Democrats eyeing 2028 court the "manosphere"

• Trump made a point of going on popular shows that are part of the "manosphere" — including those hosted by Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Lex Fridman and Andrew Schulz.

Driving the news: Since November, several potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidates have appeared on those shows, including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and Rep. Ro Khanna of California.

• Buttigieg, sporting a new beard, joined the "FLAGRANT" podcast and its right-leaning comedian hosts for more than two hours. (Trump appeared on it last fall).
• Earlier this month, Shapiro joined "The Men At Work Podcast," which describes itself as asking "thoughtful, dumb guy questions." Shapiro also has been making the rounds to talk about football and the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
• In January, Khanna was on the PBD podcast, which is hosted by right-wing commentator Patrick Bet-David and has a mix of politics and sports. Trump went on the podcast last fall.

Between the lines: As these podcasts boomed, prominent Democrats shied away because of the hosts' controversial, sometimes offensive, comments that could upset the base of the party.

• Buttigieg acknowledged that dynamic to the hosts of "FLAGRANT," telling them that, sometimes unfairly, there's a "contagion of cancel culture" associated with sitting down with some hosts.
• "To me, it's worth some risk in order to reach everybody," he said.
• Buttigieg later wrote in a note on Substack that "one thing that is clear from the last election is that my side of the aisle must examine not only what we have to say, but how and where we say it."

Zoom in: Schulz, one of the "FLAGRANT" co-hosts, has stirred controversy in the past with his jokes about race. Earlier this year, he said that "with Black people, if a white person isn't like a little racist around you, then you shouldn't trust them ... They got to be a little racist ... You got to let a little out."

• The liberal group Media Matters wrote last year that Bet-David's podcast was "a platform for far-right figures to promote conspiracy theories and bigotry."

Since Trump's victory, however, Democrats — for now, at least — aren't getting as much backlash for appearing on such shows — a marked change from how many Democrats reacted during Trump's first term.

• During the 2020 Democratic presidential primary, Democrats bashed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for appearing on Rogan's show and touting Rogan saying he probably was going to vote for Sanders.
• Biden and Democratic groups such as MoveOn and the Human Rights Campaign criticized Sanders, given that Rogan had said a transgender woman fighter shouldn't be allowed to fight against women.
• "Let's be clear: Transgender equality is the civil rights issue of our time," Biden tweeted. "There is no room for compromise when it comes to basic human rights."
• Other Democrats also criticized Sanders because Rogan had said the n-word on his show. Rogan would apologize for that in 2022.
• Last year, some members of Kamala Harris' campaign were queasy about her appearing on Rogan's show. She ultimately didn't. Trump appeared on the show and Rogan later endorsed him, a move that some Democrats believe was important to Trump's victory.

Sanders has defended his early venture to Rogan's show and has continued to go on similar podcasts.

• Last year, he appeared on "This Past Weekend with Theo Von" and the "Lex Fridman Podcast" — shows that Trump also went on during the 2024 campaign.