It’s Good That Joe Rogan Endorsed Bernie. Now We Have to Organize.
We don't like plenty of what Joe Rogan has to say — but Bernie Sanders won his support without compromising any of his values. He has nothing to apologize for.
The fact that the Sanders campaign can reach the Joe Rogans of the world is a tremendous electoral positive.
One of the world’s most popular podcasters has said that he’ll “probably vote for Bernie Sanders.” He went on to say some glowing things about Senator Sanders’s consistency and integrity. Unsurprisingly, the Sanders campaign celebrated the moment by tweeting out the clip.
Why wouldn’t it? While Sanders, Tulsi Gabbard, and Andrew Yang have appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan has said that Warren, Buttigieg, and Biden have all tried and failed to get booked on the show. It’s obvious why — the YouTube page for The Joe Rogan Experience has 7.29 million subscribers, and even more people download the podcast every month.
Better yet, this legion of fans isn’t made up of progressive activists who were already planning to vote in the Democratic primaries. Rogan spends far more time talking about drugs and movies and Mixed Martial Arts than he does about the presidential election. Many of his fans are relatively apolitical, but some may be moved to register to vote by Rogan’s ode to the integrity of Bernie Sanders — or his passionate defense of Medicare for All.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.