The most anticipated political interview of the year started on a low note: with an extended rant about Oprah Winfrey. Reminiscent of the last years of recording The studentDonald Trump reminisced about how beneficial the talk show legend had been to him before his foray into politics.

Joe Rogan, the podcast heavyweight who moderated the conversation, had a point about what came next. After Trump became a serious candidate for the White House, “there has probably been no one in history” who has been attacked in such a “coordinated” manner, he said. But Trump’s presence on the show suggested a new kind of cultural paradigm shift. He was once again placed front and center before America’s eyes and given a fair chance to explain almost everything.

What followed was a freewheeling conversation without interference – there would be no Kamala-esque panicky assistants demanding a termination in case of a lame answer, perhaps the main reason she didn’t appear on the podcast. Rogan expects his guests to stay seated for at least an hour, and Trump stayed for three hours. This was three hours of coherent, continuous and characteristically hilarious conversation. Seriously, it’s funny — when asked how he would have stopped Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, Trump adopted the kind of low, theatrical growl you’d expect from him when chastising a poorly behaved cockapoo: “I told him , I said Vladimir, you are not going in”.

Trump was also capable of reflection, surprisingly poetic as he described his feelings as he entered the Lincoln bedroom. He spoke fluently about the follies of Harris’ green energy plans (“electric cars powered by coal-fired power plants”), Biden’s disastrous military withdrawal from Afghanistan (“we left behind the best equipment in the world”) and his inspired approach to diplomacy with North Korea (“I also have a red button, but mine is bigger than yours and mine works”).

There were moments of awkwardness. Rogan seemed unimpressed by Trump’s decidedly feeble attempts to convince him that he had won the 2020 election. Two years ago, Rogan had declined to invite the former president to the show, calling him an “existential threat to democracy.” But the first assassination attempt on Trump seemed to change his mind. For his part, Trump seemed extremely relaxed for a man who has had two attempts on his life in as many months, showing off his now-healed ear injury.

Trump ended the interview by reminding Rogan that he had a speech to make and that he would be happy to come back and talk. A few hours later, he was back on the rally stage in Michigan, criticizing Kamala Harris for wasting time “campaigning” with celebrities. It’s safe to say you can ignore the naysayers who claim Trump has slowed down: perhaps rest will be in order in 10 days, after he is elected the 47th President of the United States.