Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) offered his thoughts on Joe Rogan and his podcast on Sunday, criticizing Democrats for how they’ve treated the podcaster and other podcast hosts.
Sanders shared his thoughts on CNN’s “State of the Union,” where he was asked about the blowback he received for going on Rogan’s show years ago after receiving his endorsement.
“Yeah, I think that’s fair enough. Look, you’re going to have an argument with Rogan, agree with him, disagree with him. But what’s the problem with going on those shows? It’s hard for me to understand that,” Sanders said.
In this election, Rogan endorsed President-elect Trump after having him on for an interview in October. The podcast lasted almost three hours, and after Rogan said he offered the same opportunity to Vice President Harris.
While Harris didn’t decline the opportunity outright, she did say that Rogan would have to travel to her, as she wouldn’t go to his Texas studio. Rogan also noted that Harris’s team said they would only be able to sit for an hour time slot. Because of all of this, the interview never happened, and Harris received criticism for not taking the opportunity.
Sanders said on Sunday that more candidates should be taking opportunities to reach the “millions and millions of viewers” who consume alternative media.
In January 2020, Rogan endorsed Sanders for the Democratic nominee, and the Independent Senator said he received backlash for then sitting with Rogan for an interview.
In hindsight, Sanders said on Sunday that he still doesn’t “see a problem in doing that.”