A newly released book detailing the 2024 presidential election has revealed the behind-the-scenes breakdown of negotiations between former Vice President Kamala Harris and podcast host Joe Rogan.

The failed discussions, which took place while then-candidate Donald Trump successfully secured an interview with Rogan, proved to be a major setback for Harris’ campaign.

The book, Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House, authored by Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes, provides a detailed account of how negotiations between the Harris and Rogan camps fell apart.

According to the book, Harris’ advisors struggled to meet Rogan’s conditions, while Trump’s interview with the popular podcast host generated significant attention.

“Trump spent three hours with Rogan in an interview that instantly went viral. The contrast amounted to a ‘traumatic event,’ said one Harris aide, ‘that I will never forget,’” Allen and Parnes wrote.

Rogan, who confirmed in late October 2024 that he had been in negotiations with the Harris team, suggested that discussions stalled due to demands from Harris’ side. While he had not ruled out the interview at the time, it ultimately never materialized.

Following Trump’s election victory, Harris’ team pointed to Trump’s Rogan interview as a factor in the breakdown of their own negotiations.

“We were hoping to fit it in around that but ultimately weren’t able to do it,” Harris campaign senior advisor Stephanie Cutter said on Pod Save America.

“As it turns out, that was the day that Trump was taping his Joe Rogan [appearance], which they had never confirmed to us. We just kind of figured that out in the lead-up to it.”

The book describes tense discussions between Harris’ deputy campaign manager, Rob Flaherty, and Rogan’s representatives. Initial talks reportedly stalled when Rogan’s team outlined their conditions in an October 11 message. The requirements included “no staff in the studio, no topic restrictions, and Harris would have to sign a waiver.”

Additionally, Rogan’s team insisted that Harris travel to Austin, Texas, for the interview, though they indicated some flexibility on this point.

Joe Rogan dives deeper into his invite for @KamalaHarris to come on the show, breaking down what’s happened so far. pic.twitter.com/32aUjAkmBr

— The JRE Companion (@TheJRECompanion) October 30, 2024

Harris’ campaign attempted to shape the discussion by suggesting topics they believed would appeal to Rogan’s audience, such as “social media censorship, weed, and other issues.”

However, Rogan’s team rejected the idea.

As the book describes, “Joe just wants to talk about the economy, the border, and abortion.”

The location of the interview became a sticking point. Flaherty suggested Michigan, where Harris was already scheduled to campaign. Rogan’s team declined.

“No-go, the Rogan team said after reaching the host on a weeklong hunting trip. Austin or nothing,” Allen and Parnes wrote.

With Texas not being a battleground state, Harris’ campaign had little incentive to send her there, according to the book.

“Harris had less than zero reason to be in Texas,” the authors wrote, adding, “She was in battleground-or-bust mode.”

Still, her campaign worked to find a solution. Harris campaign chief Jennifer O’Malley Dillon suggested that the vice president visit Houston under the pretense of addressing Texas’ strict abortion laws, positioning her closer to Austin.

“Only a few people knew the real reason: the whole Houston rally was built to put her in proximity to Rogan,” the book states.

Despite the effort to accommodate Rogan, the book claims scheduling conflicts ultimately led to the collapse of the planned interview.

On October 25, when Flaherty proposed that Harris visit Rogan’s studio, Rogan’s team declined.

“Wish we had known about this sooner, because he has the 25th blocked out as a personal day,” Rogan’s team replied.

When Flaherty suggested a Saturday morning slot, Rogan’s team agreed only “if it’s before 8:30 a.m.”

The book suggests this scheduling demand effectively ended the discussions.

Shortly after, Harris’ team learned that Rogan had conducted his interview with Trump on his supposed “personal day.”

Harris’ team made a final attempt to revive negotiations, offering to have Rogan travel to Washington, D.C., for the interview.

However, Rogan’s team refused, reiterating that the interview would only take place in Austin.

“You get one trip to Texas within three weeks of the election. You don’t get two,” Flaherty told Rogan’s representatives, according to the book.

The failed interview attempt marked another misstep in Harris’ campaign, while Trump’s viral appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience further energized his base ahead of his decisive election victory.

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