As podcast bros grow critical of Trump, sports bros step in

If how Donald Trump won was the lingering question of the 2016 election, his 2024 win was widely credited to his campaign’s grasp of the nexus of sports, celebrity and entertainment to draw in a wider part of the American electorate, particularly young men across racial groups. Nearly one year later, a notable shift is underway. The influential voices within the “manosphere” — right-wing podcasters known for their brash and often controversial takes — are increasingly retreating from their past support of Trump. But as the same podcasters who helped Trump win are now lightly criticizing him for doing what he promised to do, sports talkers, a constellation of the podcast bro ecosystem, are beginning to fill the void. 

“The way it looks is just horrific,” Joe Rogan recently said of Trump’s hardline deportation operation. “When you’re just arresting people in front of their kids — normal, regular people that have been here for 20 years — everybody who has a heart can’t get along with that.” 

Last year, as early voting had begun in most states, Rogan hosted Trump on his popular podcast. The Oct. 25, 2024 episode was Rogan’s best-performing of the year, amassing more than 35 million views on YouTube within the first three days of airing live. Now, Rogan is telling his listeners that “the Democrats were pushing to release the Epstein files. The Republicans fought against it,” and he is suggesting the federal government shutdown is meant to slow walk the release of the documents.

“Now that I look back on it, I really, really wish I never got into like politics,” Adin Ross, a popular “manosphere” YouTuber, recently told his followers. Ross interviewed Trump on his livestream in August 2024 and he, like Rogan, has grown disillusioned. “As I’m getting older, I don’t think I’ll ever care enough again for any other politician ever in the future,” he said. 

Fellow podcast bro Theo Von has also spoken out against the Trump administration, accusing the Department of Homeland Security of using an out-of-context joke of his in a social media video to dehumanize immigrants.

“Everything [Trump] campaigned on, I believed he wanted to do,” Andrew Schulz said on his “Flagrant” podcast. Trump appeared on the comedian’s show in Oct. 2024. “And now he’s doing the exact opposite thing of every single f******g thing… I voted for none of this. He’s doing the exact opposite of everything I voted for.”

There are some indications that criticisms from the most popular podcast bros are reflecting a growing disillusionment among parts of Trump’s base that put him back in the White House. “I feel like the transparency as well is an issue, not just with tariffs, but also feeling like he switched positions when talking about the Epstein files from saying it’s a huge deal to saying that ‘Oh, it’s not really a big deal,’” a 22-year-old Republican from Pennsylvania recently told NBC News. 

It’s important to note, however, that even though Rogan’s is the biggest podcast in the U.S., with more than 14.5 million followers on Spotify — 80% of whom are male, according to Edison Research, a firm that’s tracked podcast data since 2006 — a recent poll from the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics found that 35% of young men have an unfavorable view of Rogan. Another 36% had never heard of him or did not know enough about him to have an opinion. 

Notably, Rogan waited until two days before Election Day to formally endorse Trump. On election eve, Trump joined former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick as part of his “Let’s Go” podcast. To celebrate his win on election night, Trump invited UFC CEO and president Dana White to the podium. A top staffer for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, on the other hand, lamented after the election that “the culture that has been associated with heavy sports-watching has become associated with right-wing culture,” revealing that the campaign had trouble booking the vice president on many sports podcasts during her failed presidential bid.

The sports talk industry has never forgotten the fallout from the firing of Don Imus, who infamously described the Rutgers women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed h**.” Many see that event as one of the early flashpoints of the so-called woke era — and Trump’s election to a second term as a final rejection of political correctness.

Trump, whose fondness for “locker room talk” was made infamous in the “Access Hollywood” tape released ahead of the 2016 election, has a long history with professional sports. He owned a New Jersey-based team in the short-lived United States Football League during the 1980s. He also hosted WrestleManias and promoted boxing fights featuring Mike Tyson during the same period. His Atlantic City casino is a frequent venue for UFC.

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Since returning to the White House, he’s named Susie Wiles, the daughter of legendary NFL broadcaster Pat Summerall, as his chief of staff, and in February he became the first sitting president to attend a Super Bowl. Trump has also attended the Daytona 500, NCAA Wrestling Championships, FIFA Club World Cup final and U.S. Open men’s tennis final. UFC pay-per-view events have effectively become Trump rallies. Last month, he attended a New York Yankees game on the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and only one day after the killing of far-right activist and podcaster Charlie Kirk. The president has also promised to host a UFC event at the White House as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations. In a speech on Oct. 5, he indicated the fight has been scheduled for June 14.

Based on Trump’s long history with sports, it’s no surprise the world of sports media is now stepping up with full-throated support. The president seems to have found a safer haven for support in the world of sports during his second term than his first. 

Trump, who once referred to NFL players who knelt for the national anthem as “sons of bitches,” hosted NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to help announce that the 2027 NFL Draft will be held on the National Mall. The president, meanwhile, is still threatening to withhold a new stadium deal in D.C. until the Washington Commanders revert back to its original Washington Redskins name. 

Stephen A. Smith, perhaps America’s most famous sports-talker, regularly criticizes outspoken Trump critics like Michelle Obama and Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas. “How much work goes into that? ‘I’m just going to go off about Trump, cuss him out every chance I get, say the most derogatory, incendiary things imaginable, and that’s my day’s work,’” Smith said on a recent episode of his podcast. Smith has defended Trump’s record on the economy, crime and immigration. The ESPN host has featured Steve Bannon and Candace Owens on his podcast and regularly appears on Fox News, often on former ESPN colleague Will Cain’s show.

As right-wing influencers sour on Trump, sports-focused media outlets appear steadfast. OutKick, for instance, is owned by Fox Corporation, and founder Clay Travis regularly appears on Fox News to praise the president and bash Democrats. Barstool’s Dave Portnoy, a casual day trader from Massachusetts who built his media empire on college gambling advice, is perhaps the only prominent voice in the sports world who previously supported Trump but has since criticized the president. 

Portnoy’s is a media company that caters to a large male audience. Barstool’s most popular show, “Pardon My Take,” regularly ranks among Apple’s top 20 podcasts. The hosts infamously argued that Taylor Swift needs to “release a sex video” to make her presence at NFL games tolerable to the average male fan. Portnoy told NPR that his support for Trump was more “an indictment of the Democrats than an endorsement of Trump’s politics,” citing a particular disdain for an excess of “woke politics.” 

These “sports bros” are helping normalize a culture that aligns with anti-woke sentiments, like toxic masculinity, that undergird the MAGA movement. Even if they don’t always explicitly defend Trump, their style of sports commentary often overlaps with messaging common in pro‑Trump circles. And like their brethren in the “manosphere,” sports bros may soon see their popularity suffer as a result of their support for Trump. Ultimately, Trump will simply replace the new influencers — just as he has his disillusioned old influencers.