Are Democrats reclaiming the 'podcast bros'?
President Donald Trump notched a historic victory in 2024, becoming the first Republican to sweep all seven swing states and to secure the popular vote since 1984. His success has been attributed to many different aspects of his campaign, but one unorthodox strategy stuck out.
In between countless campaign rallies and many media appearances, Trump made his rounds on several platforms that have been casually dubbed as the "bro podcasts." The slate of comedians, sports enthusiasts, and cultural commentators is a far cry from the traditional presidential debates brokered by corporate news outlets, yet the reach is arguably greater.
'Like a lot of normal Americans, some of the country's top podcast hosts aren't ideologues, they're just people who detest the political establishment.'
Trump subsequently made significant gains across several demographics, including Gen Z men, a generation that is measurably more conservative compared to their Millennial and Gen X predecessors. At the same time, their support for Trump is beginning to slip, and Democrats can smell blood in the water.
Many of these podcast hosts were perceived as sympathetic toward Trump during his campaign simply for interviewing the Republican frontrunner. It's important to clarify, however, that many of those same podcasters were in talks with former Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign, which eventually turned down all their interview requests — but not before making a pit stop at Alex Cooper's notorious sex podcast, "Call Her Daddy," of course.
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The bottom line is that these podcasters are not the MAGA apologists the legacy media claims they are. Within the first six months of Trump's second term, the same hosts who sat down with the president leading up to November have also come out and criticized some policies implemented by the administration.
'Democrats shouldn’t approach these podcasts as a place to score points.'
Theo Von, the beloved comedian who hosts "This Past Weekend," has been especially critical of Trump's foreign policy and Israel's ongoing attacks in Gaza. Trump campaigned on ending foreign wars, yet the same conflicts rage on, leaving Von and many other Americans dissatisfied with the administration's trajectory.
“What’s the win for us? We’re just involved in some other thing while we have suffering here at home," Von said in June as tensions grew between Iran and Israel.
The Epstein saga, which dominated the political news cycle for over a week, also sowed division among podcast hosts and American voters alike.
"Sure feels like the dark arts are afoot!" Von said in response to the GOP's handling of Epstein-related votes. "Why no vote Speaker Johnson?"
Comedian Andrew Schulz, who co-hosts the "Flagrant" podcast, has also criticized certain aspects of the Trump administration and its immigration policy. Schulz, who was a lifelong Democrat, told Saagar Enjeti of "Breaking Points" that elected officials ought to be held accountable, even if you supported them.
"If you're not willing to hold the person that you voted for to the standards that they expected, then you're not a real person that cares about what's happening in America," Schulz said.
Because podcasters like Schulz and Von refuse to cast themselves into ideological molds, there is room for a wide range of voices to share their thoughts and exchange ideas with the popular hosts. Many of these critiques are echoed by their audiences, and some Democrats are seizing the opportunity.
Since the inauguration, Trump's approval ratings among Gen Z and male voters have declined, in some cases in the double digits. One CBS poll shows that Gen Z approval of Trump has declined from 55% to 28% in just six months, while overall male approval has dipped from 60% to 47%. Notably, these are the same demographics that make up a large portion of the viewership for podcasts like "The Joe Rogan Experience" and "Flagrant."
'Democrats are desperate to get back their momentum with young voters, especially men, by looking like regular people.'
Emily Jashinsky, host of "After Party with Emily Jashinsky," told Blaze News that the real reason these podcasts have amassed great followings, particularly with young men, is not because of their party affiliation but because they are willing to go against the grain.
"Like a lot of normal Americans, some of the country's top podcast hosts aren't ideologues, they're just people who detest the political establishment," Jashinsky told Blaze News. "Hunter Biden actually framed himself and his father as victims of the political establishment in his conversation with Andrew Callaghan, and that's not an accident."
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When asked point-blank if the "podcast bro" audience was "up for grabs" for Democrats, Schulz answered bluntly.
"Absolutely," Schulz said. "I'm up for grabs."
Democrats have since been making their rounds on the podcast circuit. Everyone from former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, and even Gov. Gavin Newsom have made appearances alongside the "podcast bros."
"We're allegedly these 'big MAGA podcasts,' and Pete Buttigieg comes on and has the biggest interview of his career," Schulz said. "Not our biggest interview of our career, his biggest interview."
"It's very simple. Whoever has the ideas that meet the needs of the people and can actively convince us that they can execute those ideas is gonna win our vote."
"Democrats shouldn’t approach these podcasts as a place to score points," Khanna, who has previously appeared on "The Glenn Beck Podcast," told Blaze News. "I have always believed in talking with people who have different views — whether that’s on Fox News or podcasts. It’s about exchanging ideas and building authentic relationships."
Although Democrats like Newsom and Buttigieg are broadly considered to be figures of the establishment, their willingness to participate in challenging, long-form interviews is unorthodox for their party.
However, their willingness to deviate from their party norms should not be taken as a newfound embrace for free speech and open dialogue. Rather, this shift among certain Democrats seems to be simply an opportunistic form of damage control in response to America's overwhelming rejection of their party platform.
"Pete Buttigieg and James Talarico have showed up on programs like 'Pardon My Take,' 'Flagrant,' and 'Rogan' now that cancel culture is over, and Democrats are desperate to get back their momentum with young voters, especially men, by looking like regular people," Jashinsky added.
"Ceding these spaces to the right for fear of offending progressive mobs gave the right way more power to define the left because the left would refuse to even enter the arenas, let alone by criticizing the Democratic establishment," Jashinsky said. "Now, they're trying to do both."
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The secret formula the podcasters have figured out is that audiences want to be talked to, not talked at.
The reason the ‘manosphere’ is so popular is because people are genuinely interested in authentic conservations, not liberal propaganda.
The media faced a similar reckoning in 2016, only to spend years legitimizing every single hoax peddled by Democrats under Trump's first term.
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