Last Updated on August 16, 2019
A Change.org petition to have the comedian, MMA commentator, and host of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast moderate the 2020 presidential debates has nearly amassed the 200,000 signatures it needs to reach its goal.
With a podcast that receives over 90 million downloads a month on iTunes and has been viewed over 1.4 billion times on YouTube, Rogan is already one of the most influential social commentators in American politics.
However, a new petition on Change.org aims to launch Rogan’s personal brand soaring to previously unprecedented levels by sending him to the 2020 presidential debates as a moderator.
The petition reads:
We are petitioning for the Commission on Presidential Debates to elect Joe Rogan as the moderator for the 2020 Presidential Debate. Here are the reasons why we believe this would be a great decision:
1. Joe Rogan is a widely respected host who has hosted interviews with politicians, economists, scientists, and other popular figures, who come from various walks of life. He has revolutionized the way political interview and discussion works, as he has provided a long-form media format that has allowed the exchange of ideas to be fully explored.
2. Many voters have become disenfranchised with pundits and/or anchors connected to large mainstream corporations that are viewed as having ulterior motives or ties to a certain party or politician. Electing Joe Rogan would negate the chance of corporate influence in the presidential debates.
3. Joe Rogan has experience with interviewing both progressive and conservative thinkers. Figures such as Andrew Yang (D), Tulsi Gabbard (D), Bernie Sanders (D), Kyle Kulinski (D), Gary Johnson (L), Benjamin Shapiro (R), and Candace Owens (R), have all appeared on “The Joe Rogan Experience” program.
4. Joe Rogan has an audience containing viewers from all areas of the political spectrum. Joe Rogan is not registered under any political party and is well-known for having civil, productive, and interesting, conversations about political issues without partisan bias. While it may seem unconventional to choose someone without an established career in the political/journalist sphere, Joe Rogan can serve as an arbiter to create a discussion of policies and ideas rather than a dramatic spat.
Rogan, who identifies as socially and politically liberal, has nevertheless drawn criticism from the left-leaning media for “platforming” conservative voices by having them appear on his tremendously popular podcast.
He has received particularly intense backlash for his close friendship with talk show host Alex Jones, going so far as to call him “the most misunderstood man on earth,” as National File reported earlier today:
Rogan explained that, in his view, Jones would benefit from having a straight man able to break down the points made by Jones in a more common vernacular. He went on to note that despite constant negative press and accusations of being a conspiracy theorist, Jones has been repeatedly proven right.
“Look, he was right about all this Jeffrey Epstein sh*t. That is a f***king fact. Alex Jones called this years ago, years ago,” said Rogan. “He was saying that they take a lot of famous people to this island and they have all these young girls that this guy hooks them up with.”
Despite the criticism, Rogan’s massive fan base has remained consistently loyal, and after just 72 hours the Change.org petition is currently within 10,000 signatures of the 200,000 benchmark.
