Joe Rogan's Admiration for Elon Musk Is Upsetting His Fans
The leading podcaster globally once avoided political topics. However, with Musk's involvement in government, he has adopted a new perspective.
TroibNews 
Joe Rogan significantly aided Donald Trump in making historic strides with young, often politically indifferent men during the November election, illustrating how a non-political podcaster with a vast audience can still sway political dynamics.
Since then, however, “The Joe Rogan Experience” has shifted its focus, pivoting away from Rogan’s staple topics of comedy and unusual science. He has increasingly concentrated on defending one key political figure from Trump’s administration: Elon Musk.
This shift has not sat well with a vocal faction of Rogan’s fanbase.
Rogan’s newfound alliance with Musk, who has quickly become instrumental in initiating major changes within the early weeks of the new administration, has stirred unrest in the online communities where his fans—who are accustomed to a more diverse and less overtly pro-administration podcast—connect.
A subreddit boasting 1.5 million subscribers who discuss Rogan’s podcast and related topics has recently been flooded with memes and posts criticizing Musk, the Trump administration, and Rogan’s unabashed defenses of the Musk-led initiative, DOGE, aimed at reducing federal expenditure.
A glance through the comments reveals sentiments like “Joe and his anti-elite billionaire friends are becoming the swamp they’ve always hated,” and “Joe is state-run propagandist media. Very nice.” Another commenter notes, “I seriously can’t even listen to him anymore. It sucks so much man. I really loved this show.”
Podcasters, including Rogan, are accustomed to receiving backlash on social media, even from loyal listeners. Reddit users, in particular, may not fully represent the broader audience—this subreddit leans more politically liberal than Rogan's average fan and has voiced complaints about him for years. However, the scale, intensity, and nature of this recent wave of frustration stand out. The previous light-hearted banter has been replaced by a clear discontent regarding perceptions of Rogan betraying his original audience. His overt allegiance to Musk is testing the limits of his credibility and appeal.
As Musk collaborates directly with the Trump administration, Rogan risks coming off like a conventional political podcaster defending his political allies. His longstanding message to listeners—distrust those in power—now rebounds onto him. Although explicit evidence of this shift impacting his audience size is scarce, Rogan's enthusiasm for Musk might lead to a transformation of his show, ultimately undermining his role as a powerful political commentator.
“There’s an essential appeal to independence, and fair-mindedness, and anti-system, anti-establishment politics,” says Max Read, a journalist focused on internet culture and the tech sector who writes a newsletter called Read Max. “Then that gets scrambled, and all of a sudden [Rogan] finds himself defending the establishment.”
Recently on his show, Rogan stated that “[Musk] is a super genius that’s been fucked with. And when you’ve been fucked with by these nitwits that hide behind three letter agencies and you’re dealing with one of the smartest people alive … well, you fucked up. You fucked up and you picked the wrong psychopath on the spectrum, because he’s going to hunt you down. He’s going to find out what’s going on. And that’s good. That’s good for everybody.”
Rogan attempts to frame both himself and Musk as outsiders, two apolitical individuals interested in fighting corruption. Yet, he also appears to be providing basic political cover for Musk. Following Musk’s gestures at the inauguration that drew parallels to a Nazi salute, Rogan asked his guest, comedian Bridget Phetasy, whether she had seen a similar video featuring Kamala Harris, which Trump and Musk supporters circulated online. Phetasy suggested Musk's “autism” might be a factor as well.
The Musk-centric discussions have permeated almost all the segments of Rogan's podcasts, with Musk mentioned by name in 12 out of the 14 episodes released since the inauguration. In the other two episodes, Trump and the new administration were still discussed. Musk has been a guest on “The Joe Rogan Experience” five times, and Rogan has regularly expressed his admiration for the CEO. Nonetheless, Rogan’s frequent and vociferous defense of Musk—along with the political narratives now intertwined with that defense—has become conspicuously more prominent.
Before the election, Trump’s appearances on podcasts like Rogan’s, which generally focus on lifestyle or comedy, were effective in reaching audiences that claimed indifference toward politics. For many, listening to Rogan—whose show’s metrics surpassed all other podcasts on Spotify, according to data released by the platform in 2024—offered a way to disengage from conventional news. Rogan earned his audience's trust as a commentator who maintained a distance from both political parties while still endorsing Trump.
