The fallout continues from Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s appearance on the wildly popular Joe Rogan Experience earlier this month. Democrats and their allies in corporate media have responded like an angry mob in the Middle Ages, befuddled that a Democrat would use such a platform not only to voice opposition to vaccines but, more importantly, to oppose dear leader President Joe Biden.

Rogan, who has been deeply hated by the Left for some time, fired back in classic Rogan fashion by offering to host a debate between Kennedy and regime-approved doctor/Big Pharma shill Peter Hotez. Rogan sweetened the pot by offering $100k to the charity of Dr. Hotez’s choosing.

Hotez retreated to the friendly confines of MSNBC to complain about Rogan’s offer and defend his decision to refuse to debate Kennedy. As weak as it makes a self-proclaimed expert look to run from a debate in his or her area of expertise, this is unsurprising.

While RFK’s claims of ties between vaccines and autism are debatable, at best, surely Hotez wants to avoid discussing the efficacy of the COVID-19 shots in front of the world’s largest audience since the tyrannical handling of the pandemic is a major electoral weak spot for Democrats.

Leftist journalist Aaron Rupar, and I use the word journalist in the loosest of terms, tweeted , "'Debate me' has become a bad faith propaganda tool for the right, designed to legitimize lies & target critics for harassment. It’s ripped from the right's 'free speech' playbook, which demands bad actors get access to all platforms & audiences — or else.”

As laughable as the assertion that debate is a right-wing propaganda tool is on its face, Rupar seemingly has no idea that he and his kin have already lost. Democrats could avoid topics and debates when the media landscape consisted of an endless sea of left-wing propagandists controlling the flow of information, with an occasional Rush Limbaugh or Bill O’Reilly mixed in. That dam is not breaking; it is broken.

Joe Rogan is not some minor figure with a podcast; he has the largest audience of any program in the country, reportedly some 20 million listeners. For context, CNN’s highest-rated show of the year, a town hall featuring former President Donald Trump, averaged 3.3 million viewers. Younger Americans on both sides of the aisle trust "new media" instead of the old guard, and only around 72 million American households have cable, down from almost 100 million in 2016.

As a podcast host myself, I understand the annoyance of "debate me, bro" culture. Anonymous Twitter trolls come out of the woodwork to try to debate me, and my guests, but the most famous host in the world and a presidential candidate polling around 20% are not figures to be ignored. Engage on the battlefield you’ve been given or be left behind. Personally, I prefer the former.

Perhaps the average American will realize they never needed Hotez, Rupar, and the rest of the corporate media in the first place.

Brady Leonard ( @bradyleonard ) is a musician, political strategist, and host of The No Gimmicks Podcast .