Why is Donald Trump itching to go on Joe Rogan?

Donald Trump is apparently so eager for an invite on to The Joe Rogan Experience that his ally Roger Stone has challenged Rogan to a cage match to force the issue.

Earlier this month, Trump and Rogan were seen shaking hands at the UFC 290 fight in Las Vegas. Since then, the former president, who listens to Rogan’s podcast according to advisors, has been eyeing up an invitation to go on the show. However, Rogan has previously claimed that he’s told Trump’s team “no every time.”

Speaking about Trump a few weeks ago, Rogan said on Lex Fridman’s podcast: “I’m not a Trump supporter in any way, shape or form. I’ve had the opportunity to have him on my show more than once. 

“I’ve said no every time. I don’t want to help him. I’m not interested in helping him.”

Trump announced his comeback bid for the White House in November last year and polls are showing him to dominating the Republican field. Rogan’s podcast would give a him a huge platform, with The Joe Rogan Experience being downloaded 190 million times per month. It’s not just the size of Rogan’s audience that proves appealing: according to polling from Morning Consult, his avid fans are mostly male and aged between eighteen and thirty-four — and a large number of them haven’t voted for Trump. Were Rogan to host the Donald, that could easily change.

Seventy-year-old Roger Stone appeared on InfoWars and said of fifty-five-year-old Rogan, “I know I can definitely take him. I hit the heavy bag for an hour every Saturday.”

Despite the wise Alex Jones warning against the idea, Stone appeared to insult Rogan. “Well, let me put it this way, Alex. He was wearing a really nice suit,” he said, referring to Rogan at the Las Vegas event. “I wonder what it would cost in a man’s size.”

Stone added that Rogan’s “handlers” are one of the reasons Trump can’t get an invite on The Joe Rogan Experience. 

Despite Rogan’s lack of interest in interviewing Trump, his allies have continued to plot to change this. 

One Trump advisor told the Daily Beast: “The mere discussion of Donald Trump on a blockbuster podcast like Joe Rogan builds a remarkable audience.

“Perhaps the only person bigger in the new media world than Joe Rogan is Donald Trump and the whole idea that the two of them would be together at long last — it would be an incredible audience.”