Presidential victory speeches offer clear opportunities for agenda setting, words of hope and a display of gratitude to those who have helped a president-elect in their often bitter, tiring efforts. Recipients of shoutouts during such grandiose events are typically limited to family members, friends, top campaign officials, important political allies, key donors and voters. However, during the victory celebration at Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential election watch party, some other, more interesting names were mentioned. After the president-elect called Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White to the microphone, White took the opportunity to “thank the Nelk Boys, Adin Ross, Theo Von, Bussin’ With The Boys and last but not least, the mighty and powerful Joe Rogan.”
Although the shoutout likely struck many Americans as completely bizarre, White’s words reflect the increased usage of online influencers (including podcasters, YouTubers and Twitch streamers) as avenues for political outreach. In the months leading up to election day, Trump appeared on stream with Twitch creator Adin Ross and appeared on the podcasts hosted by the Nelk Boys, Theo Von and Joe Rogan. Trump managed to clinch significant endorsements from several of these leading internet celebrities, with Kyle Forgeard speaking at several Trump campaign rallies and Rogan (the most popular podcaster in the US) endorsing Trump on the eve of Election Day. The appearances by Trump and his vice president-elect JD Vance on such podcasts reflect clear efforts to connect with young, male voters. According to exit poll data, the plan may have worked: NBC News reports Trump as receiving 49 percent of the vote among men aged 18-29 compared to Harris’s 47 percent.
Although Trump and Vance certainly made a significant imprint on the online landscape, the Harris campaign also made efforts to use Twitch and popular podcasts to its advantage. Vice President Harris appeared on Call Her Daddy hosted by Alex Cooper, Club Shay Shay hosted by former NFL tight end Shannon Sharpe and Unlocking Us hosted by Brené Brown. The Harris campaign also established a channel on Twitch which livestreamed many campaign events and rallies. Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, Harris’ running mate, also appeared on Twitch to play Crazy Taxi and Madden with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. However, I’d argue that the two members of the Democratic presidential ticket largely failed to make optimal use of podcasts, Twitch and YouTube. Instead, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont seemed to be the most willing to promote the Harris Campaign on such platforms. Like Trump, Sanders appeared on Rogan’s and Von’s podcasts. But Sanders’s outreach extended even further: The senator appeared on a Twitch stream with Pokimane, Valkyrae and Sykkuno. For some time, Harris seemed to consider an appearance on Rogan’s podcast, but the proposed appearance fell through after Harris requested that Rogan travel to meet her for the interview. This left viewers of The Joe Rogan Experience with an exposure to the views and personalities of Trump and Vance, while Harris and Walz both failed to advertise their platform to the many viewers of Rogan’s podcast.
Although celebrity endorsements have been a significant part of political campaigns for decades, I am concerned with the potential outsized influence these types of political appearances and endorsements may have on voters. For viewers of these influencers who do not follow the news on a frequent basis, appearances by political candidates and officials may be one of their only sources of political information. Candidates will obviously be most likely to agree to appearances with hosts who share their political views, which may result in said candidate being asked easier questions. Thus, viewers would get a misleading picture of the candidate’s platform. An endorsement from a musician, actor or athlete may have some influence on a voter’s decision, but the new phenomenon of internet celebrity interviews changes how viewers become informed on a topic.
This risk becomes increasingly apparent when combined with the alt-right pipeline theory. The theory posits that a number of popular conservative commentators, such as Rogan, Ben Shapiro and Jordan Peterson, often result in viewers being exposed to more radical content creators and conspiracy theories. Such viewers enter into echo chambers of belief, while they avoid being exposed to contrasting information or viewpoints.
As we move forward into future elections, we must anticipate increased use of political officials joining podcasts and livestreams as a way of connecting with specific voter groups. While these strategies can be effective in motivating people to express their voice through voting, they also risk contributing to problematic bubbles of confirmation bias that may influence less-than well-informed viewers.
Matthew Rentezelas is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at [email protected].