Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Democrats shouldn’t look for their version of podcaster Joe Rogan and instead should find other meaningful ways to connect with voters.
The former White House official touted his visions for the future of the party’s appeal during a recent appearance on “The Weekly Show with John Stewart.”
“My party’s all up in arms about who’s our Joe Rogan. We’re not going to have a Joe Rogan of the left. That’s not how it works,” he said.
Rogan has developed a platform as a conversationalist and influencer through frequent freeform interviews promoted across social platforms.
The former UFC commentator has 19.4 million subscribers on YouTube, 19.8 million followers on Instagram and over 15 million on X.
Many have credited Rogan for helping President Trump reclaim the White House after his interview with the podcaster reached over 30 million in three days.
Former Vice President Harris refused to sit down for an unedited interview with Rogan, instead joining the “Call her Daddy” podcast to connect with younger voters and discuss abortion rights.
Buttigieg said that’s the type of energy Democrats need. He suggested the party ramp up its presence in new media spaces to promote platform messaging and policy points.
“The other big thing that my party is terribly behind on is where we say it. And by this I mean what media spaces we are in,” he said.
The Biden administration official urged party members to reach people who are “not always looking for politics.”
“When I think about a generational project of really transforming the country and transforming the country for the better versus transforming the country into whatever it has been plunged into in the last 100 days, that’s going to require a deeper level of vision and a greater readiness to walk away ruthlessly from what hasn’t worked and to stand up relentlessly for what has worked, even if it’s unpopular,” Buttigieg said.