Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom claimed Monday evening on CNN he’s “moving on” from popular podcast host Joe Rogan, attempting to question whether Rogan was “worried” about having a debate with him.
On Oct. 18, Rogan hosted comedian Andrew Schultz on his podcast, where the two discussed Newsom’s ramped up online presence and has been “talking shit.” During Newsom’s interview with CNN’s Elex Michaelson, the host played a clip of Rogan saying he wouldn’t have Newsom on his show — and that if he did, Newsom would “cook himself.”
“For years and years, he’s been attacking me and it’s one way and he won’t have me on. He’s consistently not [had] on me. By the way, I’m moving on. I have no interest,” Newsom responded. “Joe Rogan’s the Facebook of podcasting. He was sitting across one of the brightest minds in podcasting right now. The guy was in the mic and there are a lot of people at the mic doing extraordinary things in podcasting.”
Rogan’s audience has steadily grown over the years, with his show consistently ranked as Spotify’s No. 1 podcast and drawing an estimated 16 to 24 million downloads each month.
Michaelson pushed back on Newsom’s dismissal, noting Rogan has “a pretty big audience,” despite the governor’s remarks.
“You know what? But with all due respect, if he has a big audience, but he doesn’t have big enough confidence, I didn’t go there, to have me on,” Newsom said.
Prior to Rogan’s statements on his show, Newsom appeared on the YouTube show “Higher Learning” on Oct. 10, asking why Rogan wouldn’t have him on his show after the podcast host labeled him as a “bullshit artist” who’s ruined California. (RELATED: ‘Wasting Our F*cking Money’: Read The Scathing Words Voters Had For Newsom’s Gerrymandering Gambit)
“I’m not afraid to go — I’m punching Joe Rogan, that son of a bitch is not used to that,” Newsom said on the show. “He’s gonna dismiss it, he’s gonna laugh it off, tough guy and all that. But is he gonna have me on? I don’t know.”
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Michaelson, again, pushed back on the governor, noting that he called Rogan a “chicken,” to which Newsom said that the popular podcast host has been “attacking” him.
“But he’s been attacking [me] for — here’s the thing. These guys, they all have something in common. It’s one way they attack, they belittle, they demean, they take things out of context. But this is a serious thing. So often we just sit back and go, ‘Oh God, I really would love to go on. If Kamala Harris just went on Joe Rogan, she would have won.’ It’s so much deeper than that,” Newsom said.
“The unwillingness for a guy like that to even have the common courtesy to attack someone and not have the decency to say, ‘You know what, why don’t you have a chance to come on? Let’s have a civil dialogue.’ I’ve watched you on podcasts with like Sean Ryan, who’s a close buddy of his. He had the courtesy, on, he had me on four hours. Sean Hannity, folks like that. So if I can go on Sean Ryan and Sean Hannity, what are you worried about? What are you, Joe, you’re going to cook me or I’m going to cook myself,” Newsom added.
Rogan has notably hosted figures across the political spectrum. During the 2024 presidential election, he interviewed President Donald Trump just before Election Day and extended an invitation to former Vice President Kamala Harris, who was unable to commit.
After the election, Harris’ campaign alleged in February that a Rogan representative told them he couldn’t interview her on Oct. 25, 2024 — the same day Trump appeared — because it was a “personal day.” Rogan later called the claim a lie, explaining that Trump’s appearance had been booked “a while ago” and his team wasn’t aware it would fall on that date.
Rogan did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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