Joe Rogan claimed this week that Donald Trump has repeatedly asked to appear on his popular podcast—only for the controversial podcaster to shoot down the offers because he’s “not interested in helping” Trump.
Just days after backing GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for president, the charter member of the so-called Intellectual Dark Web also pointed out that he is “not a Trump supporter in any way, shape, or form.”
Talking to fellow podcast host Lex Fridman earlier this week, Rogan remarked that the “Trump era is also going to be one of the weirder times” in recent history.
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“When people look back historically about the division in this country, he’s such a polarizing figure that so many people felt like they could abandon their own ethics and morals and principles just to attack him and anybody who supports him because he is an existential threat to democracy itself,” the UFC commentator continued.
After Fridman suggested Trump was more a symptom than the cause and that “it’s gonna get weirder,” Rogan noted that the twice-impeached ex-president is likely going to run for the White House again in 2024. At the same time, he said Trump had a good chance to win if he faces off with President Joe Biden.
“Well, he’s running against a dead man, you know? I mean, Biden shakes hands with people that aren’t even there when he gets off stage. I think he’s seeing ghosts,” Rogan snarked.
He also criticized Biden’s recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show, saying the president “was just rambling” and that if he were Trump or another Republican, “every fucking talk show would be screaming for him to be off the air.”
Still, despite his overt criticism of Biden’s performance as president, the star podcaster—who has achieved hero status on the right for his transphobic and anti-vaccine commentary—wanted it known that he was no Trump fan. And that he’s repeatedly rejected overtures from Trump’s camp.
“By the way, I’m not a Trump supporter in any way, shape, or form,” he declared. “I’ve had the opportunity to have him on my show more than once: I’ve said no, every time. I don’t want to help him. I’m not interested in helping him.”
With a whiff of skepticism, Fridman insisted that Rogan would eventually “have him on,” noting how the host has said he doesn’t care about politics and instead is interested in having a “good conversation” with his guests.
“And I think you had like Kanye on, for example, and you had a great conversation with them,” Fridman added, referencing Rogan’s interview with the MAGA-boosting rap superstar.
“Yeah, but Kanye’s an artist,” Rogan retorted. “Kanye doing well or not doing well—doesn’t change the course of our country.”
Rogan’s complete rejection of Trump and recent endorsement of DeSantis comes as conservatives are increasingly ditching the ex-president amid the explosive Jan. 6 committee hearings. Trump, meanwhile, is reportedly preparing to officially announce a 2024 bid soon in an effort to blunt the political damage from the hearings and steal headlines from potential GOP rivals like DeSantis.
A Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
