Democrats seeking to buy the 'next Joe Rogan' of the left after 2024 election defeat

Democrats are spending top dollar to "find the next Joe Rogan" on the left after their 2024 election defeat, according to a new report published Tuesday. 

"The quiet effort amounts to an audacious - skeptics might say desperate - bet that Democrats can buy more cultural relevance online, despite the fact that casually right-leaning touchstones like Mr. Rogan's podcast were not built by political donors and did not rise overnight," the Times reported.

According to the report, a group of liberal operatives met in Washington after the election and decided to come up with a for-profit media company called AND Media, or "Achieve Narrative Dominance," to financially support social media influencers.

The company aims to raise $45 million over the next four years and has already raised $7 million, according to the report. Their business plan, shared with the Times, says the company will directly fund influencers and help produce their content. They will make a creator talent agency and make deals with "four flagship creators."

Another effort in the works is called Project Bullhorn, which will also gather donations to support liberal content creators. The project, which aims to raise $35 million in its first year, was pitched to donors at a meeting this month, where Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., was reportedly in attendance.

Other projects seeking major donor funding include Channel Zero, a company which will provide administrative support to influencers with large followings, and Double Tap Democracy, which will collaborate with 2,000 apolitical influencers with smaller followings, the Times reported.

Trump dominated the podcast scene during the 2024 campaign, reaching millions of listeners in his interviews with popular influencers and comedians like Joe Rogan, Andrew Schulz and Theo Von.

Last November, Rogan mocked Democrats for calling for a new version of him to help their party.

The Democrats' influencer strategy was criticized by Fox News' "The Five" co-host Harold Ford Jr. on Wednesday.

White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital, "Joe Rogan was a Democrat until the Democrat Party abandoned him. There's no need to develop the next Rogan; overpaid strategists should focus on de-radicalizing their party and abandoning its extreme agenda if they hope to revive their struggling party."