As Joe Rogan explains, a podcaster’s lesson was about all President Donald Trump needed before fast-tracking research into medical uses for certain psychedelic treatments like ibogaine.
“The text message came back, ‘Sounds good! Do you want FDA approval? Let’s do it!'” Rogan said Saturday, standing behind Trump during the signing ceremony in the Oval Office. “It was literally fast.”
The anecdote was meant to show how concerned Trump is to help people. But it also reflects an increasingly fascinating power dynamic between Trump and Rogan.
Rogan’s unexpected visit comes after he made several high-profile comments about Trump’s handling of the Iran war to Rogan’s large podcast audience.
And while Trump has spared other allies who have faced similar criticism — people like Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens and Alex Jones — he’s treating Rogan very differently.
It is very very charming. While others get vinegar, Rogan gets sugar for some reason.
Rogan’s comments on the Iran war have been routinely brutal to Trump.
Last month, he called the war “crazy based on what he ran into” – specifically, ending wars – and said the war was “why a lot of people felt betrayed by Trump”.
“I can’t believe we went to war,” he said earlier this month on another podcast with Theo Vaughan.
And just this Thursday, Rogan called the battle “f**king scary.”
“One of the things that appealed to most people who voted for Trump or wanted Trump in office was this: No more wars,” Rogan said. “Now we’re in one of the crazy ones.”
On the same day Rogan made those comments, news broke that Trump would sign one of Rogan’s major initiatives. (Though it emphasized that Rogan wasn’t the only one pushing it; so were former Republican Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and former Democrat Sean Kirsten Sinema of Arizona.) Two days later, Rogan was a surprise guest in the Oval Office.
And Rogan wasn’t the only one to hint at an interesting power dynamic.
On the show, Trump seemed to make a point to refer to Rogan’s audience.
“We did a little interview before the election,” Trump said, referring to his appearance on Rogan’s show in October 2024, before Rogan endorsed him on the eve of the election. “We had over 300 million people, and I said, ‘Oh man, I hope Kamala doesn’t do that.’ And she didn’t.”
Trump called Rogan “a great guy” despite Rogan’s comments on the Iran war.
U.S. media personality Joe Rogan stands for a blessing after President Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. – Saul Loeb/Pool/Reuters
So how to read it?
One way is that it shows that Trump fears losing his base in an Iran war. And that would make sense, given the bevy of polls he suggests should do Fear of such things.
While self-described MAGA supporters say they approve of the war, 1 in 5 or 1 in 4 of Trump’s 2024 voters disapprove, and most of the rest are lukewarm on it. A significant portion of Trump voters seem to have at least some buyer’s remorse.
Maybe it’s starting to register for Trump that this is a problem as the midterm elections loom.
But a non-mutually exclusive explanation is that he sees something different in Rogan than the likes of Kelly and Carlson.
After all, he has routinely treated Rogan with kid gloves, even after other major criticisms.
Trump also fondly recalled his 2024 Rogan interview when speaking with podcaster Logan Paul last month, a day after Rogan’s first big, harsh Iran war criticism.
And when NBC News asked Trump directly in early February about Rogan’s criticism of Trump’s deportation efforts, Trump chose to smooth things over rather than try.
“I think he’s a great guy, and I think he likes me too,” Trump said.
Trump then added: “And, you know, liking me is not important.”
That is a ridiculous comment. Trump has regularly acknowledged how much his views depend on whether people like him.
But when it comes to taking the next step and offering him loyalty, he demands more from the people he thinks. should be Loyal to him. And in that way, Rogan may be different from others like Kelly and Carlson, who stand out more in the conservative movement. Rogan comes very much from the apolitical world.
In the Oval Office on Saturday, Trump referred to Rogan as “a little more liberal than I am.”
That’s also why Rogan’s criticism presents a particularly troubling development for Trump. His audience is more apolitical than the likes of Kelly and Carlson. They’re the kind of people Trump recently brought into his coalition — with Rogan’s help — and so Trump may fear they’re apt to leave.
You can begin to see why Trump is a little afraid of Rogan — and why he might feel compelled to do him a favor or two.
But it’s still remarkable that Trump, of all people, actually feels that he needs to fulfill someone in this way.
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