Why popular talk show turned down Kamala Harris interview opportunity
Harris campaign staffers revealed why a certain talk show rejected their offer to interview the VP. They also accused non-political media of siding with Trump.
Sean Evans' hit YouTube show, Hot Ones, dodged the Kamala Harris campaign. The US vice president's campaign leaders spoke out about the popular talk show turning down the offer to interview ahead of this year's presidential election, which ultimately handed over new term responsibilities to her Republican rival, Donald Trump.
Despite previously booking a flurry of internet appearances on The Drew Barrymore Show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The View, The Howard Stern Show, and Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, the Democratic presidential nominee failed to pull through with the chicken wings chat. At one point, she also came through for a surprise SNL skit with Maya Rudolph impersonating her. Nevertheless, the reason behind Hot Ones' rejection of her was more general than the show creators’ unspecified political bent towards a nominee.
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Why Hot Ones rejected Kamala Harris interview offer
During their liberal-leaning stop for a Pod Save America interaction, Harris’ campaign leaders revealed that Evans’ beloved interview spot had rebuffed the veep, maintaining its non-political stance.
The show has seen numerous entertainment industry insiders pop in to answer Evans’ round of questions as they indulge in increasingly spicy hot wings during their interaction.
Pod Save America, hosted by Dan Pfeiffer, a former communications director for Barack Obama, spoke to Stephanie Cutter, who headed messaging and media strategy for Harris. Considering the possibility of how the veep was a candidate better suited for such outings than Trump, “a man who’s been convicted of a crime and tried to violently overthrow the election,” Cutter said that Harris’ Hot Ones moment never happened because the show simply “didn’t want to delve into politics.”
Harris team accuses non-political media of favouring Trump over her
She also noted that the Dems nominee’s team got the same reaction “across the board” from various non-political media while Trump continued booking such interactions without fail. Although Hot Ones’ reason stands its ground as it hasn’t hosted a single political candidate through its nearly decade-long career of content. “Hot Ones, which is a great show, they didn’t wanna do any politics, so they weren’t going to take us or him,” Cutter added.
While Evans’ show appears clear in its agenda and vision, former Harris staffers (Campaign Chairwoman Jen O’Malley Dillon, advisor David Plouffe, Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fulks, and Cutter) were more interested in the media’s supposed divided stance on inviting Harris and Trump. O’Malley Dillon said, “I dont think he he had the same problem,” adding that the Republican leader “certainly was able to tap into some cultural elements in ways that we couldn’t.”
Trump on Joe Rogan's podcast and other internet shows
Similarly, Trump sat down in Joe Rogan’s Austin studio for a three-hour interview on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. On the contrary, Harris reportedly turned down the chance to do the same. The host revealed that the Dems campaign wanted him to cross the distance to the VP for an interview that would last under an hour. Rogan’s interviews popularly surpass the two or three-hour mark. He ultimately rejected the Harris campaign’s demands.
Presenting their side of the story, David Plouffe said on Pod Save America, “So what’s clear is we offered to do it in Austin, people should know that. It didn’t work out. Maybe they leveraged that to get Trump in the studio, I don’t know, and then we were obviously not going to be back in Texas, but offered to do it on the road.”
As per the New York Post, the president-elect also appeared on a live stream with Kick streamer Adin Ross ahead of the Nov 5 election. His other podcast or talk show stops included golfer Bryson DeChambeau’s Break 50, Theo Von's This Past Weekend, Mark “The Undertaker” Calaways’ Six Feet Under and Barstool Sports’ Bussin with the Boys.
Check out the Harris-focussed Pod Save America episode here.
