite their efforts, a USA Today/Suffolk University poll of 1,000 likely voters, released Wednesday, found an overwhelming majority of respondents had not heard either major party candidate on podcasts this election cycle.

Harris holds a slight edge over Trump in audience numbers, with 72 percent of respondents saying they had not heard her on a podcast, while 77.5 percent hadn't heard Trump.

Jemele Hill and Senator Kamala Harris talk during a podcast on July 6, 2019. During this year's presidential race, both Harris and Donald Trump have appeared on podcasts. Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for Spotify

However, podcast appearances seem to help Trump more than Harris, with 51 percent of respondents saying Harris' podcast appearances made them less likely to vote for her, while 34 percent said it encouraged them to support her candidacy. Thirteen percent maintained that it made no difference to their vote.

For Trump, the results were almost the opposite. Nearly half of respondents—49.5 percent—said what they heard made them more likely to vote for the former president, and only 28 percent said it made them less likely to vote for him. Over a fifth of respondents, 21.5 percent, said it made no difference to their vote.

Newsweek reached out by email to the Harris and Trump campaigns for comment and confirmation on Wednesday.

The U.S. podcast audience is larger than ever. Around 135 million Americans listen to podcasts at least once a month, with 15 million new listeners starting in the past year alone. The long-form format gives politicians the chance to speak about their platform in conversational ways while also helping them connect with audiences that are otherwise disengaged from politics.

Both candidates have been on popular podcasts recently, and the poll asked respondents if they had heard Harris' recent appearances on Call Her Daddy or All the Smoke or Trump on This Past Weekend With Theo Von or Flagrant 2.

Call Her Daddy is the most popular podcast on Spotify for women.

When Is Trump on Joe Rogan's Podcast?

On Friday, less than two weeks until Election Day, Trump will record an interview with popular podcaster and comedian Joe Rogan. The Joe Rogan Experience has repeatedly been the top podcast on Spotify, with over 14 million listeners.

The interview will take place at Rogan's studio in Austin, Texas, according to media reports. Politico was first to report the news on Tuesday afternoon. It is not known when the episode will be released, but the show typically puts out the episodes quickly.

Newsweek reached out by email to the show's publicist and Trump's campaign for comment and confirmation on Wednesday.

The average length of a Rogan podcast episode is typically around three hours. However, the duration can vary, with some episodes around two hours and others extending to four hours or more. It is not known how long Trump's appearance will be.

Rogan's show leans more to the right and attracts a young, male audience, with the host often sharing views similar to Trump's, such as skepticism about COVID-19 measures. During the pandemic, this prompted calls for Spotify to cut ties with Rogan.

The host had previously not wanted to have Trump on his show, saying in July 2022 that he didn't want to help the former president and that Trump was "an existential threat to democracy."

Rogan has repeatedly expressed frustration at the political establishment and generally avoided showing support for either Democrats or Republicans. He praised Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earlier in the presidential race but denied formally endorsing the independent candidate, who has since dropped out.

It has been rumored that Harris may appear on the podcast, but so far there is no confirmation. Newsweek reached out via email to Harris' campaign for comment on Wednesday.