Trump facing a 'watershed moment' as split with Rogan threatens his presidency: report
The same outsized influence that popular podcaster Joe Rogan had in helping Donald Trump get re-elected in 2024 could cripple the president's last three years in office, now that he seems to have turned on the president.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Rogan's recent comments opposing the administration's immigration enforcement policies represent a "watershed moment" that could intensify public opposition to Trump.
Days after an ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good, Rogan questioned the immigration enforcement tactics: "Are we really going to be the Gestapo? 'Where's your papers?' Is that what we've come to?" Observers compare his intervention to Walter Cronkite's famous declaration that the Vietnam War was unwinnable, suggesting Rogan may be ahead of shifting public sentiment.
Lee Drutman, senior fellow at the New America think tank, emphasized Rogan's reach: "He has a huge audience, and a lot of people listen to him, both directly and indirectly. So when he says 'enough with this ICE brutality!' he is clarifying an uncertain and possibly ambiguous moment for many people, and coming down firmly on the side of civil liberties."
Pollster and Fox News analyst Doug Shoen concurred, characterizing Rogan as "the weathervane." He noted, "The killing of Good could well be an inflection point in public opinion."
Rogan's discontent with the administration extends beyond immigration enforcement. According to Wall Street Journal reporters Joshua Chaffin and Katherine Sayre, he has previously questioned the military operation to remove Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, objected to renaming the Kennedy Center, accused the Trump administration of "gaslighting" the public regarding the Jeffrey Epstein files, and criticized Trump for mocking Hollywood producer Rob Reiner following his death.
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