The 'Left's Joe Rogan' Already Flopping, Pulls Political Hack Move

The highly anticipated podcast and Substack venture of Jaime Harrison, the former Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair, has hit a rough patch. The ambitious project, which aimed to establish Harrison as a media figure comparable to the influential comedian Joe Rogan, is struggling to gain traction. This move mirrors that of other Democrats like Gavin Newsom and Andy Beshear, who have taken similar steps into the world of podcasting and Substack.

Following in their footsteps, Harrison launched his own podcast and Substack in July 2025, with the goal of building a massive audience and establishing himself as an influential media personality. However, according to a recent report from Politico, Harrison's new venture has failed to gain significant momentum, leading many to wonder if he took a shortcut by exploiting an existing email list from his failed 2020 Senate run.

A Twitter user shared a screenshot of their auto-subscribed Substack newsletter from Harrison, captioning the post "The horrors of giving my email to Democrats never cease. Why tf did I get auto-subscribed to Jaime Harrison's Substack?" The incident highlights the controversy surrounding Harrison's decision to upload his Senate campaign contacts list to Substack without explicit consent.

Harrison addressed this issue in an interview with Politico, stating that he "assumed" his team followed Substack's guidelines regarding email lists and subscriptions. However, his claim appears to be at odds with the platform's stated policy of not adding people to mailing lists without their consent or importing social graphs.

The details of Harrison's podcast and Substack are revealing a concerning trend among Democrats looking to replicate Rogan's success. While Rogan's massive popularity stemmed from his authenticity and unique voice, many of his Democratic counterparts seem more interested in replicating his model rather than forging their own path. This approach is seen as misguided by some, who argue that it is doomed to fail due to the vastly different audience demographics and interests.

"No one is going to be the next Joe Rogan," joked an anonymous consultant. "Rogan's success was singular and came from being himself, not trying to emulate someone else. Politicians like Harrison may see Substack as a 'retirement plan,' rather than a genuine attempt to build a media presence." This sentiment echoes concerns about the misallocation of resources and the misguided focus on replicating Rogan's model.

The outcome of this experiment remains uncertain, but one thing is clear: the pursuit of emulating Joe Rogan's success through podcasting and Substack subscriptions may not yield the desired results. As Harrison continues to navigate his new venture, it will be interesting to see how he addresses these issues and whether he can find a genuine audience for his content.