OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Vice President Kamala Harris isn’t planning on sitting for an interview with popular podcaster Joe Rogan after her GOP opponent, former President Donald Trump, did so on Friday.
Trump and Rogan chatted for nearly three hours in an interview that, as of this writing, has been viewed more than 12 million times. And although she was in Houston, Texas, campaigning on Friday — Rogan’s studio is located in Austin — her campaign said that there was a “scheduling” issue preventing her from doing his show.
Initial reports claimed that there were discussions between Rogan’s team and the Harris campaign to do an interview, Fox News reported.
HBO “Real Time” host Bill Maher criticized Harris for refusing to sit down with Rogan during his Friday night “After Hours” segment on CNN, calling it a “mistake.”
Maher read an audience question asking the panel what they thought of Trump appearing on Rogan’s program and whether it was a “mistake” for Harris not to appear on it.
“Yeah, I think it is a mistake,” Maher responded. “It’s a mistake she didn’t do this show.”
“Did you invite her?” Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Harris surrogate, asked.
“Of course!” Maher replied, adding, “We would’ve rebooked you for her, I hate to say.”
Polis expressed his hope that Harris would eventually appear on the popular podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience” as she campaigns in Texas, claiming that “the more people see of Kamala Harris, the more they like her,” and emphasizing that “she needs to get out there.”
The HBO host then read off the next question, which asked the panel for its reaction to Trump’s stint as a fry cook at McDonald’s in Pennsylvania last week.
“I think it’s brilliant,” CNN contributor Van Jones responded.
“Yes!” Maher said in agreement.
“I think when you have somebody who is a world-famous superstar, who’s a billionaire, etc, etc, and they do something you don’t expect, it’s brilliant media,” Jones continued. “And I think we got to acknowledge that this guy is beating the pants off of us with these so-called publicity stunts. It gets into everybody’s feeds. And people who are not looking at politics will look at that. I think we just have to have more fun ourselves.”
“We were having a great time during the Democratic Convention. If we have more fun, if the Democratic Party is a party of fun, people will join it. We should be doing crazy stuff, too,” Jones added.
“One more thing… Don’t immediately just go to ‘I hate him’ for that,” Maher said. “But everybody I know here in Hollywood does that. And it’s like, first of all, you look weak. You look weak. You look like you’re so easily gotten. You know you look like you overreact to anything.”
The HBO host went on to share his belief that politics is rooted in “personality.”
“You’re personality first. I know people who are conservative politically because I know them. That’s just who they are. They’re squares,” Maher told his liberal guests. “And there are people who just like — they think Trump is fun like that. I don’t get it, but I don’t get Taylor Swift!”
“I bet you would’ve bumped me for Taylor Swift too,” Polis quipped.
“Oh, in a New York minute!” Maher jokingly agreed.
Trump described being president as a “very dangerous business” during a highly anticipated interview with Rogan.
Trump emphasized the dangers associated with the presidency, suggesting that pundits and officials tend to avoid discussing the attempts on his life.
“I do things that don’t necessarily make me so popular. I just do what’s right,” Trump, 78, said. “I understand what I’m doing. You make yourself a target, and it’s a very dangerous business. I never thought of that when I did it.”
