Reaction & Commentary
Former President Trump taped “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast for nearly three hours on Friday.
The podcast, recorded in Austin, Texas, afforded the Republican presidential nominee exposure to Rogan’s 14.5 million followers on Spotify and 17.6 million followers on YouTube. Rogan, the nation’s most-listened-to podcast host, is extremely influential with young male voters, who Trump is aiming to reach.
Here are the top takeaways from the podcast that aired on Friday.
Trump asks Rogan to explain why he’s gotten bad publicity: ‘You said a lot of wild s—’
While explaining the process of choosing political nominations once he got into office, Trump discussed his initial appointment of John Bolton, who served as White House National Security adviser. In 2019, Trump fired Bolton, who remains a staunch critic. Trump described how Phil Ruffin, a fellow American businessman, warned him that Bolton was a “bad guy,” but by then, Trump had already hired him.
Podcast host Joe Rogan told former President Trump he has gotten so popular with Americans due to the “wild s—” he says. (The Joe Rogan Experience)
“And he was right. But he was good in a certain way. He’s a nut job. And every time I had to deal with a country when they saw this whack job standing behind me, they said, ‘Man, Trump’s going to go to war with us.’ He was with Bush when they went stupidly into the Middle East. They should have never done it. I used to say it as a civilian, so I always got more publicity than other people,” Trump said.
“It wasn’t like I was trying,” Trump said. “In fact, I don’t know exactly why. Maybe you can tell me.”
“I could definitely tell you,” Rogan offered. “You said a lot of wild s—. … And then CNN in all their brilliance by highlighting your wild s— made you much more popular. And they boost you in the polls because people were tired of someone talking in this bulls— pre-prepared politician lingo. And even if they didn’t agree with you, they at least knew whoever that guy is, that’s him. That’s really him.”
Rogan tells Trump ‘the rebels are Republicans now,’ Elon Musk agrees
“The rebels are Republicans now, though, like you want to be invisible, you want to be punk rock, you want to like, buck the system? You’re a conservative now,” Rogan said. “That’s how crazy. And then the liberals are now pro-silencing criticism. They’re pro-censorship online. … [T]hey come in regulating free speech and now regulating the First Amendment. It’s bananas to watch.”
Rogan is seen at a ceremonial weigh-in for the UFC 292 mixed martial arts event, Friday, Aug. 18, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan)
Elon Musk, who took over Twitter — now X — in 2022, responded to the clip, writing, “Exactly.”
“You know they come after their political opponent,” Trump told Rogan in response. “I’ve been investigated more than Alfonse Capone.”
Trump says he told North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to ‘just relax,’ ‘go to the beach’
In his meeting with former President Obama during the presidential transition period, Trump recalled, “Obama thought we were going to go to war with North Korea.” Rogan then referenced how Trump dubbed North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un “Little Rocket Man” early on in his first term.
“I said, ‘Little Rocket Man, you’re going to burn in hell.’ And it was rough,” Trump said. “I got to know him better than anybody, anybody. And I said, ‘Do you ever do anything else? Why don’t you go take it easy and relax? Go to the beach?’ You know, kiddingly, I said, ‘You’re always building nuclear. Just relax. You don’t have to do it. Let’s build some condos.'”
Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at Avflight at Cherry Capital Airport on Oct. 25, 2024 in Traverse City, Michigan. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Trump discusses ‘Make America Health Again,’ initiative, says he told RFK Jr. ‘just focus on health’
Rogan praised Trump for partnering with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to “Make America Healthy Again” and asked the Republican nominee if he would completely commit to having Kennedy as part of his administration.
“Oh, I am, but the only thing I want to be a little careful about with him is the environmental. Because, you know, he doesn’t like oil. I love oil,” Trump said. “I think just keep him out of the fire. So I’m going to keep him out of a little bit. I said focus on health. Focus. You could do whatever you want, but, I got to be a little bit careful with the liquid gold.”
Rogan, showing Trump charts, referenced how “there are chemicals and ingredients in our food that are illegal in other countries because they’ve been shown to be toxic.”
“There’s pesticides and herbicides, and there’s a lot of sh– that’s been sprayed on our food that really is unnecessary,” the podcaster said. “And there’s a lot of health consequences.” Rogan added that Kennedy recently told him that “more than 70% of young men are ineligible for the military because of their health.”
“But RFK is going to be – you know I think he’s a great guy,” Trump said.
Rogan also asked if Trump faced pressure not to work with Kennedy.
“But I would say that the Big Pharma wasn’t thrilled when they heard that,” Trump said. “I’ve actually always gotten along very well with him. I’ve known him a long time. He’s a different kind of a guy. He’s very smart, great guy, and he’s very sincere about this. I mean, he really is. You know, he thinks we spend a fortune on pesticides and all this stuff, and then you end up at that chart is a terrible shot.”
