On a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience featuring comedian Louis J. Gomez, podcast host Joe Rogan spoke about his White House visit, the online anger that followed, and a viral UFC moment that people had completely backwards.
Rogan brought it up directly during their conversation. He said, “So, you saw that thing that I had to do at the White House the other day?”
Gomez replied that he saw it and noticed that the reaction from people online was intense. “Yeah. People are pissed,” he said.
Rogan asked who, and Gomez answered, “I don’t know. People online.”
The reason was simply that Rogan had shown up there. Gomez noted, “They’re like, ‘Yo, Joe, you can’t be at the White House. Joe, you said you were f**king politically homeless.'”
Rogan stood by that description of himself. “I am [politically homeless],” he said, before recounting how Donald Trump jokingly characterized him during the event. “He joked about it. He called me a liberal during the whole thing,” Rogan said. “He’s like, ‘Joe is very liberal.’”
Earlier in the same conversation, before the White House topic surfaced, the pair had been discussing public scrutiny and the realities of being a high-profile figure.
Rogan acknowledged that public reaction comes with the territory. “But that’s also like if you don’t want people to have their opinions on you, don’t go to the White House,” he said.
Gomez quickly agreed. “That’s a great point,” he said.
Rogan emphasized that he did not resent the criticism, even if it was harsh. “I don’t fault them for getting, you know, whatever, whatever hot take, getting mad at me for whatever reason, go ahead,” he said.
He then addressed whether fellow comedians, in particular, had the right to mock him over the situation. “That’s your thing. You’re allowed to,” Rogan said. “You’re supposed to, like if you’re a comic too. You’re supposed to s**t on people if you think they’re doing something st*pid.”
When Gomez asked directly, “Do you get offended when comics s**t on you?” Rogan answered simply, “No.”
The conversation then shifted to a viral narrative surrounding an interaction between Rogan and Trump at a UFC event. Gomez summarized what had been circulating online. “The big conspiracy theory is that Trump is mad at you and he came up to the UFC and he was talking s**t to you,” he said.
Rogan immediately pushed back on that version of events. “No, the opposite,” he said.
According to Rogan, he reached out to Trump days earlier about ibogaine, a plant-based treatment he believes has shown promising results for veterans dealing with PTSD. According to Rogan, Trump responded positively to the idea.
“What are you looking for? You looking for FDA approval? It sounds good to me,” Rogan recalled him saying.
Rogan then described what happened when they met in person at the UFC event the following day. Trump approached him, shook his hand, and delivered a brief message: “It’s done,” he said.
Rogan remembered responding respectfully. “Thank you, sir,” he said, emphasizing that the interaction was cordial and supportive. “It wasn’t like he was mad at me at all,” Rogan added.
