Mara Gay, an analyst for MSNBC, recently sparked a conversation by suggesting that followers of former President Donald Trump and listeners of Joe Rogan's podcast are in a state of "crisis" and may require "therapy."
Gay's comments were made during a panel discussion that focused on the potential loss of female voters due to Trump's "male-dominated culture."
According to Mediaite, the discussion was based on a report co-authored by Ashley Parker, Josh Dawsey, and Isaac Arnsdorf. Parker, who was also part of the panel, characterized Trump's campaign as having a "machismo and bro culture" in its marketing and messaging. Gay, who is also a member of the editorial board, expressed concerns about men who listen to Rogan's podcast, suggesting they are being "recruited to fascism." She did not specify which of Rogan's ideas she considered fascist. She also criticized Trump for promoting what she termed "faux masculinity."
Gay was quoted as saying, "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, Im 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. Thats 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."
In a recent podcast episode, Rogan, who also serves as a fight commentator, expressed his willingness to have Trump as a guest. This sentiment was echoed by Trump supporter Elon Musk, who has previously appeared on Rogan's podcast and suggested that a Trump appearance "will happen" before the next election day.
Trump, however, seemed to have a different perspective. In August, he took a subtle jab at Rogan on social media, imagining a scenario where Rogan would be booed at his next UFC event. This followed Rogan's voiced support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is also a Trump supporter, but stopped short of a full endorsement.
In a September interview with Lex Fridman, Trump denied having any issues with Rogan, describing him as a "sort of liberal guy." He also expressed his willingness to appear on Rogan's podcast, stating, I dont think there was any tension. Ive always liked him, but I dont know him. I only see him when I walk into the arena with Dana and I shake his hand. I see him there and I think hes good at what he does, but I dont know about doing his podcast. I guess Id do it but I havent been asked and Im not asking them. Im not asking anybody.
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