Kamala Harris would screw up Joe Rogan — for the same reason she needs him

She ended her silence. Vice President Kamala Harris last week broke with previous campaign strategy and showed up for the podcasts, the daytime liberal talk shows, and the town hall.

Most of the people who watched or listened had already made up their minds, but the internet sent awkward and embarrassing clips from those interactions a little farther than the reach of the shows themselves. Voters got a closer look, and her polling numbers continued to drop.

If talking to sex podcasters about their mutual love for abortion had helped with swing-state voters, she wouldn’t be going on Fox News and trying to go on Joe Rogan’s show.

So she escalated. What choice does she have? On Wednesday night, she’ll sit down with Fox News’ Bret Baier. Word is out that her team is negotiating to get her onto Joe Rogan’s podcast next. While neither will quite satiate what her critics and fans are looking for, both are a sign of where the Democrats see an emergency brewing.

First, the optics. While Fox News might seem like a lions’ den for Democrats, Fox’s news hosts are far from the snarling caricatures liberals like to paint them as. Their opinion side might join with Republicans, but the news operation is largely moderate — and appears conservative only in comparison to its nakedly partisan competitors. And though Baier is a far fairer interviewer than ABC’s David Muir and his fellow throne-sniffers, he’s no pit bull. Expect a firm but respectful interview.

Joe Rogan is another animal entirely. The man has long refused to interview powerful people. He believes those who have large soapboxes don’t need to use his, and this philosophy has helped him build a massive and idiosyncratic following. He has slowly rejected the Democrats generally and Harris specifically, but he’s also been slow to embrace his newfound role as a potential kingmaker. It’s clear he finds the crown an uncomfortable fit.

Even if Rogan green-lights an interview with Harris and former President Donald Trump (as is rumored), don’t expect fireworks. It’s not his style. He wants to know the person behind the headlines. It’s a long conversation — not a 10-minute interview. Can Harris endure the kind of “scrutiny” a two-hour on-air conversation demands?

And here’s where it gets interesting.

Because the answer is almost certainly not. Harris appears mechanical during a 15-minute interview with “60 Minutes.” Conversation is a definitive low point for Harris when you’re talking policy. She gets better and more energized talking about her personal life, but when she’s allowed to riff more than a few moments, her make-believe biography-pandering hits parody levels.

A couple of hours with Rogan? Not a chance.

That’s how we got here, anyway. If Harris was good at this, she wouldn’t have gone on last week’s media blitz. If talking to sex podcasters about their mutual love for abortion had helped with swing-state voters, she wouldn’t be going on Fox News and trying to go on Rogan’s show now. Which brings us back to the first problem: not being good at it.

Then again, when you’ve raised a billion dollars in three months, anything is possible.

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