Podcaster Joe Rogan had a number of moments this year that shaped America’s national discourse in unprecedented ways.
Rogan’s “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast was already known for being one of America’s most popular shows, debating the cultural and political issues of the time. But while Americans remain as polarized as ever after the election, one thing they can agree on is that podcasts like Rogan’s influence voters more than celebrity endorsements or legacy media.
Rogan interviewed and endorsed Donald Trump
Trump’s marathon appearance in late October on “The Joe Rogan Experience” has received over 53 million views on YouTube alone and is believed to have been a turning point in the election. During a viral portion of the interview, once the future president expressed surprise at how he gets more publicity than others, he invited Rogan to suggest why that was. “I can definitely tell you that,” Rogan replied and laughed. “You have said a lot of nonsense—.”
“Maybe,” Trump replied, smiling.
Joe Rogan interviewed Donald Trump for three hours in October. (Screenshot/The Joe Rogan Experience)
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“You said a lot of absurd things—and CNN, with all its genius, made you much more popular by exposing your absurdities, and they boosted you in the polls because people got tired of people saying this kind of nonsense. Were — pre-prepared politician language, and even if they didn’t agree with you, they at least knew, ‘Whoever that guy is, he is who he is, he really is who he is.'”
During another segment, Trump recalled that Elon Musk had given him “the best endorsement” and suggested, “You should do the same, Joe, because you can’t vote for Kamala. You’re not a Kamala person. “
Rogan actually endorsed Trump on the eve of the election, sharing a link to that day’s interview with Musk, arguing, “The great and mighty @ElonMusk. If it weren’t for him we’d be f— Cade. I think he makes the most compelling case for Trump that you’ll hear, and I agree with him every step of the way, yes, it’s an endorsement of Trump.
By comparison, Vice President Kamala Harris’s potential interview with Rogan reportedly failed due to opposition from progressive staffers. Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville called this a “huge error” and said he would have told such staffers, “I’m really not interested in your ignorant, idiotic opinions about whether Joe Rogan should go or not.”
Rogan calls Oprah, Michelle Obama’s DNC speech hypocrisy on wealth: ‘Hey, woman, you’re so rich—‘
Many of the Democratic Party’s most famous leaders and allies gathered at the Democratic National Convention in August, and Rogan singled out two of them for hypocrisy.
TV personality Oprah Winfrey gave an impassioned speech at the DNC where she argued that preserving democracy requires “standing up to the scoundrels in life.” She also recalled that she had seen and sometimes suffered from “racism and sexism and income inequality and division.”
Similarly, former First Lady Michelle Obama described how her mother instilled in her “the meaning of hard work, humility and decency” and said, “She and my father did not aspire to be rich. In fact, they were suspicious of people. They took more than they needed. They understood that if everyone around us was drowning, it was not enough for their children.”
Podcaster Joe Rogan called out both former first lady Michelle Obama and media mogul Oprah Winfrey for their DNC speeches. (Youtube screenshot)
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Rogan responded by calling out both women for daring to make such statements about wealth given their enormous wealth.
“How about Oprah?” Rogan said. “Oprah was talking about her and Trump running together, and now she’s speaking to the DNC about how he’s a threat to democracy and she’s out there talking about income inequality, like, ‘Hey lady. …You are very rich —.’ I think, ‘How is that even?'”
The podcaster continued, “And when Michelle Obama was saying, you know, I think she was saying that her mother or grandmother was always suspicious of people who had more money than they needed, like, You’re worth so much money. It’s crazy.” You did this on the salary of a civil servant, which is madness.”
Joe Rogan calls ‘The View’ a ‘rabies-infected henhouse’
Shortly after speaking out about his controversial interview on “The View” with writer Coleman Hughes, Rogan called the ABC show uniquely unpleasant.
