MAGA podcast bros are having a full-blown existential crisis over the president they helped elect.
Joe Rogan and Theo Von’s meltdown on Thursday’s Joe Rogan Experience exemplifies how President Trump’s litany of controversies has sown cracks in the foundation of his most loyal fanbase.
“I’m scared, I’m going to be honest with you. I’m scared,” Von, 46, admitted to Rogan.
“Well, you should be,” Rogan, 58, responded. “It’s a scary time because this is a real, hot war.”
Across the episode’s nearly three-hour runtime, Von and Rogan said the words “scared” and “scary” more than 30 times, almost entirely in reference to Trump’s war in Iran, the lack of accountability from the Epstein files, and his “disturbing” deployment of ICE.
Von and Rogan are among the right-wing podcasters widely credited with aiding Trump’s journey back to the White House in 2024, which included more than 20 podcast appearances in total on the campaign trail.
Trump sat for an interview on Rogan and Andrew Schulz’s podcasts just weeks before Election Night, and sat down with Von only three months prior. Both Von and Rogan attended Trump’s second-term inauguration.
Schulz, 42, who voted for Trump based on which candidate “gets the most p---y,” also lost faith in the president over the war.
“Are you guys, like—do you feel existential anxiety about the war?” he asked his Flagrant co-hosts in March.
No matter what other subjects Von and Rogan discussed this week, they invariably returned to their “fear” over the current state of affairs in Trump’s second administration.
“Everybody just feels scared,” Von reiterated to Rogan, who, after initially swatting down Von’s fears, relented with some of his own.
“They should because a lot of things are getting exposed right now. You know, there’s a lot of fraud, and you’re seeing it at the highest levels of government. And people are also scared because no one’s getting in trouble for things, like no one’s getting in trouble for the Epstein files,” Rogan added.
Rogan even accused Trump, 79, of starting the war to divert attention from his scandals back home.
“One thing, in the past, that leaders have used to cover up problems at home is a f---ing war. I’m not saying that’s why they bombed Iran, but that would be a way to do it,” said Rogan, who said Trump supposedly started the war to “stop the terrorists.”
“That’s crazy though, if you’re the f---ing terrorists. If you wanna stop them, stand in front of the f---ing mirror and start there,” Von responded.
Last summer, Schulz melted down over the president reneging on campaign promises.
“He’s doing the exact opposite of everything I voted for,” Schulz ranted. “I want him to stop the wars—he’s funding them. I want him to shrink spending, reduce the budget—he’s increasing it."
Cracks that began last summer were further exacerbated during Trump’s ICE raids in January, claiming it was to deport immigrant pedophiles.
“If you bring up another f---ing pedophile about deporting and you’re not releasing the Epstein list, just shut the f--- up, all of you,” Schulz said after the killing in “cold blood” of Alex Pretti and Renée Good.
For the first time in his second term, Trump’s approval rating has dipped below 40%. And it’s starting to become clear which side of the line his podcast bros are falling on.
