MSNBC analyst Mara Gay suggested supporters of former President Donald Trump and listeners of Joe Rogan are in “crisis” and in need of “therapy.”
Gay joined Morning Joe on Friday for a panel discussion on a report from The Washington Post that asked whether Trump’s “male-dominated culture” is “losing” women voters. Ashley Parker, who is behind the report along with Josh Dawsey and Isaac Arnsdorf, was also on Morning Joe and she described Trump’s campaign as having a “machismo and bro culture” in its marketing and messaging.
Gay, who also sits on The New York Times editorial board, suggested men listening to Rogan’s podcast are being “recruited to fascism,” though she did not say what fascist ideas Rogan promotes. She also accused the former president of advancing a “faux masculinity.”
Gay said:
I guess my thoughts are I hope that women seeing this, who are over half the population and vote more consistently than men, I hope that they see this and that they coalesce around the obvious choice. White women, I’m talking to you as well. I just think we really also might want to take a moment to, as Barack Obama did yesterday, speaking specifically to Black men, but I think this is actually for all men. You know, I think men are in crisis, actually, in this country. I think that plays out in different ways, and not all men are in crisis, of course, and not all men are just at home listening to Joe Rogan being angry or being recruited to fascism. Some just need therapy, like we all do. I go to therapy. That’s great. But I think we need to have a real conversation about that rather than allowing this kind of drift towards this kind of faux masculinity that we see Donald Trump advancing.
Rogan said recently on his podcast during a conversation with Patrick Bet-David that he’s open to having Trump appear on the podcast. Trump supporter Elon Musk, who has been on Rogan’s podcast, also suggested this week in an X post that a Trump appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience “will happen” before election day.
Trump took a slight dig at Rogan in August when he fantasized on social media about Rogan being booed at his next UFC event — he’s also a fight commentator. The dig followed Rogan voicing support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — also supporting Trump now — but stopping short of an endorsement.
In a September interview with Lex Fridman, Trump denied any beef with Rogan and called the podcaster a “sort of liberal guy.” He also expressed an openness to appearing on his podcast.
“I don’t think there was any tension. I’ve always liked him, but I don’t know him. I only see him when I walk into the arena with Dana and I shake his hand,” he said. “I see him there and I think he’s good at what he does, but I don’t know about doing his podcast. I guess I’d do it but I haven’t been asked and I’m not asking them. I’m not asking anybody.”
Watch above via MSNBC.
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