Joe Rogan, who hosts the world’s most popular podcast, has congratulated incoming president Donald Trump on his election win after giving him a last-minute endorsement on the advice of the “great and powerful Elon Musk”.
In a video posted to Musk’s platform X, Rogan films Mr Trump’s victory speech before exclaiming: “Holy shit!”
“[Musk] makes what I think is the most compelling case for Trump you'll hear, and I agree with him every step of the way,” Rogan posted on X on Tuesday. “For the record, yes, that's an endorsement of Trump.”
The Republican presidential candidate turned down a host of interviews in the run-up to the US election. But one appearance he was determined to make was The Joe Rogan Experience. Mr Trump flew to Austin to record a three-hour interview where he almost admitted that the last election wasn’t stolen from him. “I lost by, like... I didn’t lose,” he said.
Mr Trump also revealed that he once told the president of North Korea, Kim Jong-Un, to “go to the beach”. Per Trump: “I said: ‘You’re always building nuclear, you don’t have to do it. Relax!’ I said: ‘Let’s build some condos on your shore.’”
Kamala Harris was also offered an interview, claims Rogan, but the podcaster refused her team’s request for him to fly to her and wrap the interview at just an hour.
The Joe Rogan Experience
Joe Rogan, a stand-up comedian, hosts his podcast on Spotify and YouTube, which revolves around videoed conversations that can run up to three or four hours. Previous high-profile guests include Mr Musk himself, whose two-and-a-half hour appearance in 2018 included the billionaire smoking a joint on air.
While he had never booked a guest slot on the podcast before, Mr Trump has previously been a vocal supporter of Rogan. In 2022, the former US president told the podcaster to “keep doing what he’s doing” when clips surfaced of Rogan saying the n-word.
“Joe Rogan is an interesting and popular guy, but he’s got to stop apologising to the Fake News and Radical Left maniacs and lunatics,” said Trump. “Joe, just go about what you do so well and don’t let them make you look weak and frightened. That’s not you and it never will be!”.
But their relationship may have soured when Rogan appeared to endorse rival Republican candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr. Trump took to his social media site Truth Social to express his hope that Rogan would be “loudly... BOOED” by the crowd at a martial arts event he commentates for.
Rogan walked his statement on the presidential race back. But he has also complimented Trump’s rival, vice president Kamala Harris. “She was way better prepared,” Rogan said of Ms Harris and Mr Trump’s televised debate, adding that Ms Harris’s team had done “fucking amazing job” briefing her.
The podcaster was previously been quoted saying he wouldn’t have Mr Trump on his podcast, for fear it could boost the Republican campaign. “I’ve had the opportunity to have him on my show more than once — I’ve said no, every time,” Rogan said in 2022. “I don’t want to help him. I’m not interested in helping him.”
Who is Joe Rogan?
Rogan is a 57-year-old comedian, mixed martial arts enthusiast and one-time game show host from New Jersey.
In 2009, he launched The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, climbing the rankings to become one of — if not the — most listened-to podcasts in the world. The podcast has somewhere around 14.5 million subscribers on Spotify, while Rogan’s YouTube channel has 17.5 million.
Spotify acquired Rogan’s podcast in an exclusive arrangement rumoured to be worth $100m (£77m) in 2020. He re-signed with Spotify earlier this year for a reported $250 million (£193 million), allowing him to host his podcast on Apple Podcasts and Youtube, too.
Rogan married Jessica Ditzel, a former cocktail waitress, in 2009. The couple have been together for 15 years and have two daughters together, and Rogan is stepfather to Ditzel’s daughter from a previous relationship.
What are his biggest controversies?
What hasn’t Joe Rogan had a controversial opinion on?
His politics are hard to pin down. He self-describes as “socially liberal”, but has also been categorised as “libertarian-leaning” from some quarters.
During the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, Rogan was accused of spreading misinformation about the virus. While he claimed not to be against vaccination, Rogan repeatedly made false claims that vaccines posed more of a health threat to young people than catching Covid-19. He also opposed lockdowns as a method of infection control.
Spotify came under pressure for hosting a show with anti-vax themes. Rogan eventually promised to include more balanced opinions on Covid-19, and agreed to add content advisory warnings to certain episodes.
Rogan was also forced to apologise after old clips of him saying the n-word resurfaced. The comedian expressed his shame over using the racist slur, saying “I know for most people there’s no context where a white person is allowed to say that word – and I agree with that now.”
The Joe Rogan Experience also gives a lot of airtime to conspiracy theories. Rogan used to believe that the moon landing was a hoax, but has since changed his mind. He does however have time for the baseless idea that January 6, where Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in Washington DC, was a “false flag” operation.
Rogan does support same-sex marriage and gay rights, but was accused of spreading misinformation about AIDS on the podcast. Rogan suggested — falsely — that “party drugs” such as poppers spread AIDS, rather than HIV, while platforming evolutionary biologist Bret Weinstein.
The podcaster also drew condemnation for mocking trans rights in his 2024 Netflix comedy special Burn the Boats. On his podcast he has taken aim at transgender athletes and speculated, along with Jordan Peterson, that discussions of gender herald societal collapse.
His stance being anti gun control has also sparked heated debate. When 19 children were murdered at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde in 2022, Rogan said that “no one knows how to stop” school shootings. “What is the answer? Is the answer to take everyone’s guns? Well, they’re not gonna give their guns up,” he said in conversation with fellow podcaster Lex Friedman.
Rogan is a supporter of women’s rights and has spoken out in defence of abortion in cases of rape and child abuse.
Why did Donald Trump want The Joe Rogan Experience?
Podcasts have become the new battleground for candidates in the 2024 presidential race.
Ms Harris was interviewed on Call Her Daddy, a podcast hosted by Alex Cooper that has five million weekly listeners.
Mr Trump’s slot on The Joe Rogan Experience would have reached an audience that is larger by an order of magnitude. Rogan’s listenership is mainly young men — a key demographic for both candidates.
