During a conversation on a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, comedian and podcast host Joe Rogan shared his candid thoughts on the MAGA movement, questioning whether identifying with any political group does more harm than good.
The topic arose when guest Dave Smith, stand-up comedian and political commentator, expressed his reluctance to align with the MAGA label, saying he was not attached to the phrase “Make America Great Again.”
Rogan responded by reflecting on how political slogans can evolve into movements that attract a wide range of people, some of whom may not represent the values the movement claims to stand for.
“Here’s the thing. Like, first of all, America is great. Make America greater, I’m down,” he said. “But ‘Make America Great Again,’ and then it becomes a movement of a bunch of f**king dorks because a lot of them are dorks.”
He went on to argue that large political movements inevitably include individuals who cling to the identity without contributing meaningful ideas.
“A lot of them are these really weird, f**king uninteresting, unintelligent people that have got something they cling to,” Rogan continued. “And there’s a lot of people that are just real genuine patriots and they’re all lumped into this one group and you got to accept the dorks, too. F**k that.”
Rogan then expanded on his criticism by using a team analogy to explain why he believes joining any large political group can create problems. In his view, movements often lack standards for participation, which allows extreme or uninformed voices to represent the entire group.
“Like, the concept of making America great is a great idea,” he said. “But as soon as you have a f**king team and you allow anybody to join up, you don’t even have tryouts for your team.”
He also pointed to the role of social media and online manipulation, suggesting that anonymous accounts and foreign actors can amplify extreme rhetoric and further damage a movement’s reputation.
“So you’ve got a bunch of f**king people that are running around spouting out opinions and you have to go along with them because they’re MAGA,” Rogan added. “And then you’ve got bots online that are probably from f**king Indonesia or Russia or wherever, and they’re pretending they’re MAGA and they’re saying crazy s**t. So that’s a part of MAGA, too. You’ve f**ked up by becoming a part of a group.”
Importantly, Rogan clarified that his criticism was not limited to one political ideology. He argued that the same dynamic applies across the political spectrum, whether the group is conservative, liberal, or aligned with any other movement.
“Whether it’s a Republican group, a Democrat group, a MAGA group, a f**king woke group, whatever it is, you f**ked up by being in a group,” he said.
Smith responded by referencing legendary comedian George Carlin to reinforce the point about group behavior.
“What did George Carlin say? People are great as individuals. But when they get in a group, man, they’re the worst things in the world,” Smith said.
Rogan agreed with that sentiment and concluded by emphasizing that political engagement should be rooted in personal principles rather than blind loyalty to a label or movement.
“And that’s why it should be about the issues,” Smith said. “It should be about your principles and what you believe in.”
The exchange came as Rogan and Smith were discussing the apparent fracturing of the coalition that helped Donald Trump win the 2024 presidential election.
