"Sort of a liberal guy": Trump says he hasn't been invited on Joe Rogan's podcast

"I’ve said no every time. I don’t want to help him. I’m not interested in helping him," Rogan said in 2022

By Gabriella Ferrigine

Staff Writer

Published September 4, 2024 12:35PM (EDT)

Joe Rogan walks inside the Octagon during the UFC 282 event at T-Mobile Arena on December 10, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Carmen Mandato/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images)
Joe Rogan walks inside the Octagon during the UFC 282 event at T-Mobile Arena on December 10, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Carmen Mandato/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images)

Donald Trump in a recent interview shared that he had not been invited as a guest on Joe Rogan's podcast, a fan favorite amongst many conservatives. 

Speaking to podcast Lex Fridman, the former president and Republican presidential candidate remained relatively reticent on any tension between himself and Rogan, who helms the popular podcast, "The Joe Rogan Experience."

“I don’t think there was any tension. And I’ve always liked him, but I don’t know him,” Trump said when Fridman asked about the reported beef between the ex-president and Rogan. "I only see him when I walk into the arena with Dana [White] and I shake his hand. I see him there and I think he’s good at what he does, but I don’t know about doing his podcast. I guess I’d do it but I haven’t been asked and I’m not asking them. I’m not asking anybody.”

Last month, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to take a shot at Rogan over the podcaster's endorsement of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the 2024 election. Rogan had previously stated that Kennedy — who has since suspended his presidential campaign — was the only candidate who "made sense" to him, leading Trump to sound off. 

“I wonder how loudly Joe Rogan gets BOOED the next time he enters the UFC ring???” Trump wrote.

Trump in his discussion with Fridman also referred to Rogan as “sort of a liberal guy, I guess, from what I understand."

“But he likes [Robert F.] Kennedy. This was before I found this out, before Kennedy came in with us. He’s going to be great,” the MAGA leader added, in a seeming effort to dispel any lingering tension. “Bobby’s going to be great. But I like that he likes Kennedy.”

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Rogan in previous interviews with Fridman indicated that he's "said no more than once" when the opportunity to have Trump on his show has arisen, a contradiction of Trump's assertion that his team has never reached out to Rogan to host him. “I’ve had the opportunity to have him on my show more than once. I’ve said no every time. I don’t want to help him. I’m not interested in helping him," Rogan said during a 2022 sit down.

It remains unclear whether Rogan will be endorsing Trump as the election looms nearer, with the hotly anticipated debate between the former president and Vice President Kamala Harris scheduled to take place next week, on September 10. 

On last week's episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," the host alleged that MSNBC had doctored a clip of him speaking about former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to make it seem as though he was supporting Harris. 

“I’m not suing MSNBC, but this is what MSNBC did. They took a clip of me talking about Tulsi Gabbard and they edited it up and made it look like I was saying great things about Kamala Harris,” Rogan said.

“They just deceptively edited the things I was saying," Rogan continued. "They took it completely out of context where I was talking about — first of all, I was talking about Tulsi Gabbard and then I was talking about the media behind Kamala Harris, all this surge and all these people deciding that she can win and they put the two of those together and made it seem like I was praising Kamala Harris."


By Gabriella Ferrigine

Gabriella Ferrigine is a staff writer at Salon. Originally from the Jersey Shore, she moved to New York City in 2016 to attend Columbia University, where she received her B.A. in English and M.A. in American Studies. Formerly a staff writer at NowThis News, she has an M.A. in Magazine Journalism from NYU and was previously a news fellow at Salon.

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Aggregate Donald Trump Gop Joe Rogan Joe Rogan Experience Lex Fridman Rfk Jr. Tulsi Gabbard