So then why did he reject Trump when he wanted to come on the podcast?

All downside, no upside. It wouldn't boost his popularity, but would open him up to new levels of criticism.

It would boost his popularity with half the country, and he would get an insane amount of views on the interview. All upside no downside.

> It would boost his popularity with half the country

idk, i feel like the majority of trump supporters already listen to JRE. Those that don't support Trump would hate Joe giving Trump the time of day and therefore risk losing those listeners while gaining none. I don't see an upside to Trump being on JRE.

That's a pretty large estimate. I'd be surprised if even 10% of Americans even listen to podcasts at all.

I doubt there's as much crossover as you think. I really don't see any evidence that a lot of MAGAts are JRE listeners.

the other half of the country (world?) would hate Rogan for having Trump on. imagine if they agreed on anything. imagine if they made each other laugh. the "you're giving a platform for HATE" rhetoric would be deployed in full gear. Rogan would undoubtedly ask tough questions, but no matter what he were to ask, it would never be "tough enough" for many. I'm not a big JRE guy but I would be very interested in watching a Trump episode of the show—however, I think Rogan made the right choice by not opening that can of worms. at least, at this point in time.

He said he'd have Trump on prior to the election (with no pre-screen questions, which the Trump team wouldn't agree to).

Post Jan 6, Trump is a pariah for anyone not running in a Republican primary.