Former President Donald Trump's historic podcast appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience" during the 2024 election campaign was masterminded by his children.
According to Fox News, Trump campaign adviser Alex Bruesewitz revealed on the "Ruthless" podcast that Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump were instrumental in arranging the significant three-hour interview with Joe Rogan.
The revelation came during Bruesewitz's appearance on Thursday's episode of "Ruthless," where he discussed the Trump campaign's successful media strategy. He emphasized that all of Trump's children, including Don Jr. and Barron, played crucial roles in shaping their father's media appearances during the campaign season.
The involvement of Trump's children in his media strategy showcased a modern understanding of political communication. Barron Trump, now 18, provided valuable input on podcast selections due to his connection with younger demographics. The strategy particularly focused on reaching new audiences through alternative media platforms.
Don Jr. focused on coordinating influencer meet-ups, while Jared and Ivanka concentrated on securing high-profile podcast appearances. This collaborative family effort demonstrated a departure from traditional campaign media approaches. The strategy proved successful in presenting Trump in a different light than mainstream media portrayals.
Bruesewitz explained the effectiveness of their approach, noting that podcast appearances provided unique opportunities to reach millions of viewers. He highlighted how each platform offered access to distinct audience segments, maximizing voter outreach potential.
The campaign's innovative approach received unexpected positive coverage from traditional media outlets. This positive reception helped validate their strategy and encouraged them to continue pursuing alternative media platforms. The campaign team viewed this as a significant advantage in reaching voters directly.
Josh Holmes, co-host of "Ruthless," noted the boldness of implementing such a strategy during a presidential campaign. He emphasized that taking such risks required considerable confidence in both the approach and Trump's ability to handle long-form interviews.
Bruesewitz said Trump's podcast strategy worked particularly well because:
President Trump actually has smart and impressive kids. All of them had input on the podcasts and the strategy of the campaign and what we did. I don't know if, you know, Jared and Ivanka want me to share this, but they were involved in setting up the Rogan interview.
The podcast-focused approach proved particularly effective due to Trump's ability to connect with audiences in longer conversations. Campaign advisers noted that extended interview formats allowed voters to see aspects of Trump's personality often missed in traditional media coverage. This strategy contrasted sharply with their opponents' approach.
The success of the strategy was measured not just in viewership numbers but in audience engagement. Bruesewitz noted that podcasts reaching 15 million viewers provided significant opportunities to win new voters. The format allowed Trump to showcase his personality more effectively than traditional media appearances.
According to Bruesewitz:
We had a candidate where the more you heard from him, directly heard from him, the more you understood him and the more you liked him, or you saw a side of him that the media didn't portray.
The Trump campaign's revolutionary media strategy, orchestrated by his children, proved instrumental in his 2024 election victory. Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump's arrangement of the Joe Rogan interview, combined with input from Don Jr. and Barron Trump on various media appearances, demonstrated the effectiveness of alternative media platforms in political campaigns. The strategy successfully reached millions of voters through podcast appearances, providing extended opportunities for Trump to connect directly with audiences and present himself beyond traditional media portrayals.
