Donald Trump is not willing to admit that he has beef with Joe Rogan, and avoided answering when asked about the tension between them.
In a new interview with podcaster Lex Fridman—a frequent guest and competitor of Rogan’s—the host asked the former president what the origin of the beef was and brought up a Truth Social post from last month in which Trump wrote, “I wonder how loudly Joe Rogan gets BOOED the next time he enters the UFC ring???” Rogan had just announced that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has since pulled out of the presidential race, was the only candidate that “made sense” to him—which angered MAGA at large.
“When he said some nice things about RFK Jr., you said some not so nice things about Joe,” Fridman said, adding, “I think that was a bit unfair.” Trump took a different tone than the one from his social media post when he replied, “I don’t think there was any tension and I’ve always liked him. But I don’t know him.”
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He went on to compliment the podcast host, saying, “I think he’s good at what he does but I don’t know about doing his podcast. I mean, I guess I’d do it but I haven’t been asked and I’m not asking him. I’m not asking anybody.”
According to Rogan’s own interview on Fridman’s podcast, he’s turned down several requests from Trump’s camp to have him on the show. “I’m not a Trump supporter in any way, shape or form,” Rogan told Fridman earlier this month. “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.”
After directly contradicting Rogan on that point, Trump proceeded to say Rogan was “sort of a liberal guy, I guess, from what I understand” though he couldn’t help but mention the fact that Rogan “likes Kennedy,” who recently endorsed his ticket in exchange for a potential role in the White House.
“I like that he likes Kennedy, he’s a different kind of a guy,” Trump added, successfully dodging the initial inquiry about what his problem is with Rogan to praise Kennedy. He also didn’t mention the many digs Rogan has taken at Trump going back years, including in 2022 when the podcast host called him “a man baby” and suggested the former president was on Adderall.
Despite the overlap between Rogan and Trump’s fans, Rogan has consistently refused to have him on his popular podcast. And contrary to Trump’s claims in Fridman’s newest interview, his advisers have actively tried to get him on the show.
One adviser told the Daily Beast in 2023 that the “mere discussion of Donald Trump on a blockbuster podcast like Joe Rogan builds a remarkable audience,” adding, “Perhaps the only person bigger in the new media world than Joe Rogan is Donald Trump and the whole idea that the two of them would be together at long last—it would be an incredible audience.”
