Joe Rogan Criticizes Pete Buttigieg for Being Afraid to Appear on Podcasts

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In a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience featuring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, host Joe Rogan made a brief but pointed comment about Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and his reluctance to appear on podcast platforms.

The comment came amid a broader discussion about the changing media landscape and how traditional press formats compare to podcast appearances. Rogan elaborated on why long-form content like podcasts can be so revealing.

He said: “It’s like we have more access to information than ever before, but so much of it is just horses**t. You know, it’s hard to stay balanced. And I think that’s why it’s good to like listen to people just talk and then you recognize the flaws in their thinking. You feel ego. You feel deception. Bulls**t.”

Affleck added to Rogan’s point, emphasizing that extended conversations allow people to reveal their true selves. “People will reveal themselves. Like, we actually don’t need that many editorialists constantly telling us what to think and how to think… You know, if someone’s bullshi**ing you, eventually they’ll kind of hang themselves… And you form your own judgment,” Affleck explained.

“Pete Buttigieg actually talked about that being dangerous on podcasts,” Rogan said, agreeing with Affleck on how long-form discussions give audiences the space to form their own impressions rather than relying solely on curated media narratives. “He’s like, ‘Because you go on there and you have your points, but you’ll get revealed over the course of a few hours.’ Like, you can only stick to these lines.”

Rogan and his guests also discussed how politicians and public figures often rely on rehearsed talking points that work well in brief television segments but become transparent over longer discussions.

“You get talking points for… and then what happens is people just like there was an art to like look at how great the communicator. They stick to the message and they do their points,” Affleck noted. “We [get] 30 seconds, 60 seconds. But any longer than that, it just starts to look like a f**king robot.”

Rogan and his guests suggested that extended conversations naturally reveal whether someone is being genuine or simply performing, a concern that may explain why some public figures avoid the podcast format.

“Sometimes you find out they’re full of s**t just by having them talk about other things,” Rogan added, illustrating how casual conversation can expose carefully constructed public personas.

Rogan continued by saying that it can be as simple as asking about a hobby. He stated, “You know, like, ‘Do you like cooking?’ And then you just see this… concocted response.”

Affleck immediately recognized what Rogan was getting at. He pointed out that even in those harmless moments, some people remain trapped in performance mode.