President Donald Trump was forced into evasive maneuvers over his buddy Joe Rogan likening ICE to the “Gestapo.”
Trump was speaking with NBC News anchor Tom Llamas for the traditional presidential pre-Super Bowl interview when the host asked him about the podcaster’s criticism of federal immigration enforcement operations in Minnesota.
Rogan’s endorsement and Trump’s three-hour October 2024 appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience were considered pivotal to the president’s victory that November, but the podcaster has become increasingly critical of Trump.
Rogan has spoken out against the Trump administration’s heavy-handed deployment in the Twin Cities, where federal agents have fatally shot two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both 37.
“Joe Rogan was one of your biggest endorsers in 2024,” Llamas said. “He said he understands [your] plan to deport people here who are here illegally, but he also understands why critics compare ICE officers to the Gestapo, asking people for their papers. What’s your response?”
“First of all he’s a great guy,” Trump began. “We had a tremendous success before the election—I think it was his biggest interview ever, over 300 million people, it was very good.”
After firing an unprompted dig at the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, Trump refocused to reveal he and Rogan had been in touch just days before.
“I spoke to him three days ago, we had a great conversation—” he began before Llamas interjected, asking if they’d spoken about ICE.
“A little bit. We just had a good conversation, I think, he is a great guy and I think he likes me too,” Trump replied, making an O shape with his mouth.
“You know, liking me isn’t important. What happens is that I think we do a phenomenal job, but I don’t think we’re good at public relations…”
Rogan’s support for Trump appeared to be showing signs of wear in a January interview with Sen. Rand Paul. During the length sitdown with the Kentucky Republican, he drew a line between Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Hitler’s secret police, known for their brutal tactics and terrorizing civilians.
“I can also see the point of view of the people who say, ‘Yeah, but militarized people in the streets just roaming around, snatching people up, many of which actually turn out to be U.S. citizens, they just don’t have their papers on them? Are we really going to be the Gestapo? Where’s your papers? Is that what we’ve come to?” he said. “So it is more complicated than I think people want to admit.”
Rogan’s podcast is the biggest in the country, and his opinion has been widely regarded as an weathervane, even a decisive factor, in how swathes of young men will vote.
In December, when Rogan’s guest Tom Segura said Trump was “losing it,” Rogan said, “I think everybody does when you get to a certain age.”
He then said of Trump’s decision to add his name to the Kennedy Center: “That’s nutty,” though he added that “there’s nothing nuttier than the plaques underneath the president’s names,” referencing Trump’s newly installed “presidential walk of fame” in the White House.
Rogan has also previously suggested ICE raids could be a distraction from the pressure the president is under over the release of the Epstein files.
Trump appeared on NBC, which he often derides as “fake news,” for the traditional Super Bowl interview after refusing to take part in it during his first term in 2018.
Elsewhere in the sitdown, the president suggested that a softer approach may be needed with ICE, after he sidelined Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino and replaced him with border czar Tom Homan in Minneapolis.
