Joe Rogan, the well-known podcast host and comedian, has publicly broken ranks with former President Donald Trump regarding his administration’s deportation policies. Yet in a recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Rogan was apoplectic about the deportation of a professional makeup artist and hairdresser. He called the move “horrific” and said he was “apoplectic” about the developments. What’s notable about this critique is that Rogan endorsed Trump in the last election. After all, the guy literally last year endorsed Trump for president!
Rogan’s podcast has become extremely popular, attracting an audience of millions, and reigning as one of Spotify’s most popular podcasts week after week. He’s become widely known for hosting such incendiary guests as Kanye West, Elon Musk, and doomsday prophet Alex Jones. This decision has been widely celebrated and deeply condemned. Despite his history of supporting Trump’s crackdown on immigration and expressing dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden’s immigration policies, Rogan’s recent comments indicate a shift in his stance.
In his March 29 episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan commented on the deportation case. He continued, “This is really kind of nuts that this might be possible. His main argument was that removing gang members from the U.S. is something that everyone can agree on. For him, deporting completely innocent people is morally wrong—even more so when those people are asylum seekers.
“And that’s bad for the cause. The solution is obvious: send the gang bangers packing. That’s a disappointment almost everybody can get behind. We can’t let up and lump all those triple threat gay hairdressers in with the gangs. Rogan most compellingly stressed that such callous policies are not only inhumane, but politically toxic, arguing that these draconian measures would push away allies from the debate.
You should not expect good people to support you when you deport gay hairdressers looking for asylum on the first thing. So it’s totally crazy to dump them into a hellhole prison in El Salvador.
This surprise attack on immigrants comes at a moment when immigration continues to be a hot-button issue within American politics. Rogan’s mixed messages on immigration, meanwhile, set the stage for an ongoing national discussion about how to best integrate security and humanitarianism. His remarks will help shape public perception, especially within the context of his large following who appreciate frank discourse on today’s urgent social challenges.