Joe Rogan argued that the establishment media that once was friendly to President-elect Donald Trump has since been engaged in a years-long "psy-op" to convince Americans he is dangerous.
"The Joe Rogan Experience" is one of the world’s most popular podcasts, and Rogan is seen as having been one of the key players in the 2024 election, for interviewing Trump and then endorsing his bid for the presidency in the 11th hour. The podcaster has since mocked the media for losing their credibility with voters and alienating lifelong liberals like himself.
On Thursday's episode, with comedians Shane Gillis, Mark Normans, and Ari Shaffir, Rogan recalled how friendly people in entertainment and the media once were to Trump, playing clips from his 2012 appearance on "The View" where he was cheered, as well as when he went on Oprah in and she asked him about running for president.
Since then, "The View" has become a frequent source for apocalyptic takes about Trump, and Oprah shredded him while campaigning with Vice President Kamala Harris. Rogan argued that the abrupt shift in tone toward Trump has been shocking in retrospect, "What we saw is the greatest media psy-op in history."
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The podcast host continued to hammer legacy media.
"What you’re seeing with Trump, regardless of his flaws, is a massive concentrated psy-op," Rogan said. "They’ve distorted who he is to the point where most people think that way. Most people think that way. They’ve had narratives."
"What is a psy-op? I keep hearing that," Normand said.
"Psychological operation," Rogan explained. "Where they’ve decided to distort people’s perceptions of things."
Shaffir replied that older liberals are shocked to hear that former President Obama oversaw more deportations than Trump. "They go, ‘That doesn’t make sense.’ And you go, ‘Right, focus on what’s giving you the reality of the world,’" he said.
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Rogan then turned to his producer, Jamie, and asked him to show a "wild" quote from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from 2008 where she was "saying some wild MAGA-type s---" about "illegal immigrants."
Clinton could be heard in the recording declaring, "I think we got to have tough conditions. Tell people to come out of the shadows. If they’ve committed a crime, deport them, no questions asked."
"She’s a Republican," Shaffir joked.
In the recording, Clinton continued, "If they’ve been working and are law-abiding, we should say, ‘Here are the conditions for you staying. You have to pay a stiff fine because you came here illegally. You have to pay back taxes and you have to try to learn English. And you have to wait in line.’"
The guests expressed their shock at Clinton’s past comments.
"’You have to wait in line,’ And everybody’s cheering," Rogan said. "2008. Hillary Clinton was more MAGA than Trump. But how about that? More MAGA than Trump. It’s all a f---ing illusion. It’s all a f---ing illusion. All of them, when convenient, have said the exact same things."
Rogan argued that this election shows that the tide has turned, however.
"They had control of the media up until now. This election was the first time they didn’t really have control of the media anymore," Rogan argued.
When asked why this is, the podcaster replied, "Because of us, because of podcasts. Because of social media, because of X."
