In a nation divided by countless voices and competing narratives, Joe Rogan's podcast sits uniquely in America's "honeycomb of influence", connecting a vast array of listeners across political, cultural, and social divides. Using RippleXn, a powerful social listening tool, I, Bazil Cromer, a founder of RippleXn, analyzed the eleven hours of Joe Rogan content on YouTube, the week prior to the November election. This meant sifting through transcripts, keyword searches, and sentiment analysis powered by a language model. My aim: to discover whether Rogan's latest episodes might subtly swing the American electorate and how his guests’ messages align with Donald Trump’s larger narrative.

Without bias, I sought to map the themes Rogan’s guests - Elon Musk, John Fetterman, Tim Dillon, and Dave Smith—put forward, exploring how their viewpoints fit into the Trumpian framework of populism, anti-establishment sentiment, and calls for a redefined America. Here’s how each perspective connected, how these messages resonated, and whether they added fuel to the flames of the 2024 election.

America’s fragmented reality

America today is not a unified voice but a honeycomb structure, each cell - a family, a community, or an individual - grappling with distinct fears, desires, and beliefs. Rogan’s guests tapped into these fractures, addressing a nation rife with conflict about identity, economy, culture, and governance. In one recent episode, Musk’s tech-focused, libertarian ideals stood in stark contrast to Fetterman’s blue-collar pragmatism, with both implicitly feeding into Trump’s critique of elite governance.

Using RippleXn, I tracked the keywords and themes that surfaced across these conversations, observing how Musk, Fetterman, Dillon, and Smith each tackled unique issues but found common ground in their frustrations. From Musk’s open criticism of government inefficiency to Fetterman’s calls for bipartisan reforms, these discussions drew a line in the sand - between an America that values authentic voices over political polish and a government that is increasingly seen as out of touch.

The narrative that resonates with Trump’s base

As RippleXn’s social listening data revealed, the crisis these influencers spoke to is one Trump has highlighted for years: a nation grappling with economic uncertainty, disillusioned with its media, and feeling stifled by “cancel culture.” This narrative of crisis, where many Americans perceive their freedoms to be under siege and their voices marginalized, was particularly potent in the discussions on social media influence, censorship, and alternative media.

1. Elon Musk: Musk's vision of freedom is rooted in the technology sector, where he calls for minimal government interference and champions free speech. Musk’s acquisition of Twitter/X exemplifies his disdain for censorship and aligns with Trump's assertion that mainstream media and tech giants suppress conservative voices.

2. John Fetterman: Fetterman, while not directly pro-Trump, addresses the struggles of working-class Americans in ways that resonate with Trump’s voter base. His focus on revitalizing American manufacturing reflects a populist appeal and aligns with Trump’s “America First” economic stance.

3. Tim Dillon: Dillon’s critique of cancel culture and mainstream media bias is couched in humor, but it echoes Trump’s argument that the media operates as a tool of the elite, censoring dissent and favoring narratives that align with left-leaning ideals.

4. Dave Smith: Smith’s discussions on non-interventionism, cancel culture, and empathy-based policies reveal a dissatisfaction with the establishment's foreign policy and social agendas. His advocacy for empathy and unity aligns with Trump’s America-first isolationism.

The pull of influence on the American psyche

The collective influence of these guests, amplified by Rogan’s vast audience, weaves a narrative of crisis that resonates with Trump's base. RippleXn’s sentiment analysis reveals that these voices reach disillusioned listeners who feel unheard by traditional political structures. The real question, however, is not whether Joe Rogan himself swings the election, but whether his platform, amplified by RippleXn’s social listening, reflects the shift in public sentiment.

In striking contrast to traditional political broadcasts, this fractured, decentralized approach allows narratives to emerge organically rather than through overt rhetoric. Here, it’s clear that the Trump narrative benefited from a lack of formal political campaigning, leaning instead on the authentic voices within Rogan’s network to build resonance among those disillusioned by polished speeches and party lines. This subtle yet pervasive presence gives Trump a redemptive arc reminiscent of companies like Aldi or IKEA - brands that succeed by standing consistently in opposition to more opaque or elitist competitors. Just as consumers trust Aldi’s “no-frills” approach, listeners find a sense of straightforwardness in Trump’s messaging.

Kamala Harris’s narrative, by comparison, has drifted into a degenerative state, failing to convey a consistent message that connects to the core concerns of Rogan’s audience. The simplicity of Trump’s storyline—a redemptive figure who stands against establishment norms—has taken root, while Harris has become enmeshed in a tangle of bureaucratic messaging that struggles to resonate beyond party loyalists.

For future elections, political scientists may need to re-evaluate their approach to voter data analysis. The RippleXn social listening model shows that understanding voters requires looking beyond traditional media or partisan broadcasts; instead, it demands a close look at the media people consume in their spare time. This approach suggests that a candidate’s success may rely less on policy articulation and more on how well they resonate with the informal yet potent conversations happening in podcast episodes, Twitter threads, and social media feeds.

By applying RippleXn’s social listening to Rogan’s episodes, the data indicates an alignment between Rogan’s guests and Trump’s populist narrative, though it’s not a straightforward endorsement. Rather, the discussions reflect an undercurrent of frustration that Trump has long recognized and amplified. The honeycomb of American belief is indeed resonating with the themes on Rogan's show - economic protectionism, a desire for authentic voices, and a resistance to mainstream narratives.

In a post-election analysis, it will be essential to continue monitoring how these themes influence public opinion, especially among Rogan’s mixed audience of libertarians, populists, and centrists. RippleXn’s data provides a compelling lens on what America is hearing and why these messages - spoken by influencers and magnified by social listening - may indeed have the power to shape the election's outcome.

This was an opinion piece from one of the cofounders, Bazil Cromer. Reach out to him on Linkedin, or  contact him here to discuss social listening insights and technologies and other use cases for this previously unseen data.