Top-ranked podcaster Joe Rogan claimed that the Harris-Walz campaign set a “red line” on discussing “marijuana legalization” for the interview with Vice President Kamala Harris that ultimately never took place, though her aides suggested the sit-down was canceled due to concerns over potential progressive backlash.
“I think they had requirements on things that she didn’t want to talk about. She didn’t want to talk about marijuana legalization, which I thought was hilarious,” the popular podcaster revealed on his Tuesday episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
The Harris-Walz campaign contacted Rogan’s management about scheduling an interview after news broke that former President Donald Trump would appear on the highly-rated podcast, according to Rogan, the New York Post reported.
However, campaign spokesman Ian Sams claimed that the scheduling just never worked out, which was an excuse that most critics of the vice president didn’t buy.
During the negotiations with Rogan, some staffers on Harris’ team became concerned that an appearance on Rogan’s widely watched podcast could provoke backlash from progressives.
“There was a backlash with some of our progressive staff that didn’t want her to be on it, and how there would be a backlash,” Jennifer Palmieri, an adviser to second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, told the Financial Times.
Rogan’s guest on the Tuesday episode, comedian Adrienne Iapalucci, wondered why the campaign would consider discussing marijuana legalization off-limits.
“Because of her prosecuting record,” Rogan responded regarding Harris, who formerly served as California attorney general and San Francisco district attorney. “She put a lot of people in jail for weed.”
Last month, Harris’ team introduced a set of policies designed to appeal to black male voters, including the legalization of marijuana.
She had faced criticism from her left-wing base, particularly during the 2020 Democratic primary, over her prosecutorial record on marijuana.
According to Rogan, the Harris-Walz campaign made several other demands, including limiting the discussion to about an hour, far shorter than the three hours or more he typically prefers, and requesting accommodations to ensure the vice president wouldn’t have to travel to his studio in Austin, Texas.
Rogan said the latter was a dealbreaker.
They had, I don’t know how many conversations with my folks, but multiple conversations giving different dates, different times, different this, different that, and we knew that she was going to be in Texas, so I said, ‘open invitation,’” Rogan said.
Before the election, Rogan said he was backing Donald Trump, an endorsement made less than two weeks after the now-president-elect sat down for an interview with the podcaster, an event that has garnered well over 50 million views.
“The great and powerful @elonmusk. If it wasn’t for him we’d be f—ked. He makes what I think is the most compelling case for Trump you’ll hear, and I agree with him every step of the way. For the record, yes, that’s an endorsement of Trump. Enjoy the podcast,” Rogan wrote on the X platform, which Musk bought in 2022 for $44 billion.
Rogan’s post contained a video of a lengthy interview he did with Musk ahead of the election.
Trump responded to news of the endorsement during a rally in Pittsburgh, Pa.
“Thank you, Joe. That’s so nice. And he doesn’t do that. He doesn’t do that stuff. And he tends to be a little bit more liberal than some of the people in this room,” Trump said. “I had a lot of fun, he was amazing, and it was a 3-hour interview.”
“He’s not a person that does endorsements, but he just did an endorsement, so I just want to thank Joe Rogan. That’s fantastic,” he added.
