Modern American Campaigning Has Gone Viral: How Trump and Harris have turned to podcasts
In a world where traditional news media has become the exclusive realm of older voters, both campaigns are shifting to youth outreach (or is it outrage?) by engaging with non-traditional media.
In early August Donald Trump appeared on a 'Kick Steam'. Kick is an alternative streaming platform to the more famous Twitch, and is a controversial home for the hard right-wing voices banned from other streamers. The rise of the modern youth political influencer has found a new space on Kick amid its usual live programming around gambling, video games and bbq's?? It's a development strong enough to attract the man polling at 45% in the US Presidential election who's busy courting the low propensity bro vote. And Kick is all bro podcasts and McDonald's. Kinda like the backroom at Meta.
Critics claimed it was Trump being less than serious (no...) and admittedly it did feature Trump receiving a gold Rolex. Apparently it was for his son Barron, - no Federal Election Law breaking to see here. And it featured Trump senior being driven in a gaudy Elon Musk cybertruck adorned with the image of a bloodied face following the latest assassination attempt. The streamer, Adin Ross, who hosts the podcast has a also hosted Andrew Tate, under investigation for sex trafficking and rape in Romania, and the white nationalist Nick Fuentes. Yet, Trump seemed perfectly at home in this ambience. Who wouldn't enjoy the gifts and fawning praise?
Trump going on a streamer like that signals the belief held by both parties that traditional media no longer has a monopoly communicating to the public. In the 2 months following his Kick appearance, Donald Trump has made the rounds on dozens of podcasts: Theo Von's (top 25 on Apple Podcasts), Andrew Schulz's Flagrant Podcast, (4 million views after a week on Youtube), the Lex Friedman Show (top 50 on Spotify) to name a few. He talked with Elon Musk on X, (100 million views per Musk) Of course, its seen as viewers scroll past X's latest neo-nazi tweet that proliferates on the X platform now.
Trump is not alone micro-targeting potential voters through podcasts. Kamala Harris made her first podcast appearance a few weeks ago. Looking to shore up the youth vote, she joined the "Call Her Daddy" Podcast in an interview appearance that instantly shot it, not in the assassination kind of way, to the top of the Spotify charts. However, Harris has no intention of stopping there - climbing in the charts that is. Stay with me...
After Trump's Kick appearance with Adin Ross her team reportedly reached out to Kai Cenat, a Twitch Streamer who held the number one spot for concurrent subscribers (users paying $5 to see his stream without ads). The outreach was reportedly unsuccessful, but Harris has got a taste of the podcast world and she's not looking to stop. Apparently it's quite addictive. No wonder McDonald's advertises on these things!
As a result, both Trump and Harris have been courting the best known, and best paid, podcaster Joe Rogan for appearances. Harris is rumoured to be appearing soon, while Donald Trump is confirmed to be appearing before the election. Rogan has become famous for his reportedly centrist views, his hosting of a number of significant figures including Bernie Sanders, Elon Musk and Edward Snowden. The former UFC announcer has carved a niche as one of the leading voices of the modern right-leaning podcast space popular with young American men. You know, men like Elon.
The tilt towards these podcast appearances is best explained by digging into the shift in youth consumption patterns. No longer do 18-35 year olds get their news from the newscaster at NBC, CBS or FOX. Young people are not tuning in to watch 60 Minutes or listen to NPR on their commute. In fact, the bro's don't even commute. The last half decade has seen a rise of popular figures such as Rogan, former Obama staffers Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett, and Alistair Campbell and Rory Stewart in the UK have all been a credit to their successful podcast endeavours.
The political podcast space began as a spot for the political left to reorder itself after the shock of Donald Trump's victory (see Pod Save America). The thinking went there needed to be a louder, younger, less expensive to produce, antidote to FOX. In recent years as broadcast TV has lost audience, trimmed budgets and shed expensive 'celebrity' announcers, Â it has notably shifted to the right. A cursory glance at Spotify's top podcast lists include well known independent figures like Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Megyn Kelly all former Fox contributors.
The rightward shift reflects a historic conservative leaning (incel light?) in young men - suggesting the potential for political outreach in these spaces. However, this space is not dominated by right-wing figures alone. How else would Kamala have a chance if this was the case - even if she's best pals with Dick Cheney? The theory goes 'hang with Liz Cheney and get a second look from the right'. Right??
Recognisable figures from the left or centre of politics like Trevor Noah, Anderson Cooper and Jon Stewart also populate the top Spotify podcast charts. It all just reveals one thing - everybody is podcasting these days, and everyone under 40 is listening to them. With two weeks left in the US elections it will be incredibly informative to see what the new micro targeting campaigning reveals about the future of politics, particularly in the key swing states.
These podcasts are a part of the latest media revolution that both campaigns are looking to tap into. Independent writers channels have risen as well, like Substack and Medium. The Letts Journal, on the other hand, is powered by LettsNews, which is a new tool for news creation that journalists, podcasters, and contributors can use to more easily integrate with new independent movements. It enables us at The Letts Journal to collaborate and work more efficiently gathering, publishing and distributing stories. Exploring LettsNews and how it approaches news production can also reveal how we, as consumers, continue to challenge the traditional way the media creates what we see, hear and learn about. We’ll keep you posted.
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