His political views never perfectly aligned with either major party; rather, they expressed a deep-seated skepticism toward government systems and overreach, which even led him to endorse Bernie Sanders in the 2020 Democratic primary.
Now, though, Rogan’s fixation on Musk and Trump appears to permeate the entirety of his podcast episodes.
“It’s no coincidence that Musk himself is trying as hard as he can to continue to cast himself as not part of the government, working against the government somehow, because he knows there’s a huge amount of power in that kind of anti-system, anti-establishment politics,” Read observes. “But it’s increasingly difficult for him to make those claims. And I think Rogan, to the extent that he wants to keep defending Musk, faces the same dilemma … I wonder if the politics are becoming too much, and this is alienating a number of listeners for whom that is not, and has never really been, the attraction.”
Social media discussions about Rogan reflect this sense of alienation. Other popular comments on recent Rogan episodes on Reddit include, “I really miss the old Joe, he’s a cuck now,” and “Old Rogan fans know that this podcast has essentially become a right wing talk show now.”
Kyle Kulinski, a progressive populist commentator who has appeared on Rogan’s show six times, recently spoofed him on X and YouTube, mimicking Rogan in a sing-song tone: “Oh, my puny brain could never live up to the amazing big brain of Elon Musk, oh, he’s such a mega-genius, I don’t even feel human when I’m near him because he’s just so smart.”
Rogan’s representatives did not respond to a request for comment.
While some of Rogan’s podcasts still retain a non-political nature, many listeners have embraced his shift toward Trump and Musk. Positive comments on YouTube often commend Rogan for helping to “expose corruption” and refer to him as a “hero.” However, these expressions differ significantly from past comments celebrating interesting content or humorous exchanges. They predominantly reflect support from fellow Trump and Musk enthusiasts expressing gratitude.
Many fans simply yearn for the pre-Musk-focused Rogan. “I miss laughing in my car or actually learning something interesting with JRE,” a former fan lamented. “Everything is right-wing politics now. This pod sucks.”
Jamie Cohen, a professor at CUNY Queens College who studies and writes about digital culture, believes Rogan has become infatuated with Elon Musk, while his average listener likely does not think about Musk frequently.
“That’s where the problem comes from,” Cohen asserts. “[Musk] is a provocateur. The average person doesn’t have much time for that, except for the viral clips that come out of it. And being overloaded with that is exhausting.”
Allen M Lee contributed to this report for TROIB News
Since then, however, “The Joe Rogan Experience” has shifted its focus, pivoting away from Rogan’s staple topics of comedy and unusual science. He has increasingly concentrated on defending one key political figure from Trump’s administration: Elon Musk.
This shift has not sat well with a vocal faction of Rogan’s fanbase.
Rogan’s newfound alliance with Musk, who has quickly become instrumental in initiating major changes within the early weeks of the new administration, has stirred unrest in the online communities where his fans—who are accustomed to a more diverse and less overtly pro-administration podcast—connect.
A subreddit boasting 1.5 million subscribers who discuss Rogan’s podcast and related topics has recently been flooded with memes and posts criticizing Musk, the Trump administration, and Rogan’s unabashed defenses of the Musk-led initiative, DOGE, aimed at reducing federal expenditure.
A glance through the comments reveals sentiments like “Joe and his anti-elite billionaire friends are becoming the swamp they’ve always hated,” and “Joe is state-run propagandist media. Very nice.” Another commenter notes, “I seriously can’t even listen to him anymore. It sucks so much man. I really loved this show.”
Podcasters, including Rogan, are accustomed to receiving backlash on social media, even from loyal listeners. Reddit users, in particular, may not fully represent the broader audience—this subreddit leans more politically liberal than Rogan's average fan and has voiced complaints about him for years. However, the scale, intensity, and nature of this recent wave of frustration stand out. The previous light-hearted banter has been replaced by a clear discontent regarding perceptions of Rogan betraying his original audience. His overt allegiance to Musk is testing the limits of his credibility and appeal.
As Musk collaborates directly with the Trump administration, Rogan risks coming off like a conventional political podcaster defending his political allies. His longstanding message to listeners—distrust those in power—now rebounds onto him. Although explicit evidence of this shift impacting his audience size is scarce, Rogan's enthusiasm for Musk might lead to a transformation of his show, ultimately undermining his role as a powerful political commentator.
