Spotify podcast host Joe Rogan told the Lex Fridman Podcast that he has turned down multiple entreaties from former president Donald Trump to appear on his show.
“I’m not a Trump supporter in any way, shape or form,” Mr Rogan said. “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.”
Mr Rogan said that he considers Mr Trump, who was impeached twice during his four-year term, to be a “existential threat” to democracy in the US — a man who inspired such strong feelings that people “abandoned their own ethics and morals” to criticise him.
Mr Rogan’s stand may come as something of a surprise to people who have for years listened to him promote cultural and political positions that seemed well aligned with Mr Trump’s viewpoints.
Like Mr Trump, Mr Rogan has spread misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines and treatments — arguing that people who are young and healthy do not need to be vaccinated and promoting non-FDA approved treatments for the virus. When Mr Rogan tested positive for Covid last September, he embarked on a treatment regimen that included ivermectin, a drug mainly used in the treatment of parisitic infections.
In response to Mr Rogan’s statements on Covid, acclaimed recording artists Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulled their music from Spotify earlier this year.
In addition to his statements on the pandemic, Mr Rogan has also over the course of his career frequently used racial and homophobic slurs. He apologised for his use of the n-word and had numerous episodes of his podcast removed from Spotify in February.
Mr Rogan has also spoken favorably of right wing politicians. He most recently suggested that he would support far right Florida governor Ron DeSantis for president in 2024, saying that he had done “admirable” work in the Sunshine State.
Mr DeSantis, a potential rival of Mr Trump’s for the 2024 Republican nomination for president, has been a fierce opponent of COVID-19 restrictions and has restricted LGBTQ+ rights, abortion rights and academic freedom, and in his first term as governor.
Just this week, Mr DeSantis signed a bill requiring students and faculty members at Florida’s public universities to submit to surveys of their political beliefs. Mr DeSantis suggested that unsatisfactory responses could lead to reductions in state funding.
“That’s not worth tax dollars and that’s not something that we’re going to be supporting moving forward,” Mr DeSantis was quoted by Salon as saying.
Mr Rogan’s politics do not seem to follow a strict ideology. In the buildup to the 2020 presidential election, Mr Rogan hosted Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on his podcast and endorsed him in the Democratic primary. He said he voted for Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgenson in the general election.
