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The public image of figures like Joe Rogan is less manufactured than those of the celebrities endorsing Kamala Harris. Their relatability with the public is what makes them popular and associating with them helps Trump transmit a similar message to the larger audience
Donald Trump on the Joe Rogan podcast. (Image credit: Instagram/joeroganexperience.)
New Delhi: “I’m not here as a celebrity, I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother,” Beyoncé proclaimed to thunderous applause at a Houston rally for Kamala Harris on Friday. “A mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided”, the pop superstar added. Beyonce is not the only big name from the entertainment industry backing the Presidential bid of Kamala Harris. It comes at the back of others such as Taylor Swift, Lizzo, Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen and more recently the rapper Eminem.
While Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party boasts of a slew of big name celebrities endorsing their cause, the list looks stale and does not align with the current mood of the US public. The majority of names associated with the Democratic Party often repeat each election year and have become associated with the party almost to a fault. The personal image of these celebrities change, and when it turns negative, it is often to the party’s detriment as well.
On the other hand, the Republican Party’s Donald Trump has used media communication and endorsements in a unique way, different from the traditional way in which US politics has operated. An early example of this was his interview with Tucker Carlson that was released on the social media platform X and not on any traditional media outlet. Now Trump has exceeded even that with an appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast. One of the most popular podcasts around the world, the show commands a large international audience. In an unprecedented move, just before the elections, Trump sat for nearly a three-hour conversation with Rogan on the podcast talking about a spate of both personal and political issues.
Unprecedented and smart
Donald Trump is known for not following the conventional routes through which politics has always operated in the United States. He has shown this time and again, be it in terms of how he talks about party funding, his views on sensitive issues like immigration and abortion, or who he decides to grant interviews to. In this he has been consistent and he took another such innovative step on Friday when he sat down for a conversation on Joe Rogan’s show, one of the world’s most popular and highly watched podcasts.
Trump’s visit on the Joe Rogan podcast was highly anticipated and in a short period of time, it received an enormous amount of views which are still raking in. The around three-hour conversation even resulted in Trump arriving late to his rally that night in Traverse City, Mich. Just before elections, for a US Presidential candidate to sit for such a long, unscripted conversation on a non-mainstream platform is unprecedented and brave. While only the election results will show how judicious Trump’s decision was, it is in line with his habit of innovating and breaking new paths on the old trails of US politics.
Unlike most of his contemporaries across parties, Trump’s understanding of the new media is unique. He understands how broad and far-reaching the reach of the medium is. A lengthy conversation on a popular podcast gives Trump the chance to outline his views with greater clarity, unlike small sound bytes on traditional media outlets.
Apart from the medium, Donald Trump is also intelligent in the endorsements he picks. He is not going after traditional figures of the entertainment industry, many of whose popularity fluctuates with time, as does their public image. Trump rather relies on figures who are currently popular and have an influence across demographics.
Figures like Joe Rogan have a keen understanding of the zeitgeist and are symbolic of the tastes of their time. Their image is less manufactured than say the celebrities endorsing Kamala Harris. Their enhanced relatability with the common public is what makes them popular and Trump plans on playing on similar themes. Associating with such figures helps him transmit this message more easily, again proving why he is ahead of the game and a political innovator, despite whatever the final outcome of the elections may be.
(Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone. The opinions and facts in this article do not represent the stand of News9.)
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