“There’s an essential appeal to independence, and fair-mindedness, and anti-system, anti-establishment politics,” says Max Read, a journalist focused on internet culture and the tech sector who writes a newsletter called Read Max. “Then that gets scrambled, and all of a sudden [Rogan] finds himself defending the establishment.”
Recently on his show, Rogan stated that “[Musk] is a super genius that’s been fucked with. And when you’ve been fucked with by these nitwits that hide behind three letter agencies and you’re dealing with one of the smartest people alive … well, you fucked up. You fucked up and you picked the wrong psychopath on the spectrum, because he’s going to hunt you down. He’s going to find out what’s going on. And that’s good. That’s good for everybody.”
Rogan attempts to frame both himself and Musk as outsiders, two apolitical individuals interested in fighting corruption. Yet, he also appears to be providing basic political cover for Musk. Following Musk’s gestures at the inauguration that drew parallels to a Nazi salute, Rogan asked his guest, comedian Bridget Phetasy, whether she had seen a similar video featuring Kamala Harris, which Trump and Musk supporters circulated online. Phetasy suggested Musk's “autism” might be a factor as well.
The Musk-centric discussions have permeated almost all the segments of Rogan's podcasts, with Musk mentioned by name in 12 out of the 14 episodes released since the inauguration. In the other two episodes, Trump and the new administration were still discussed. Musk has been a guest on “The Joe Rogan Experience” five times, and Rogan has regularly expressed his admiration for the CEO. Nonetheless, Rogan’s frequent and vociferous defense of Musk—along with the political narratives now intertwined with that defense—has become conspicuously more prominent.
Before the election, Trump’s appearances on podcasts like Rogan’s, which generally focus on lifestyle or comedy, were effective in reaching audiences that claimed indifference toward politics. For many, listening to Rogan—whose show’s metrics surpassed all other podcasts on Spotify, according to data released by the platform in 2024—offered a way to disengage from conventional news. Rogan earned his audience's trust as a commentator who maintained a distance from both political parties while still endorsing Trump.
His political views never perfectly aligned with either major party; rather, they expressed a deep-seated skepticism toward government systems and overreach, which even led him to endorse Bernie Sanders in the 2020 Democratic primary.
Now, though, Rogan’s fixation on Musk and Trump appears to permeate the entirety of his podcast episodes.
“It’s no coincidence that Musk himself is trying as hard as he can to continue to cast himself as not part of the government, working against the government somehow, because he knows there’s a huge amount of power in that kind of anti-system, anti-establishment politics,” Read observes. “But it’s increasingly difficult for him to make those claims. And I think Rogan, to the extent that he wants to keep defending Musk, faces the same dilemma … I wonder if the politics are becoming too much, and this is alienating a number of listeners for whom that is not, and has never really been, the attraction.”
Social media discussions about Rogan reflect this sense of alienation. Other popular comments on recent Rogan episodes on Reddit include, “I really miss the old Joe, he’s a cuck now,” and “Old Rogan fans know that this podcast has essentially become a right wing talk show now.”
Kyle Kulinski, a progressive populist commentator who has appeared on Rogan’s show six times, recently spoofed him on X and YouTube, mimicking Rogan in a sing-song tone: “Oh, my puny brain could never live up to the amazing big brain of Elon Musk, oh, he’s such a mega-genius, I don’t even feel human when I’m near him because he’s just so smart.”
Rogan’s representatives did not respond to a request for comment.
While some of Rogan’s podcasts still retain a non-political nature, many listeners have embraced his shift toward Trump and Musk. Positive comments on YouTube often commend Rogan for helping to “expose corruption” and refer to him as a “hero.” However, these expressions differ significantly from past comments celebrating interesting content or humorous exchanges. They predominantly reflect support from fellow Trump and Musk enthusiasts expressing gratitude.
Many fans simply yearn for the pre-Musk-focused Rogan. “I miss laughing in my car or actually learning something interesting with JRE,” a former fan lamented. “Everything is right-wing politics now. This pod sucks.”
Jamie Cohen, a professor at CUNY Queens College who studies and writes about digital culture, believes Rogan has become infatuated with Elon Musk, while his average listener likely does not think about Musk frequently.
“That’s where the problem comes from,” Cohen asserts. “[Musk] is a provocateur. The average person doesn’t have much time for that, except for the viral clips that come out of it. And being overloaded with that is exhausting.”
Allen M Lee contributed to this report for TROIB News
