Joe Rogan Feels Trump Betrayed Him on Immigration

Joe Rogan, one of the vital influential voices in American media, is popping on Donald Trump. And the explanation cuts deep: immigration raids.

Rogan, who endorsed Trump simply hours earlier than the 2024 presidential election, now says he was misled by the person he helped increase into workplace. The podcaster and UFC commentator, identified for giving a platform to anti-cancel tradition figures and free speech advocates, is now accusing Trump of betraying the very values he campaigned on.

“We have been informed there can be…,” Rogan started throughout a July 2 episode of The Joe Rogan Expertise, earlier than trailing off and recalibrating. “There’s two issues which might be insane. One is the concentrating on of migrant employees, not cartel members, not gang members, not drug sellers, simply building employees exhibiting up at building websites, raiding them. Gardeners. Like, actually?”

His visitor, Amjad Masad, the Palestinian founder and CEO of the coding platform Replit, agreed. The 2 have been discussing the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigrants, particularly within the context of escalating tensions over Gaza and political speech on U.S. campuses.

Masad introduced up current experiences of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) concentrating on Palestinian college students and immigrants on flimsy pretenses. “Did you see the video of the Turkish scholar at Tufts College who wrote an essay?” he requested.

Rogan responded, incredulous: “It was simply essential of Israel, proper? And that’s sufficient to get you kicked in a foreign country?”

The 2 have been referencing rising concern that lawful political speech, particularly criticism of Israel, is more and more getting used as grounds for visa cancellations and deportations underneath Trump’s revived immigration coverage.

Rogan’s Endorsement and Remorse

Again on November 4, 2024, Rogan endorsed Trump on social media, simply earlier than the election. It was a robust sign to his large base of male followers.

“The good and highly effective @elonmusk. If it wasn’t for him we’d be fucked,” Rogan wrote on the time. “He makes what I believe is probably the most compelling case for Trump you’ll hear, and I agree with him each step of the best way. For the document, sure, that’s an endorsement of Trump.”

The put up racked up greater than 50 million views. However lower than a yr later, Rogan appears to be reconsidering.

The good and highly effective @elonmusk.
If it wasn’t for him we would be fucked. He makes what I believe is probably the most compelling case for Trump you will hear, and I agree with him each step of the best way.
For the document, sure, that is an endorsement of Trump.
Benefit from the podcast pic.twitter.com/LdBxZFVsLN

— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) November 5, 2024

Whereas he made clear he would by no means vote for Kamala Harris, Rogan now feels duped. The immigration coverage he thought would deal with violent criminals has as a substitute grow to be a broader crackdown on immigrant communities, together with authorized residents, college students, and employees.

From America First to Raids and Concern

Through the marketing campaign, Trump vowed mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, however insisted the main target can be on criminals and gang members. His rallies featured mugshots of alleged MS-13 members and claims that his plan would “clear up the streets.”

However now that he’s again within the White Home, actuality appears completely different. In keeping with current court docket filings and ICE information, most of the folks being arrested or deported haven’t any legal data in any respect.

That discrepancy is what’s pushing Rogan to talk out. He’s constructed his model round authenticity and free speech. Trump’s present strategy, he suggests, smells extra like authoritarianism than coverage.

“Fascism is the response virtually at all times to communism,” Rogan mentioned on the identical podcast, quoting ANthony Rispo, a scholar of psychology and neuroscience at Columbia College. “What we expertise on this nation is that this continuous overcorrection. Overcorrection to the left, then overcorrection to the correct, to counter that.”

In different phrases, Rogan is questioning if Trump’s insurance policies are an overcorrection too far, and in the event that they resemble fascism greater than freedom.

Thanks @joerogan for shouting me out on @joeroganhq !! pic.twitter.com/gTV7MRgRWq

— Anthony Rispo (@anthony_rispo) July 3, 2025

Musk, DOGE, and the Fracture of the Bro Alliance

Rogan’s disillusionment mirrors that of Elon Musk, one other former Trump ally. Musk, who headed the now-infamous Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE), has grow to be considered one of Trump’s fiercest critics since Congress handed the “One Massive Lovely Invoice,” a laws that slashed EV subsidies, immigration protections, and environmental incentives.

Musk is now threatening to start out a 3rd political occasion. And whereas Trump can afford to disregard the Tesla CEO’s rise up, he can’t simply brush off Joe Rogan. Why? As a result of they share the identical viewers: disaffected males, anti-establishment voters, younger libertarians, and other people bored with conventional politics.

If that group is pressured to decide on between Trump and Rogan, the end result may considerably influence the 2026 midterm elections and future political landscapes.