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Democrats are spending top dollar to "find the next Joe Rogan" on the left after their 2024 election defeat, according to a new report published Tuesday.
Liberal strategists are pushing the party’s megadonors to spend tens of millions of dollars to develop "an army of left-leaning online influencers" to help the party "compete culturally" with President Donald Trump, according to The New York Times.
"The quiet effort amounts to an audacious — skeptics might say desperate — bet that Democrats can buy more cultural relevance online, despite the fact that casually right-leaning touchstones like Mr. Rogan’s podcast were not built by political donors and did not rise overnight," the Times reported.
The New York Times reported that Democrats are seeking funding for the "next Joe Rogan" after their 2024 election defeat. (Getty Images)
According to the report, a group of liberal operatives met in Washington after the election and decided to come up with a for-profit media company called AND Media, or "Achieve Narrative Dominance," to financially support social media influencers.
The company aims to raise $45 million over the next four years and has already raised $7 million, according to the report. Their business plan, shared with the Times, says the company will directly fund influencers and help produce their content. They will make a creator talent agency and make deals with "four flagship creators."
Another effort in the works is called Project Bullhorn, which will also gather donations to support liberal content creators. The project, which aims to raise $35 million in its first year, was pitched to donors at a meeting this month, where Senator Cory Booker, D-N.J., was reportedly in attendance.
DEMOCRATS REEXAMINE THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA GAME AFTER LOSING TO TRUMP: NOT 'DIRECT' OR 'AUTHENTIC'
Then-candidate President Trump appeared on comedian Andrew Schulz’s "Flagrant" podcast in October 2024. (FLAGRANT YouTube channel)
Other projects seeking major donor funding include Channel Zero, a company which will provide administrative support to influencers with large followings, and Double Tap Democracy, which will collaborate with 2,000 apolitical influencers with smaller followings, the Times reported.
The report comes as Democrats face a messaging and identity crisis in the election aftermath, with polls showing the party’s favorability sinking to record lows this year. According to a Fox News national poll conducted in April, the favorability rating for the Democratic Party dropped to 41%.
Trump dominated the podcast scene during the 2024 campaign, reaching millions of listeners in his interviews with popular influencers and comedians like Joe Rogan, Andrew Schulz and Theo Von.
Some media outlets have reported that his online presence was instrumental in winning the election, particularly for younger male voters, who supported Trump at 53%, compared to former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 45%, according to a Fox News Voter Survey last November.
Comedian Theo Von attended the Inauguration of President Trump on Monday, Jan. 20. (Jasper Colt - Pool/Getty Images)
Last November, Rogan mocked Democrats for calling for a new version of him to help their party.
"This is one thing that keeps coming up like, ‘We need our own Joe Rogan’ right? But they had me, I was on their side!" Rogan said on his November 26 podcast.
The Democrats' influencer strategy was criticized by Fox News' "The Five" co-host Harold Ford Jr. on Wednesday.
"Democrats, you can go out asking for money from donors saying we're going to create. This is not an AI machine," he said on "The Five." "You've got to figure out people who actually know what people are talking about, who know the feelings of people, and don't judge them because a year ago they said something that offended you. Or an hour ago, said something that offended you. Sit and listen to people. That's why Joe Rogan is such a powerful, powerful figure… and why Donald Trump has been so successful as well."
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Joe Rogan and the White House did not return a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Kristine Parks is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Read more.
