“It was significant,” University of Sydney digital innovation senior lecturer Raffaele Ciriello said.<\/p>\n
“Podcasts were one contributing factor that won Trump the 2024 presidential election.<\/p>\n
“It was the largest rightward swing in the last two decades, particularly among young men.”<\/p>\n
Popular podcasters have been credited with boosting Donald Trump’s votes in the 2024 election. (AP: Alex Brandon)<\/p>\n
But in recent months, these podcasters have begun to change their tune, criticising Mr Trump on his handling of issues from immigration to free speech to Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p>\n
Now the question looms \u2014 will their majority young male listeners follow suit?<\/p>\n
‘He’s doing the opposite of everything I voted for’<\/p>\n
The cracks first started to show mid-way through this year.<\/p>\n
In July, Rogan condemned the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts as an “overcorrection” on immigration, which he said was hurting “totally innocent” people.<\/p>\n
“They’re kicking students out that like write articles they don’t like. F***ing crazy,” he said in an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience.<\/p>\n
The US podcaster also criticised the Department of Justice’s handling of the Epstein files and questioned the brief suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night program<\/a>.<\/p>\n Loading…<\/p>\n “I definitely don’t think the government should be involved ever in dictating what a comedian can or can’t say in a monologue,” he said on a September episode.<\/p>\n That same month, Von lambasted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for using a clip of his in what he described as their “banger deportation videos”.<\/p>\n “When it comes to immigration, my thoughts and heart are a lot more nuanced,” he said in a social media post.<\/p>\n Stand-up comedian and actor Schulz has also taken aim at the US president several times on his podcast, including for his handling of the Epstein files<\/a> and IVF mandates.<\/p>\n “He’s doing the exact opposite of everything I voted for,” he said. American stand-up comedian and actor Andrew Schulz has also taken aim at Donald Trump. (AFP: Emma McIntyre)<\/p>\n A recalibration of the ‘manosphere’<\/p>\n According to Dr Ciriello, a subtle but significant recalibration is occurring in the so-called “manosphere” of alternative media that helped elect Mr Trump.<\/p>\n It comes as the US president’s net approval rating sits at minus 17 per cent<\/a>, with his approval among young men steadily declining<\/a>.<\/p>\n “This matters because younger men are a critical audience, both for the podcast ecosystem and for autocrats like Trump,” Dr Ciriello said.<\/p>\n He said many conservative voters were primarily loyal to power.<\/p>\n “So when the leader appears weak, whether over Epstein files, unmet promises, or declining popularity, loyalty becomes conditional,” he said.<\/p>\n Loading…<\/p>\n University of Sydney American studies lecturer Kathryn Robison said economic anxiety was a key matter alienating young voters from Mr Trump.<\/p>\n She said many felt the president was not fulfilling his promises on this and other issues, and podcasters were calling him out \u2014 influencing more than just young men.<\/p>\n “These podcasts are traditionally thought of as the ‘manosphere’ \u2014 but young women are listening to them as well,” she said.<\/p>\n Kathryn Robison says many young men feel Donald Trump hasn’t fulfilled his promises. (Supplied: Kathryn Robison)<\/p>\n United States Studies Centre senior lecturer Rodney Taveira said in the lead-up to the election, many in this podcast ecosystem saw a vote for Mr Trump as an act of political defiance.<\/p>\n “[It] was a kind of performance \u2026 a kind of anti-establishment, rebellious, I’m not doing the thing I was expected to do type stance,” he said.<\/p>\n “But now that he is the establishment, it’s lost that cachet.” Rodney Taveira says politicians will need to continue embracing podcasts. (Supplied: United States Studies Centre)<\/p>\n The power of podcasts<\/p>\n Podcasters’ influence on voter behaviour was steadily increasing as more people prioritised podcasts over traditional media, Dr Taveira said.<\/p>\n “There’s a kind of intimacy that emerges when you listen to the same people for hours on end, week after week,” he said.<\/p>\n “And therefore, the things they say will be given more credence than, say, the legacy media.”<\/p>\n Raffaele Ciriello says podcasts were one contributing factor that won Trump the presidency. (Supplied: Raffaele Ciriello)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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