Joe Rogan explained his belief that there will never be a “Joe Rogan on the left,” saying that it has everything to do with “authenticity.”
On the Thursday edition of his immensely popular podcast, Rogan was discussing the role he played in the 2024 election with internet entrepreneur Adam Curry.
Curry pointed out that one reaction to Donald Trump’s victory—which came after Rogan featured the Republican on his podcast—was that the left needed its own version of Rogan in order to compete with the right.
“We need a Joe Rogan on the left, we need a Joe Rogan on the left,” Curry said in a mock-high-pitch voice. “Guys, you basically had a Joe Rogan on the left, but you were so crazy that Joe started to think right.”
“They didn’t want me,” Rogan chimed in. “That was the thing. That was the psy-op working against them. Because in the past they could take someone like me and demonize them and it would be effective. They could just remove you from the airwaves... because you’re not playing by the rules.”
Rogan said that this wasn’t possible in his case because “now, people go, ‘Oh, I think he’s the one who’s telling the truth.’” The result, Rogan added, is that “CNN crashes,” along with “faith in mainstream media.”
When Curry asked Rogan who he thinks the left has set up to be his counterpart, the podcast host was blunt: “I don’t care.”
“It’s not going to work unless that person’s authentic,” he added.
“I’m wrong all the time, you might not agree with me—that’s all great—but I’m never going to lie," Rogan said. “And that’s the difference. A lot of these people are just propagandists.”
Rogan added that podcast hosts on the left aren’t willing to “look at the other side” like he is. “Instantaneously, now I know you’re propagandizing. Now I know you’re bulls--ting me.”
During the episode, Rogan also addressed allegations that he sabotaged negotiations to set up an interview with Kamala Harris, Trump’s opponent, before the election.
The claim is pushed by an upcoming book about the 2024 election, FIGHT: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House, which reports that Rogan’s friends (and Trump supporters) Elon Musk and Dana White convinced him not to feature Harris.
On Thursday, Rogan called the claim “normal political bulls--t.”
“They just lie,” he said. “They cover their a--, and they lie. I would have been very happy to have her on.”
“They just got scared,” Rogan added. “They could have put her in. I would have held her hand. We would have had a conversation.”
