Former White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks has a theory about what went wrong for Republicans: the Iran war cost them the podcasters. And in his view, that's a big deal.
On the All-In Podcast episode that aired Saturday, Sacks named Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson, Theo Von and Megyn Kelly as voices the party lost. "We lost all the podcast bros," he said. "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I mean, we lost a huge part of our base."
The venture capitalist pointed out that Republicans lean on podcasts because legacy media "hates us." He credited that circuit with helping President Donald Trump win decisively in 2024.
How Trump's Media Allies Turned
The podcasters were central to Trump's 2024 campaign. Trump appeared on Rogan's show in 2024 to reach younger male voters, and Rogan endorsed him the day before the election. Von hosted Trump on his podcast about three months before the vote.
The war did not create every rift, though. Some predated it.
The conflict, however, turned scattered grievances into a shared break. In March, Rogan said the war left people feeling "betrayed" by a president who ran on ending wars. He and Von, who both backed Trump in 2024, criticized the decision to go to war.
Carlson and Kelly were among the loudest opponents in the war's early days.
The tension escalated in April. Von called Trump's Easter post threatening Iran's civilian infrastructure "diabolical." Trump then attacked Carlson, Kelly, Candace Owens and Alex Jones in a long Truth Social post. The post did not name Rogan or Von.
Carlson said in June that "there's no chance I would support the Republican Party."
Once close allies of the president, these commentators have now drifted apart from him.
According to Sacks, the White House should have given those hosts "front row seats" in the press room. Some of their listeners cast protest votes to signal opposition to the war, he said.
He also tied the damage to prices. "As long as inflation is growing faster than your wages, you're losing purchasing power," he said.
