Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been turning down a host of interviews in the run-up to the US election. But one appearance he is reportedly set to pursue is on The Joe Rogan Experience.
Hosted by Joe Rogan, a stand-up comedian, the podcast is on Spotify and revolves around videoed conversations that can run up to three or four hours. Previous high profile guests include Elon Musk, whose two-and-a-half hour appearance in 2018 included the billionaire smoking a joint on air.
While he has never booked a guest slot on the podcast before, 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 Harris and Trump’s televised debate, adding that Harris’s team had done “fucking amazing job” briefing her.
The podcaster has also previously been quoted saying he wouldn’t have 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.”
So, 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 $100 million (£77 million) 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 Joe Rogan’s 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 defense of abortion in cases of rape and child abuse.
Why would Trump want The Joe Rogan Experience?
Podcasts have become the new battleground for candidates in the 2024 presidential race.
Harris was interviewed on Call Her Daddy, a podcast hosted by Alex Cooper that has 5 million weekly listeners.
If Trump and/or Harris appear on The Joe Rogan Experience they would reach an audience that is larger by an order of magnitude. Rogan’s listenership is mainly young men — a key demographic for both candidates to attempt to reach in the final weeks of their campaigns.
The US election will be held on November 5th 2024.
