During a recent episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan discussed whether podcast hosts should be given seats in White House press briefings. He pushed back against the idea that online personalities should take the place of traditional journalists.
The topic came up after Rogan referenced a suggestion made by David Sacks on the All-In Podcast. Sacks had discussed how Democrats had lost the support of the “podcast bros” and whether they should have been given front-row seats at press conferences.
Rogan was not in favor of the idea.
“How about no? How about real journalists? How about not have us do that?” he said. “Also, we’re not going. We’re not going to the press conferences and sitting in the front row and asking questions.”
He went on to explain why he believes podcast hosts should not be treated as members of the press. “We’re not press people. We talk [ ]. Okay. And it’s a sickness of our society that people take our opinions so importantly, that it’s so significant. It should not be.”
However, the group acknowledged that podcasts and online personalities have considerable influence over public opinion. Rogan admitted, “They do though, unfortunately. And it works.”
They also brought up ESPN’s Pat McAfee, who regularly opens his show with a disclaimer encouraging viewers not to take everything he says too seriously. Rogan agreed that this was a sensible approach, adding, “That’s the right way to do it. I should have a disclaimer to everyone in my podcast.”
The conversation then shifted to the political landscape, with Rogan arguing that the Democrats’ loss of support extended well beyond podcast personalities. “They didn’t just lose the podcast bros. They lost most of the country,” he said.
Rogan went on to discuss the Trump administration’s immigration policies, acknowledging certain developments while criticizing aspects of its enforcement approach. “They closed the border and then crime dropped significantly. Those are good things. It’s not a good thing to have the border wide open where anyone can come in,” Rogan said.
At the same time, he questioned the treatment of undocumented immigrants who have spent years building lives and becoming part of their local communities. “Also, not a good thing to snatch people out of their taco stand that have been in the country for 20 years and are nice, good people that are loved by the community, but they just don’t have the right paperwork,” he added.
