Longtime UFC commentator Joe Rogan has long been candid about his support for Donald Trump, even going so far as to publicly back him in the 2024 presidential race. But Rogan now appears to be reversing course in a significant way, criticizing some of Trump’s recent behavior as “crazy” and “disappointing,” and accusing him of having “no empathy.”
Earlier this month, iconic filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, were discovered dead inside their Los Angeles home in what investigators believe to be a homicide.
The following day, Trump shared a lengthy and highly controversial post on social media, claiming Reiner and his wife were killed “due to the anger he caused others through … a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”
Rogan made it clear he was not impressed by the former president’s remarks.
During a recent Christmas Day episode of his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan directly criticized Trump’s post while talking with guest Shane Gillis.
“The Rob Reiner thing is not funny,” Rogan told podcast guest Shane Gillis. “When you see it with no empathy, that’s when it’s hard to like.”
Rogan said there was “there’s no justification” for Trump’s comments in any compassionate society and questioned how people would have reacted if a similar message had come from former President Barack Obama.
“It’s no different than people that were celebrating when Charlie Kirk got shot. It’s the same kind of thing,” Rogan said, adding, “Imagine if Obama tweeted something about someone after they died in this way. That this person was a deranged person that hated Obama.”
Rogan went on to characterize Trump’s way of thinking as “crazy.”
“It just shows you how crazy it is, the way Trump thinks and talks,” Rogan said on his podcast, alleging: “It’s just like, the guy got sliced up by his kid, you know? Anybody that doesn’t see that and go, ‘[expletive], man.’”
He also suggested that someone should have taken “his [freaking] phone” away.
“It’s so disappointing,” Rogan said. “It’s like, why? If you say that privately, that’s one thing, which is also crazy. But it’s so disappointing.”
Needless to say, Rogan’s comments led to a lot of reactions on social media.
“As if every other vile thing Trump has done isn’t disappointing?!” one person wrote in a post on X.
“Trump never will admit wrongdoing, guilt, or fault. For 75+ years he has told himself to always WIN. This will continue until his spirit leaves his shell,” another person wrote.
“I know a few some-what-older Trump supporters who were genuinely angry at how Trump attacked Rob Reiner & the words he chose, while he is a president. It was like they felt disgusted,” someone else wrote.
“Changed days, is the tide turning in America? Are you finally all seeing what the rest of the world sees?” another person added.
“I don’t, why be embarrassed about voting for him now? This is who he is. It’s always been,” someone else wrote.
All of this marks a notable departure from Rogan’s previous stance, considering he endorsed Trump in the 2024 election just over a year ago.
About Dave Kelsey
Bets on sports stuff.