When Dana White barreled up to the microphone, at Donald Trump’s request, to say his piece on election night, it represented confirmation of the UFC CEO’s status as one of the key members of the president-elect’s inner circle. But White’s brief speech also signaled his own growing importance as a kind of impresario for a new class of Trump-supporting influencers, podcasters, streamers and wellness bros. “I want to thank the Nelk Boys, Adin Ross, Theo Von, Bussin’ with the Boys, and last but not least, the mighty and powerful Joe Rogan,” White enthused.
With the exception of Rogan, who’s about as close to a household name as the world of podcasting has today, none of these figures would probably be familiar to anyone who observed the election through traditional media or cable TV. Theo Von is a comedian and former reality TV contestant whose podcasts, like those of many of his peers, often extend to several hours; Bussin’ with the Boys is hosted by a pair of NFL players; the Nelk Boys are former college pranksters with a brand of hard seltzer and a taste for casual cruelty; Adin Ross is a streamer who’s been banned multiple times (most recently permanently) from the gaming platform Twitch for hateful conduct. These online “creators” form a network: they all appear on each other’s shows, which often feature far-right streamers like Nick Fuentes and Andrew Tate alongside more mainstream figures of the Maga movement like Tucker Carlson, Ben Shapiro and Elon Musk.
