GOOD RIDDANCE

Joe Rogan Dramatically Changes His Tune on Trump as Election Looms

The podcaster has made a significant shift at a critical moment.

Joe Rogan has changed his tune on Donald Trump at a crucial moment.

In the months leading up to the midterm election, the 59-year-old MAGA podcaster has grown increasingly critical of the president whom he helped elect.

“Rogan’s politics have never been easy to define,” Bloomberg’s Ted Mann writes. But now, “through much of the run-up to the 2026 midterms, Rogan has been a more skeptical voice about some of Trump’s most controversial policies—particularly his decision to go to war with Iran.”

Throughout 2026, Rogan, who runs arguably the world’s most popular podcast, has slammed Trump supporters and the president himself on issues ranging from ICE agents to the Epstein Files to the war.

In June, the podcaster said he and other Trump voters are “p---ed” at the president’s decisions. “Well, sometimes it’s like, you just get fed up,” he said. “Like, where the f--- are these Epstein files? Who the f--- is this? Why is this redacted? Where is it?”

In July, Rogan said conservatives are “horrified” by Trump’s war on Iran – a decision that led to a wider rift between the president and his one-time loyal cult of podcasters.

“This war is not something anybody that’s conservative wanted,” Rogan said on The Joe Rogan Experience. “Most people don’t want it—except supporters of Israel. They’re the only people that seem to be thinking it’s a good idea in this country. Most people are horrified by the idea, because Trump was elected [and] one of the pillars that he stood for, apparently, was that he doesn’t want any more wars.”

In September, Rogan called MAGA fans “rabid,” saying, “Trump supporters are f---ing nuts, man.” He did admit that he “did kind of help Trump,” but then declared that he has actually been “left-wing my whole life.”

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“I have very left-wing views on a lot of things. I also recognize when government is taking over our lives. And what we were sold with the Trump administration would be that it would drain the swamp. Obviously, it’s not been ideal in that regard,” he said.

Earlier this month, actor Michael Douglas cornered Rogan about whether he regrets voting for Trump and elevating the president among a significant voter base.

“What Trump stood for, some of it turned out to not be real,” Rogan said. “Like one of them was the ‘No wars.’ Well, look, we’re at war with Iran, so that wasn’t real. The other thing was closing the border. That is real. But then with that, then you have ICE... It’s nuts to just give someone a $50,000 signing bonus. You train them for seven weeks and then give them guns, and you have a militarized force running through the f---ing city streets and put a mask on your face.”

He continued, “You’re setting a precedent if you allow a militarized police force with no identification, with masks on, to enter into cities; of course, people are going to say this is an overstep. Of course it seems crazy.”

Rogan has made these comments despite appearing alongside the president. In April, he appeared at the White House as the president signed an executive order to do with psychedelic drugs, standing right behind Trump at the Oval Office.

He later attended Trump’s 80th birthday bash, which consisted of a UFC match on the White House lawn. This was despite the podcaster melting down over the idea in the first place. Rogan said he would never have allowed the fight to happen if he’d been in charge.

“I would have never wanted to do it, I would have said we can’t do it, they have to be in a controlled environment,” Rogan said. “We can’t have somebody win or lose because they’re outside and it’s muggy,” he said, noting that the fight was to take place outdoors and that his concern was “for the athletes.”

But Rogan’s rhetoric has remained largely critical of Trump and his administration, and he has not yet publicly endorsed any candidates ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

At the same time, Rogan’s own popularity has dipped among his fanbase. Tucker Carlson, who has also publicly denounced Trump, has seen a shift, too.

As the midterms loom, the president no longer appears to have the same powerful backing he once did from influential creators like Rogan. Trump’s panic tour around the country has continued, as the GOP is scrambling to retain its followers.

The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.

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Eboni Boykin-Patterson

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