In late March, Hughes joined the co-hosts of “The View” to discuss his book, “The End of Race Politics: Arguments for a Colorblind America.” During the show, co-host Sunny Hostin criticized Hughes’ “color-blindness argument” as co-opted by the right wing and claimed that many people in the black community think he is “kind of a fraud” and ” “He’s being used as a pawn.” Correct.”
After noting his history of voting for Democrats, Hughes said, “I don’t think there’s any evidence that anybody elected me and I think it’s an anti-advertising tactic that people are actually using.” “, tend to ignore important issues.” The conversation we’re having here.”
Later, when Rogan spoke to the writer about his tense exchange with Hostin, the podcaster commented that “The View” is a show that “people love to hate,” calling it “rabies– Derided as “infected henhouse”.
Joe Rogan during a UFC event in Arizona in 2022. (Christian Peterson/Getty Images)
Hughes elaborated, “I was not expecting that she would try to attack me that way and attack my character that way and I responded in that moment, and I didn’t expect that. It will happen.” The writer also speculated, “At the same time, it felt like the most interesting thing was that their audience was on my side. “
Rogan suggested that most of his viewers on the set are paid to be there, saying that this practice is common in the industry, while “the real fans of ‘The View’ who say, ‘Oh, these women are in perfect condition.’ “Most of them, they can’t leave the house, like they’re probably immobile.” The host also argued that while Hostyn appears intelligent, she is “ideologically caught up” and that some other hosts are “too retarded”.
Rogan criticizes NYT, asks if US Constitution is a threat to democracy
When a New York Times writer wrote that America’s founding documents were dangerous to democracy, Rogan was astonished.
A late summer opinion piece written by The Times book critic Jennifer Szalai asked whether “one of the greatest threats to American politics could be the country’s founding document.” He suggested that “Trump owes his political rise to the Constitution, which makes him the beneficiary of a document that is essentially undemocratic and, in this day and age, increasingly useless.”
Rogan expressed surprise that the piece was not satirical.
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“This is not Babylon Bee; this is the actual New York Times article, did you see it? It’s so crazy,” Rogan said on his show. “It’s really hard to believe that someone would print it, and The New York Times would say, ‘Yeah, we like it, put it in there!'”
“What are you talking about?” Rogan asked rhetorically, reflecting on that passage. “One of the greatest threats to America’s politics could be one of the greatest documents on which any country was founded, if not the greatest ever written? This is a threat to America’s politics. Like what politics are we talking about – how can you burn enough gas to take me with you on this job?
Rogan jokingly claims Biden voted for Trump: He’s ‘never been so happy in my life’ that Harris lost
Rogan joked that after falling out of the Democratic nomination, Biden was actually happy that Trump won against his Democratic running mate.
A big reason why Trump’s White House visit went so viral was how warmly he was welcomed by Biden. From podcasters to journalists, commentators openly expressed surprise that Biden welcomed them with a “Welcome back,” a far cry from his history of fiery speeches portraying him and his supporters as a threat to American democracy.
“Do you know what one of my favorite things about this entire election cycle has been? Yesterday when Biden and Trump sat in the White House,” Rogan said. “Biden voted for Trump. I guarantee it. I guarantee it. I’ve never seen that guy so happy in my life. He lost. His party lost. He was happy.”
Podcaster Joe Rogan laughed when he saw a photo of President Biden smiling next to President-elect Trump. (Joe Rogan Experience)
He then compared this reception to how then-President Obama welcomed Trump after his first victory in 2016, arguing that Obama seemed desperate at the time.
When shown a photo of Biden smiling next to Trump, Rogan immediately started laughing, “Look, look at Biden! Look at his f—ing smile, buddy! Look at his f—ing smile. Look, man. This is what it’s like when your kid gets married.”
Rogan further said that Biden felt happy when Harris was soundly defeated, recalling when the President placed a Trump hat on her head during the election campaign.
He joked, “I guarantee you, I guarantee you, mom was happy. She had a big smile on her face. She said, ‘Welcome back’.”
