According to Joe Rogan, all President Donald Trump needed before he jumped into researching the therapeutic uses of certain psychedelics like ibogaine were words from a podcast.
“The text came back, ‘Sounds great! Do you want FDA approval? Let’s do it!'” Rogan said, standing behind Trump during a signing ceremony in the Oval Office on Saturday. “It’s really that fast.”
The anecdote seemed designed to show how eager Trump is to help people. But it also reflects the increasingly fascinating power dynamic between Trump and Rogan.
Rogan’s surprise visit happened to come after he made a series of high-profile comments critical of Trump’s handling of the Iran war to Rogan’s large podcast listeners.
While Trump has lashed out at other allies who have made similar criticisms — Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens and Alex Jones — he has taken a decidedly different tack on Rogen.
This is a more attentive attitude. While the others got vinegar, Logan got sugar for some reason.
Rogan’s comments about the Iran war have typically been brutal for Trump.
Last month, he called the war “crazy based on what he stood for” — specifically ending it — and said it was “the reason a lot of people feel betrayed by Trump.”
“I can’t believe we’re actually in this war,” he said in another podcast with Theo Von earlier this month.
Just this Thursday, Rogan called the war “terrible.”
“One of the things that’s attractive to most people who voted for Trump or want Trump in office is: no more wars,” Rogan said. “Right now we’re in one of the craziest times.”
Rogan’s remarks came on the same day that news broke that Trump would sign one of Rogan’s major initiatives. (Though it’s worth emphasizing that it wasn’t just Rogan who pushed for the move, but former Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.) Two days later, Rogan was a surprise guest in the Oval Office.
Rogen isn’t the only one exhibiting interesting power dynamics.
At the event, Trump seemed to make a point of mentioning Rogan’s audience.
“We did some interviews before the election,” Trump said, referring to his appearance on Rogan’s show in October 2024, shortly before Rogan endorsed him on the eve of the election. “We have over 300 million people, and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, I hope Kamala doesn’t do this.'” But she didn’t. “
Trump also called Rogan “a great guy” despite his comments about the Iran war.
American media personality Joe Rogan expresses his blessing after President Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol Building on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. -Saul Loeb/Pool/Reuters
So how to read this?
In one way, it suggests that Trump is at least somewhat worried about losing his base in a war with Iran. This makes sense, as numerous polls indicate that he should Afraid of something like this.
While self-proclaimed “Make America Great Again” supporters say they support the war, as many as a fifth or even a quarter of Trump’s 2024 voters do not support the war, while many others are merely lukewarm. A large portion of Trump’s base now appears to have at least some buyer’s remorse.
Perhaps as the midterm elections approach, Trump is starting to realize this is a problem.
But a non-mutually exclusive explanation is that he simply saw something different in Rogan than he did in guys like Kelly and Carlson.
After all, he often treated Rogen with caution, even after receiving other significant criticism.
Trump also fondly recalled his 2024 interview with Rogan while speaking to podcaster Logan Paul last month, a day after Rogan first made harsh criticism of the Iran war.
When NBC News asked Trump directly about Rogen’s criticism of Trump’s deportations in early February, Trump chose to try to calm the situation rather than lash out.
“I think he’s a great guy and I think he likes me, too,” Trump said.
Trump later added: “And, you know, it doesn’t matter if you like me.”
This is a ridiculous comment. Trump has often acknowledged that his opinion of people depends largely on whether they like him.
But when it comes to taking the next step and offering his loyalty, he tends to demand more from those he considers should be Be loyal to Him. In this way, Rogan may differ from others more involved in conservative movements, such as Kelly and Carlson. Rogan comes from a world that is apolitical.
Trump called Rogan “a little more liberal than me” in the Oval Office on Saturday.
It is for this reason that Rogan’s criticism presents a particularly problematic development for Trump. His audience is more apolitical than the likes of Kelly and Carlson. They are people Trump has only recently joined his coalition with Rogan’s help, so he may be worried they will be easier to leave.
You can start to see why Trump might be a little scared of Rogan — and why he might feel the need to do him a favor or two.
But it’s worth noting that Trump, of all people, actually felt he needed to cater to someone in this way.
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