Trump is savaging allies who criticize the Iran war. But he’s treating Joe Rogan very differently

As Joe Rogan tells it, there was a text from the podcaster about everything President Donald Trump needed before stepping up his research into the therapeutic uses of some psychedelic treatments like Ibogaine.

“Sounds like a great message! Do you want FDA approval? Let’s do it!”, Rogan said as he stood right behind Trump at the Oval Office signing ceremony on Saturday. he said. “It really was that fast.”

This anecdote was apparently intended to show how concerned Trump is about helping people. But it also reflected the increasingly fascinating power dynamic between Trump and Rogan.

Rogan’s surprise visit comes after Rogan made a series of high-profile comments to his large podcast audience criticizing Trump’s handling of the Iran war.

And while Trump does this brutally attacked other allies Names such as Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens and Alex Jones, who have made similar criticisms, take a very different approach towards Rogan.

This is something much more intentional. While others take the vinegar, Rogan takes the sugar for some reason.

Rogan’s comments on the Iran war were routinely harsh on Trump.

Last month, he called the war “crazy for what it’s fighting for” — especially about ending wars — and said the war “is why so many people feel betrayed by Trump.”

“I can’t believe we’re going to this war,” he said on another podcast with Theo Von earlier this month.

And just this Thursday, the Rogan fight “fucking scary.”

“One of the appeals to most people who voted for Trump or wanted Trump in office was: No more war,” Rogan said. “We’re in one of the craziest ones now.”

The day Rogan made these comments, the news broke Trump would sign on to one of Rogan’s big ventures. (Although it’s worth emphasizing that it wasn’t just Rogan pushing this; there were also former Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.) Two days later, Rogan was a surprise guest in the Oval Office.

And Rogan wasn’t the only one pointing out interesting power dynamics.

At the event, Trump appeared to reference Rogan’s audience.

“We did a little interview before the election,” Trump said, referring to his show in October 2024, shortly before Rogan endorsed him on the eve of the election. “We had over 300 million people, and I was like, ‘Oh man, I hope Kamala doesn’t do that.’ And she didn’t do that.”

Trump also called Rogan a “great person” despite Rogan’s comments about the Iran war.

So how to read this?

One way is to show that Trump is at least afraid of losing his base because of the Iran war. And that would make sense, considering lots of votes I recommend it should do be afraid of such a thing.

Although self-described MAGA supporters say they approve of the war, 1 in 5 or even 1 in 4 of Trump’s 2024 voters disapprove, and most of the rest are not keen on the issue. A significant portion of Trump voters appear to at least buyer’s remorse Right now.

Perhaps Trump is starting to realize this is a problem as the midterm elections approach.

But one explanation, which isn’t mutually exclusive, is that he sees something different in Rogan than he sees in the likes of Kelly and Carlson.

After all, he regularly treated Rogan with kid gloves, even after other major criticisms.

Trump also fondly recalled the 2024 Rogan interview while speaking with podcaster Logan Paul last month, just one day after Rogan’s first major, harsh criticism of the Iran war.

And when NBC News asked Trump directly in early February about Rogan’s criticism of Trump’s deportation efforts, Trump opted to try to smooth things over rather than lash out.

“I think he’s a great guy and I think he likes me too” said Trump.

Trump later added: “And you know, it doesn’t matter if you love me.”

This is a ridiculous comment. Trump has rregularly accepted His perspective on people depends on whether they like him or not.

But when it comes to taking the next step and offering loyalty, he tends to demand more from the people he considers it. must be loyal to him. And in that respect, Rogan may differ from others like Kelly and Carlson, who are much more committed to the conservative movement. Rogan comes from a much more apolitical world.

In the Oval Office on Saturday, Trump referred to Rogan as “a little more liberal than I am.”

Rogan’s criticism therefore presents a particularly problematic development for Trump. His audience is more apolitical than the likes of Kelly and Carlson. These are the kinds of people Trump recently brought into his coalition with Rogan’s help, and so Trump may fear they’re more likely to leave.

You can begin to understand why Trump is a little afraid of Rogan and why he feels obliged to do him a favor or two.

But it’s still remarkable that Trump actually feels he has to address someone that way.

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