President-elect Trump turned to podcasts during the 2024 election cycle, rallying support particularly among young men who have trended to the right in recent years and helped deliver Trump’s massive victory. Prior to his election, Trump joined the popular podcast “Full Send,” also known as the “Nelk Boys,” for an interview in March 2022. This interview marked his entrance into the podcast world while appealing to a voting bloc of young men.
The Nelk Boys interview touched on Trump’s golf game, his favorite songs, and his thoughts on the Biden administration’s handling of COVID and Russia. The interview was later pulled from YouTube, setting off a firestorm of condemnation from Trump, who claimed that Big Tech had taken down the interview due to fear of the truth and criticism of Biden.
Fast-forward to 2024, Trump again joined the Nelk Boys, as well as other podcasts, to rally support among young men. He also joined Joe Rogan, who hosts the most popular podcast in the U.S. with 14.5 million followers on Spotify alone and endorsed Trump just a day ahead of the election.
The Nelk Boys debuted Send the Vote on their podcast, a massive nonpartisan voter initiative aimed at youth, especially young men. Send the Vote placed ad buys targeting 1.1 million inactive, registered male voters between the ages of 18-34 to vote. The ads reached more than 35 million people, and Send the Vote saw more than 2 million visitors, with 210,000 first-time voters who saw the ads and subsequently voted.
Trump’s leaning into podcasts this election cycle, as opposed to traditional media interviews, paid off among Gen Z men and millennials. The Fox News Voter Survey published earlier this month found that men aged 18-44 supported Trump at 53% compared to Vice President Kamala Harris’ 45%.
Rogan’s endorsement of Trump was viewed as a massive success, and Trump’s appearance on Rogan’s podcast for nearly three hours was seen as a highlight of the election cycle. Trump’s campaign also attended a UFC fight in New York City following the election, where he was seen embracing Rogan in a viral video.