Joe Rogan's Podcast: What To Expect From His Upcoming Interview With Donald Trump

Joe Rogan is expected to host former President Donald Trump on his podcast this Friday, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the influential podcaster is going to vote for the Republican candidate in November. “The Joe Rogan Experience” is one of the most popular podcasts in the country, boasting some 14.5 million followers on Spotify alone (the podcast was a Spotify exclusive until this year. It is now available on all platforms, meaning the audience is likely much larger).

A Rogan appearance gives Trump an opportunity to appeal to younger voters, particularly men, who have been targeted as a key voting bloc by his campaign. Rogan's appeal to Republicans grew during COVID-19 when he spoke out about the vaccines and some lockdown measures, but he also hasn’t been Trump’s biggest fan.

In 2020, Rogan endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders during the Democratic primary and later said during a podcast that he would rather vote for Trump than President Joe Biden. Some people took this to mean that he voted for Trump, but in 2022, Rogan confirmed that he didn’t vote for either Trump or Biden.

“I voted Libertarian,” Rogan said at the time. “I voted Jo Jorgensen. I knew she didn’t have a shot. Legalizing drugs. I knew California was going to Biden no matter what and I couldn’t. I was looking at the whole thing like ‘what is this?’”

Rogan also said in 2022 that he didn’t want to have Trump on the podcast and that he turned down a number of opportunities to interview the former president. He said he didn’t want to “help” him and called him an “existential threat to democracy.”

In August, Rogan said former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was the only candidate that makes “sense” to him. He said Kennedy is the only candidate that isn’t gaslighting and manipulating voters. But, he later clarified, he wasn’t endorsing him.

RFK Jr. has since dropped his presidential bid and endorsed Trump.

In Texas, where Rogan now lives and records his show, residents don’t pick a party affiliation when they register to vote. He has not publicly said that he participated in either party’s presidential primary.

According to FEC records reviewed by Newsweek, Rogan hasn’t made any political donations this election cycle.

Over the years, Rogan has been a vocal critic of both parties. He suggested Biden was too old to be president before he was even elected, and has since speculated that there would be a clamp down on free speech online if Vice President Kamala Harris wins in November.

In July 2022, he called himself a “bleeding heart liberal” when it comes to social issues, and criticized Republicans for going after gay marriage and abortion.

“Gay marriage is not silly. It’s marriage—it’s marriage from people that are homosexual and it’s, for them, it’s important. They want it,” Rogan said at the time. “And the fact that they’re going after that now almost makes me feel like they want us to fight. They wanna divide us in the best way they can.”

Rogan added that social issues like gay marriage and abortion are what’s keeping him from being a Republican.

After the debate, Rogan praised Harris’ performance and said she was better at answering questions than Trump. However, in a podcast earlier this year, he said he can’t consider himself a liberal anymore.

“I used to be part of the blue bubble. I was 100 percent a left leaning person who lived in Los Angeles. I never voted Republican my entire life,” Rogan said.

However, Rogan said he doesn’t align with the Democratic party because of their policies towards crime and gender-affirming care for children. Now, Rogan said he considers himself in the “middle” politically.