Former President Trump sat with Joe Rogan Friday for a three-hour interview, marking the GOP nominee’s debut on one of the most popular podcasts in the country.
The two men appeared to show a mutual admiration for one another, while the former president spoke at length about immigration, his intense reliance on tariffs for economic policy, and his unproven claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
Rogan is one of the most popular and controversial media personalities in the country, with each of his episodes earning millions of downloads and often features conversations with top newsmakers. He is particularly popular with young men, who the Trump campaign has specifically targeted in the upcoming election.
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Here are five takeaways from the interview.
Trump and Rogan hit it off
Rogan has previously said he is not a Trump supporter and in 2022 indicated he would not be interested in having the former president on the show. But the two appeared extremely comfortable with one another Friday, trading compliments and discussing their shared love of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) events.
“You cannot be voting for Kamala. You’re not a Kamala person. I know you. I’ve watched you,” Trump told the podcast host. “You know what, without speaking to you I know you, I think I know you, maybe almost as well as your wife.”
He later added that he thought Rogan knew “everything … as a student of yours.”
“One of the beautiful things about you is that you freeball,” Rogan said, telling the former president that he thought his impression mocking President Biden was “funny stuff.”
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The two went on an extended tangent about boxing and UFC events, talking about their mutual friendship with UFC president Dana White. Rogan has worked as a play-by-play announcer at UFC events, while Trump has attended numerous fights and was introduced by White at the July GOP convention.
“I want to do it again with you,” Trump said as he wrapped up the interview. “You are something…you are a fascinating guy.”
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Rogan had previously expressed support for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ran an independent White House bid before suspending his campaign and endorsing Trump in late August.
The podcast host asked Trump on Friday whether he was set on having Kennedy be part of his administration if he wins in November.
“Oh I am. The only thing I want to be a little careful about with him is the environmental,” Trump said. “Because you know, he doesn’t like oil, I love oil and gas. So I’m just going to keep him out…I said, ‘Focus on health. You can do whatever you want.’ But I gotta be a little careful with the liquid gold.”
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Trump told Rogan he has faced pressure from some not to work with Kennedy, citing the pharmaceutical industry. The two then had an extended discussion about systemic health issues facing the country, with the podcast host suggesting if there was a greater focus on “metabolic health,” there wouldn’t be such a need for pharmaceutical drugs.
Rogan has in the past drawn backlash for some of his anti-vaccine rhetoric, including when he hosted a prominent anti-vaccine influencer on his show in 2022.
Kennedy has similarly drawn criticism for some of his anti-vaccine comments. He has led an initiative for the Trump campaign dubbed “Make America Healthy Again.”
Podcast underscores Trump appeal to young voters
The Trump campaign has invested significant time and energy courting young men, with a particular focus on the former president’s media appearances. Trump’s sit-down with Rogan was yet another extension of that strategy.
“So I have a son who’s very smart, and tall, Barron. And he knows all about you,” Trump said. “He knows about guys I never heard of…it’s a whole new world out there. But you know, I’m on TikTok now. And I’ve done really well.”
Rogan’s podcast draws more than 15 million followers on Spotify, and his YouTube channel boasts more than 17 million subscribers. He is particularly popular with young men, and he spoke to the concerns of younger voters during Friday’s interview.
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“I think young people are rejecting a lot of this woke bullshit. Young people are tired of being yelled at and scolded,” Rogan said.
“They’re tired of these people that they think are mentally ill telling them what they think the moral standards of society should be today…You wanna be a rebel? You wanna be punk rock? You wanna, like, buck the system? You’re a conservative now,” he added.
A new Harvard Institute of Politics poll of voters ages 18-29 found Vice President Harris leading Trump by 20 percentage points among young voters under 30. Harris leads by 30 points among young women and by 10 points among young men.
Rogan gives Trump time to air election fraud claims
Trump has for the past four years refused to accept the results of the 2020 election and claimed without evidence there was widespread fraud that changed the outcome. Rogan on Friday gave the former president space to explain his claims.
“How do you think you were robbed? Everybody always cuts you off,” Rogan said.
“What I’d rather do is –we’ll do it another time. I would bring in papers that you would not believe. That election was so crooked,” Trump said, at one point repeating the false claim that he did not lose in 2020.
Pressed for examples, the former president argued that state legislatures did not properly approve changes to ballot deadlines and collection methods. State lawmakers moved quickly in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic to adjust voting laws to make it easier to vote early and by mail.
“They used COVID to cheat,” Trump said.
He further claimed that a letter from dozens of former intelligence agents asserting that a laptop belonging to the president’s son, Hunter Biden, that was revealed in the closing weeks of the 2020 campaign was Russian disinformation cost him enough votes to flip the election for Biden.
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Trump went on to argue that using paper ballots would guard against fraud, and the former president and Rogan agreed that states should enact voter ID laws.
The GOP nominee has routinely invoked his distrust in the 2020 results at campaign rallies, calling the election “rigged” or fraudulent. Democrats have warned Trump poses a threat to democracy because of his refusal to accept the results.
The former president and his allies brought numerous lawsuits after the 2020 election alleging fraud, but they were dismissed because of lack of evidence or lack of standing. Trump has been indicted in Washington, D.C., on federal charges over his efforts to remain in power after losing the election.
Trump opines on extraterrestrial life and UFOs
Rogan has repeatedly shown an interest in the prospect of aliens and UFOs on his show, and he used his interview with Trump to press the former president on what he knew from his time in office.
“What did they tell you? How much can you tell?” Rogan asked.
“It’s never been my thing. I have to be honest,” Trump replied. “I’ve never been a believer.”
The former president recounted interviewing pilots who claimed they saw round objects moving rapidly through the sky.
“I get that question as much as almost any question. ‘Do you think we have aliens flying around or whatever,’” he said. “There’s no reason not to — I mean there’s no reason not to think that Mars and all these planets don’t have life… Well, maybe it’s life that we don’t know.”
Unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) burst into the spotlight last year following testimony from three former Defense Department officials who told a House panel’s national security subcommittee that sightings of UAPs could pose national security risks.