Joe Rogan, once a booster for President Donald Trump, has been taking a more critical stance on the president's actions in recent weeks, noting on his Joe Rogan Experience podcast that he believes both former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were tougher on illegal immigration than the current president.
Rogan recalled Clinton's comments about illegal immigration during her first presidential campaign, calling them "hardcore."
“If you’ve been convicted of a crime, get out. If you stay here, pay a stiff penalty, and you have to get in line, and you have to learn English,” he said Wednesday, referencing Clinton's comments in 2007.
He noted that "everyone cheers" at Clinton's stance in a video clip of her comments.
"Like that is a hardcore right-wing 2026 perspective," he said.
On Wednesday's episode, Rogan was speaking with former U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Bill Thompson. The officer agreed with his assessment of Clinton and said Obama had a similarly hardline stance in 2012.
“Yes, absolutely. And Obama deported more people than Trump did,” Rogan added.
During Obama's first year of his second term, he deported 409,849 people. During Trump's first year of his first term, he deported fewer than 260,000.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed in January that "nearly 3 million illegal aliens have left the U.S. because of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration," and that it had deported more than 675,000 people.
Hardline immigration crackdowns have been a major hallmark of Trump's second administration, carried out primarily through ICE's raids, border stops, and self-deportations. How Trump has pursued those deportations have turned the opinions of many Americans.
A joint Washington Post, ABC News, and Ipsos poll found that 58 percent of respondents believe Trump has gone too far in his efforts to deport immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.
That disapproval is likely bolstered by the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good at the hands of ICE agents. Both shooting deaths sparked protests and accusations of gross abuse of power by Trump's masked federal agents.
Immigration hasn't been the only issue Rogan has criticized Trump over. Earlier this month, Rogan questioned Trump's decision to start a war with Iran.
“It just seems so insane based on what he ran on,” Rogan said on a recent episode. “I mean, this is why a lot of people feel betrayed, right? He ran on ‘No more wars, end these stupid, senseless wars,’ and then we have one that we can’t even really clearly define why we did it.”
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