Joe Rogan: Kamala Harris has “made it” against Trump

Pop star Billie Eilish posted a video on Instagram with her brother urging their followers to register to vote. The siblings revealed that they plan to vote for Harris. Podcaster Joe Rogan praised Harris' political team for their messaging strategy and recent debate performance, without directly endorsing her candidacy.

The celebrity comments – which aired following Taylor Swift's endorsement of Harris following last week's debate – could prove to be an important factor in mobilizing younger voters, who are heavily courted by both campaigns. While Rogan's compliments were not a direct endorsement, they expressed implicit support for Harris. That's a detriment to the Trump campaign's strategy of appealing to younger men, who make up a key part of Rogan's audience.

“They've done a great job from the moment Biden gets out to the moment Biden gets out,” Rogan said of the Harris team in an episode taped Sept. 11 and aired Monday. “Whatever they're doing, whoever is writing these speeches” and coaching them, “they're doing it really well.”

Rogan, who has been controversial for spreading misinformation and racist comments, has openly criticized Trump. In the past, he has shown mixed political loyalties, supporting Bernie Sanders in the 2020 election while saying at the time that he would choose Trump over Biden, and previously expressing support for independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the 2024 election.

The Joe Rogan Experience is the No. 1 podcast on Spotify Technology SA by unique listeners and total followers, and No. 5 in an Apple Podcasts ranking that takes into account listenership, engagement and completed episodes. Eilish and her brother, who wrote and produced many of her songs, have a combined 123 million followers on the Meta Platforms Inc. app.

“We're voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz because they're fighting to protect our reproductive freedom, our planet, and our democracy,” 22-year-old Billie Eilish said in the video. “Vote like your life depends on it, because it does.”

The Harris campaign's Instagram account commented on the post with a nod to one of Eilish's hits. “Birds of a feather flock together,” they wrote, adding a heart emoji.

Some of the biggest names in Democratic-leaning Hollywood have already endorsed Harris, including Swift and media mogul Oprah Winfrey, who is campaigning alongside Harris this week. Economists Craig Garthwaite and Timothy Moore studied the impact of Winfrey's support for Barack Obama during his first presidential bid in 2008 and found that her support helped him win by about a million votes.

While celebrity endorsements are rarely seen as a game-changer, polls showing a near-tie between Harris and Trump underscore the importance of voter mobilization efforts. Several celebrities urged their fans to register to vote on Tuesday, National Voter Registration Day in the United States.