Politics Foreign Affairs Culture Fellows Program

Trump Expands Audience with Influencer Logan Paul

State of the Union: The famous wrestler and internet personality welcomed the former president to his podcast, “IMPAULSIVE.”
Us,President,Donald,Trump,Arrives,For,His,Final,Make,America

On Thursday, June 13, YouTuber and wrestler Logan Paul released a near-hour-long podcast episode featuring the former President Donald Trump. The video received over 2 million views in one day on YouTube alone. 

Paul, along with co-host Mike Majlak, used the opportunity to sit down with Trump and ask him a wide spectrum of questions.

Advertisement

Upon entering  the studio, Trump handed his hosts MAGA hats along with t-shirts emblazoned with his mug shot and the phrase “Never Surrender.” Paul remarked to the former president: “You’re a gangster!”

The trio discussed how the Trump campaign managed to raise tens of millions of dollars following Trump’s conviction in New York earlier this month. “Fundraising numbers are sort of like a poll, right?” Trump said. “I don’t think there’s ever been that much money raised that quickly.”

Trump touched on his upcoming debate with Biden on June 26. He said of the hosts at CNN, with whom he has a rocky history, “I think they’re going to try to be fair, as fair as they can be. But I think there has to be a debate.” When asked if he thought the network would treat him fairly, Trump responded, “I think there’s a ten percent chance.”

Paul and Majlak questioned Trump about the ongoing war in Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza. The former president maintained that the war in Ukraine “would have never happened if I were president…. And October 7 would have never happened.” Trump emphasized how important it is to “get along” with global leaders such as Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, and Xi Jinping: “We were in no danger from them [when I was president], and we were in serious danger before I got there.”

Paul even asked Trump about the possible existence of aliens. In true Trump fashion, the former president segued into a discussion of the border: “Am I a believer? No. I probably can’t say I am. I’ve never been convinced. I know there are illegal aliens out there, but those are the ones that come through the border. We have plenty of them.” 

According to Newsweek, the Trump campaign had approached Paul with a request to get on “IMPAULSIVE.” Paul has subsequently reached out to President Biden with an invitation to also appear on the podcast to provide his audience with “both sides” of the debate going into the 2024 election. Biden has yet to respond.

With the 2024 elections quickly approaching, both Trump and Biden are seeking out Americans to draw into their respective camps. Trump seems to be pushing for the youth vote. A collaboration with Paul worked for Vivek Ramaswamy last year, and it appears to be working for Trump, too.