Joe Rogan, once an outspoken supporter of Senator Bernie Sanders, has drawn criticism after saying he no longer backs the Vermont independent, with commentators on The Hill’s “Rising” arguing the podcast host is revising his own history to explain his political shift toward President Trump.
On a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan explained his changed view of Sanders.
“This is a long time ago. I don’t necessarily think that I feel the same way anymore about him,” Rogan said. “One of the reasons being is that he kind of gave in to the Democratic establishment, and he let them run him over during that whole thing with Hillary where they rigged the primary. He let them get away with stuff where I think he should have put his foot down.”
“Rising” co-hosts noted the shift is notable because Rogan endorsed Sanders in early 2020, four years after the 2016 primary dispute he now cites as his reason for souring on the senator.
They pointed out that during a January 2020 interview with Sanders, Rogan described him as “consistent” and praised his long career, at the time saying he would likely vote for Sanders based on his policies.
“I think that a little bit of this is like rewriting history and trying to explain his vote, especially because he’s been constantly criticized for deciding to support President Trump,” one host said, adding that Rogan would be better served embracing the idea that he is “allowed to change his mind” rather than reconstructing a timeline.
The panel also questioned Rogan’s consistency on immigration policy, noting his surprise at ICE’s enforcement actions despite Trump’s clear campaign messaging.
“Trump did exactly what he said he was going to do and everybody got confused,” one host said. She also stated that the more people question whether Rogan is “flip-flopping versus standing in conviction,” the more he risks losing his core audience.
“Joe Rogan, he does kind of sit in that nice middle, but the more people start questioning, the more they think you’re flip-flopping versus standing in conviction, the more he’s going to lose that core…. the opportunity to lose his core audience is there.”
Hosts further pointed to a segment in which Rogan appeared surprised that Democrat James Talarico was leading Republican Ken Paxton in Texas Senate primary polling, despite the race receiving extensive news coverage.
“For a guy who is an independent and really a thought leader in this country in a lot of ways, you have to appreciate that for him not to know that Talarico was pulling ahead of Paxton” was notable, one host said.
The commentators concluded that while Rogan’s independent, unaffiliated persona has built him a large following, repeated instances of what they characterized as overexplaining his positions could undermine his credibility.
“When you get into a game of overexplaining yourself, that is not the place that you want to be. You’re already losing the argument,” one host said.
