Joe Rogan, the outspoken podcast king, noted in no uncertain terms that he “is not interested” in having former President Donald Trump on his show.
Rogan shared his thoughts on the Lex Fridman Podcast, which was posted on Monday.
The conservative comedic commentator acknowledged that though he had interviewed many controversial individuals, he declined the opportunity to interview the former president.
“I’m not a Trump supporter in any way, shape or form,” Rogan said. “I’ve had the opportunity to have him on my show more than once. I’ve said no every time.”
In March, Newsweek reported that Rogan was invited to the White House to interview President Trump before he left office. At the time, Newsweek reported that Rogan declined due to interview format issues.
In Monday’s interview, Rogan was more direct regarding his feelings on interviewing Trump:
“I don’t want to help him,” Rogan said firmly, adding, “I’m not interested in helping him.”
Interestingly, Rogan, who is a controversial figure himself (whose comments and opposition to COVID protocols initiated a frenzied media attack, Spotify boycotts, and petitions to censure him), said that he would not interview Trump because he is too “polarizing.”
Trump is “such a polarizing figure that so many people felt like they could abandon their own ethics and morals and principles just to attack him and anybody who supports him because he is an existential threat to democracy itself,” Rogan said.
Rogan also reflected that the “Trump era” was “one of the weirder times” in American history.
Fox News reports that “Fridman acknowledged Rogan’s assessment and added ‘maybe it’s going to get weirder.'”
Rogan replied: “Yeah, I think it’s going to get weirder,” speculating that Trump was “going to run again.”
When Fridman asked Rogan what he thought about Trump’s chances in the 2024 presidential election, Rogan quipped:
“Well, he’s running against a dead man. Biden shakes hands with people that aren’t even there when he gets off stage. I think he’s seeing ghosts.”
Rogan proceeded to mock Biden’s recent appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
“‘You see him on Jimmy Kimmel the other day? He was just rambling.”
Rogan continued: “If he was anyone else. If he was a Republican – if that was Donald Trump doing that – every ****** talk show would be screaming for him to be off the air.”
Fridman circled back to Rogan’s statement that he would not interview Trump, teasing, “The night is still young. I think you’ll have him on.”
When Rogan noted that one interview can have an impact on the course of our country, Fridman asked, “Do you really bear the responsibility of the course of our country based on a conversation?”
“I think you can revitalize and rehabilitate someone’s image in a way that is pretty shocking,” Rogan replied.
Scroll down to leave a comment and share your thoughts.
