Joe Rogan rejects idea Kamala Harris couldn’t handle his 3-hour interview: 'It would’ve been fine'
AUSTIN, TEXAS: Joe Rogan, the host of 'The Joe Rogan Experience', defended former Vice President Kamala Harris after a guest on his podcast questioned whether she could have handled a marathon three‑hour interview like President Donald Trump.
The exchange took place on a recent episode that aired on Thursday, January 1, in which comedian James McCann questioned Harris’ ability to handle a long-form conversation.
Joe Rogan says Kamala Harris could have done a three-hour podcast interview
During the episode, Rogan confronted comments by McCann, who suggested that Harris lacked the stamina or capability compared to Trump, "He was able to talk for three hours whereas Kamala wouldn’t do it."
Rogan responded emphatically, rejecting the notion that Harris would have struggled, “Well, she could have — she could have done it,” Rogan said, insisting, "It would have been fine.”
He countered McCann’s view that Harris appeared uncomfortable during a brief six‑minute interview on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' by pointing out that short television interviews are not an accurate measure of how someone might perform in a long‑form, conversational podcast environment.
Rogan argued that traditional late‑night interview formats are “handicapped” by rigid time constraints, scheduled commercial breaks, and the presence of a live audience, factors that do not apply to the extended, uninterrupted format of his podcast.
He said that such conditions make it difficult to deeply explore nuanced topics or allow a guest to settle into a conversation, “If you’re going to have a really important conversation with someone, you don’t want to do it with a f***ing audience.”
To illustrate what a Harris interview might have looked like, Rogan rattled off a laundry list of diverse questions he would have asked her, saying that these topics could have easily filled hours of conversation.
Kamala Harris and 'The Joe Rogan Experience'
Although Harris never appeared on the podcast, both she and Rogan have offered differing accounts of why an interview never materialized. Rogan maintains that he gave her an “open opportunity” to appear on his show but that her team never fully committed to the arrangements.
According to him, Harris’ campaign sought to impose ground rules that included limiting the interview to one hour and potentially having her handlers present in the room, conditions Rogan found unacceptable for the free‑flowing format of his show.
Rogan also said that Harris’ team wanted him to travel to them for the interview, rather than hosting her in his studio in Texas, a departure from how his podcast typically operates.
In contrast, arranging Trump’s appearance was straightforward. Rogan recalled, “Trump was super easy, We offered one day. He said, ‘Yes.’ That was it. There was no back-and-forth, no stipulations, no edits — just a straightforward booking. Harris’ team, on the other hand, never fully committed.”
Further complicating the narrative, former aides to Harris claimed in a book released last year that a date had been scheduled for her appearance but that Rogan suddenly became unavailable due to taking a “personal day,” coincidentally the same day he interviewed Trump.
Rogan has denied these accusations, insisting that he never misled Harris about the opportunity.
