“Kamala Harris’s fears of a progressive backlash killed a plan for her to appear on Joe Rogan’s podcast, shedding light on a decision that infuriated some Democrats who are reeling after Donald Trump’s election victory,” the Financial Times reports.

“The Harris campaign and Rogan, whose audience is bigger than that of many television networks, had discussed an interview for his podcast — a move some Democrats hoped would help Harris reach young men who were gravitating towards Trump.”

“The talks faltered because of concerns at how the interview would be perceived within the Democratic party.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke about President-elect Trump’s eating habits on the campaign trail, The Hill reports.

Said Kennedy: “The stuff that he eats is really, like, bad.”

Jonathan Martin: “It sounds odd, but the scale of Vice President Kamala Harris’ defeat may double as a silver lining. By losing all seven battleground states, suffering their first popular vote loss in two decades and, most importantly, watching President-elect Donald Trump prevail with a working-class coalition that was once their own, Democrats have an opportunity to turn despair into action.”

“Unlike 2016, when they won the popular vote while losing by a sliver in the swing states, or 2020, when they rebounded and won both, Democrats now have a mandate for change. And not just on tactics or points of emphasis: the breadth of their defeat, and the number of voters who abandoned them, present the party an opening to rethink their orientation around affinity group politics.”

“The question is whether they’ll be emboldened or cower when one of ‘the groups,’ as identity-based organizations are invariably called, speaks up. But the reward is alluring. Whoever can retain the party’s traditional commitments to the most vulnerable and appeal to those voters who just rejected Harris will emerge as the Democrats’ strongest 2028 nominee and perhaps the next president.”

John Avlon: “Running for a seat in New York’s first district, I found that what I learned by listening to voters did not track with the subjects that preoccupy most horse-race political coverage. Instead, people out on Eastern Long Island were focused on issues like the price of food and affordability (from inflation to housing and insurance costs)…”

“But the biggest driver of voter frustration was the middle-class squeeze that has been going on for decades and is getting worse. Voters sense that families and small businesses that work hard and play by the rules can no longer get ahead in a system that seems rigged to benefit billionaires and big corporations. This doesn’t translate to flashy TV packages or clickbait headlines, but it is the grinding fact of most folks’ daily lives.”