Joe Rogan, host of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, strongly refuted claims in a new book that his podcast team misled Kamala Harris’ campaign about a potential interview during the 2024 presidential race. This ignited a debate over what transpired during the campaign’s final months.
“This whole idea that we (expletive) her over and we (expletive) her over for Trump — incorrect, just not true,” Rogan said on the Tuesday, February 4, 2025, episode of his podcast. “One of the things they said that wasn’t true was that we lied about the day Trump was coming on. We just didn’t tell them because they hadn’t committed to doing the show.”
The dispute centers around allegations in the new book, “Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House,” by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes. The book claims Harris’ team arranged a Houston, Texas event with Beyoncé on October 25, 2024, to align with a possible Rogan interview in nearby Austin, Texas, only to be told the date was unavailable due to Rogan’s personal day off, which turned out to be the same day he interviewed Donald Trump.
“Trump was super easy. We offered one day. He said, ‘Yes.’ That was it,” Rogan explained. “There was no back-and-forth, no stipulations, no edits — just a straightforward booking. Harris’ team, on the other hand, never fully committed.”
The book alleges that Harris’ team conducted a studio walk-through, a claim Rogan vehemently denies. “That’s not true. These people didn’t have a date. They never agreed to do the show,” he insisted.
Following Trump’s appearance, Harris’ team proposed conducting the interview in Washington, D.C., under specific conditions: a 45-minute to one-hour time limit, the presence of staff members and a stenographer, and the interview would not take place on Rogan’s set. Rogan took issue with these stipulations, noting that Trump had come alone without any conditions.
Rogan characterized the situation as tightly managed, emphasizing that Harris’ team was apprehensive about the interview not being edited. He further explained that when his manager asked whether Harris was fully committed to participating, the response was a definitive no.
The popular podcaster indicated that internal divisions within Harris’ campaign played a role in the interview not happening. He noted that some staff members opposed the idea, believing it would create bad optics, which he attributed to what he described as a group of “wokesters” within her team.
Rogan asserted that he had extensive records of all discussions with Harris’ team, insisting that detailed conversations had occurred and suggesting that someone was attempting to cover up that she never followed through with the interview. However, NBC News political reporter Jonathan Allen challenged Rogan’s claim about a lack of contact. Speaking to a media outlet, Allen stated that the Harris team had reached out but never received a response.
Speaking anonymously, a senior aide from Harris’ campaign blamed scheduling constraints for the interview not happening. The aide explained that the campaign had only a few days to travel west during the short election cycle. They emphasized that the timing did not align with Rogan’s availability and that both sides tried to coordinate but could not make it work. The aide also suggested that anyone within the campaign portraying the situation as a more significant issue was likely not involved in the discussions.
The interview that never happened generated significant attention after Trump’s appearance attracted 50 million views. According to the book, which interviewed over 150 sources, the failed interview attempt represented a missed opportunity for Harris to reach young male voters, a demographic where she struggled to gain traction during the campaign.