When Donald Trump swept the 2024 election, a wave of podcasters and stand-up comedians openly backed his campaign. Since then, most of them have walked it back. Joe Rogan hasn’t.
Kyle Kulinski of Secular Talk made that point recently, calling out Rogan for what he described as a long pattern of convenient fence-sitting.
“He’ll have on one guest and say one thing, then he’ll have on a guest with the opposite philosophy and say the other,” Kulinski said. “He’ll agree with whoever he’s sitting across from.”
The contrast with others in Rogan’s orbit is hard to ignore. Dave Smith, a libertarian comedian who leaned into the Trump camp in 2024, later spoke against him. According to Kulinski, Smith stated, “I was wrong. Trump’s a warmonger. Trump’s bad. And Kamala would have been better.”
Andrew Schulz offered something in a similar spirit, acknowledging publicly that he may have gotten it wrong. Tim Dillon has also moved in a more critical direction.
Rogan has not.
Kulinski points to Rogan’s formal endorsement as the starting point for accountability. Rogan tweeted at the time: “He makes what I think is the most compelling case for Trump you’ll hear. And I agree with him every step of the way. For the record, yes, that’s an endorsement of Trump.”
Rogan has also said publicly that he believes he may have helped swing the election in Trump’s favor.
That makes the silence more pointed. If Rogan played a meaningful role in delivering the presidency to Trump, the argument goes, he carries a particular responsibility to reckon with what followed. Instead, Kulinski argues, Rogan offers occasional mild critiques while shielding his inner circle from scrutiny.
“You’re buddy buddy with Dana White, who’s also your boss, your buddy buddy with Donald Trump, your buddy buddy with JD Vance, your buddy buddy with Elon Musk, you’re buddy buddy with Peter Thiel,” Kulinski said. “You’re in that club.”
The recent IRS settlement story brought that dynamic into sharp focus. Trump sued the IRS, settled for $1.7 billion in taxpayer money, and walked away with a provision permanently shielding himself and the Trump Organization from future audits. When the topic came up on Rogan’s show, the response was laughter.
Kulinski pressed the question directly: “If it was Joe Biden that did this or Barack Obama or any Democratic president that did this, would Joe Rogan have sounded this calm in his reaction to it?”
Kulinski’s argument is that Rogan’s reluctance to fully break with Trump is not about ideology or objectivity. It is about access and friendship. “He’s never going to tell everybody the full truth,” Kulinski said. “He’s going to continue to hide the ball and to tepidly criticize Trump, spare more smoke for the Democrats, and gaslight you every step of the way.”
Every other comedian in Rogan’s sphere found a way to say they got it wrong. Rogan, the one who may have had the most influence on the outcome, has yet to say a word.
