Why Some Podcasters Are Saying ‘No’ To Pitches From Political Teams.

There have been plenty of high-profile appearances by politicians on podcasts this campaign season, with a bipartisan agreement that the medium has gone mainstream. But while lots of headlines have been generated by the interviews, for some podcasters the right answer to an offer is thanks, but no thanks.

Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia and Grace O’Malley say they turned down a request by the Harris campaign for Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff to appear on their Barstool Sports series PlanBri Uncut.

“We said, ‘no thank you,’” O’Malley said on the Talk Tuah podcast. “Not for any political reasons, we’re just not the guys for that — not our shtick.”

LaPaglia points out that after Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on Call Her Daddy, host Alex Cooper received criticism from some listeners despite leaving the door open to a sit down with former President Trump.

“It’s nuance. It’s a new world. It’s crazy. She’s getting a bunch of shit for that too, isn’t she?” LaPaglia said in the episode.

But while Trump has appeared on Barstool Sports podcasts, company founder Dave Portnoy says neither of the two podcasts he co-hosts — Pardon My Take and BFFs — will feature Harris, despite requests from her campaign. He said that is not about playing favorites, but the fact that it might cause friction with the co-hosts of a show where his fellow interviewers may not have the same political leanings.

“My issue with Trump or Kamala is if you’re asking people things and they’re answering them and you don’t know if the answers are true or not, and you don’t have enough information to push back, and you just kind of accept it, that I don’t like,” Portnoy said on an episode of The Unnamed Show.

Portnoy said that he feels Trump’s stream of appearances on male-targeted podcasts have become repetitive but adds that he understands why both candidates want to get on as many podcasts as possible. “There’s very few people who probably don’t know who they’re voting for,” Portnoy said. “But this vote is coming down to getting your base out.”

Meantime, the biggest score of all — an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience — seems to be off the table for Harris. A campaign rep tells MSNBC that the scheduling could not be worked out after the two sides were unable to agree on when and where the interview would be conducted. Rogan reportedly demands that interview guests give him a full hour, without any handlers in the room.

“We talked with Rogan and his team about the podcast. Unfortunately, it isn’t going to work out right now,” said Harris spokesman Ian Sams. Harris will instead tape an interview on Friday with Brené Brown, whose Unlocking Us podcast has a sizable female audience.

Trump will sit down with Rogan for a taping of the podcast on Friday in Austin. Rogan has not yet said when the episode will be released, but the Wall Street Journal says it could be pushed out in a special episode as early as this weekend.

According to Edison Podcast Metric, the potential audience of Rogan’s show is what makes it so appealing, especially to anyone trying to reach men. Edison says 80% of Rogan’s listeners are male, 51% are ages 18 to 34, and 21% are Hispanics.

Trump has made outreach to podcast hosts a main part of his media strategy during the past few months. The Journal says by its count, he has made about 17 podcast appearances this year — mostly to shows with a large number of young male listeners.

How effective the strategy will be remains to be seen. USA Today and Suffolk University asked 1,000 likely voters whether they were aware of some recent podcast interviews. It reports that roughly one in four were aware of the podcast appearances.

The survey also examined how the podcast appearances have impacted voters’ images of the candidates. Of those who had heard a Harris podcast interview, it says half (51%) said that what they saw made them less likely to vote for her, while a third (34%) said it made them more likely to vote for her. Another 13% said it made no difference.

In contrast, the survey data suggests Trump’s podcast strategy has been more successful. It finds half (49.5%) said they were more likely to vote for the former President based on what they heard. That compares to 28% who said it made them less likely to vote for Trump. Another 21.5% said it made no difference.