Van Lathan says Josh Pate committed an “unforced error” by interviewing President Donald Trump.
The former TMZ personality responded after Pate’s sit-down with Trump at a political event in Georgia generated widespread reaction.
Lathan contended that the choice carried clear ramifications within the college football media space.
Lathan warns of consequences within college football media
Josh Pate was the host of The Ringer’s ‘Tailgate’ podcast, which covers college football before leaving to launch his own project. Pate interviewed Trump and received great backlash.
Van Lathan, who is now a cohost on ‘Tailgate‘, suggested the situation offers a cautionary example for others in the college football content world. He emphasised the polarising nature of Trump as a central factor in the response.
“Josh, and probably the college football world, learned some lessons here. We know that there’s a conservative leaning within the college football world; we talk about it all the time. But President Trump is a deeply divisive character; it’s just a fact.”
Lathan argued that the reaction demonstrated the limits of audience appetite for overtly political crossover within a sports-focused platform. He maintained that decisions of this scale inevitably come with repercussions.
“I think what they found out is having Donald Trump on our college football podcast is not a lot, a sizable, a growing number of college football fans’ favorite thing. And there will be a cost.”
Prestige versus timing becomes central debate
Lathan acknowledged that interviewing a sitting president can be viewed as a significant professional opportunity. However, he said context and public sentiment must factor into such editorial calls.
“This was not worth it. The juice was not worth the squeeze here.”
Pate has stated that his aim was to ask Trump about potential federal involvement in addressing ongoing issues within college football.
Pate initially shared the interview as part of a longer livestream before turning off comments and removing the standalone YouTube upload.
He later released an extended explanation addressing the backlash and clarifying his reasoning for conducting the conversation.
Lathan, who indicated he had spoken with Pate about the episode, ultimately characterised the interview as an “unforced error” given the current climate.
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