Has Trump Lost the Internet?

Joe Rogan, host of the world’s most listened-to podcast, openly mocked the former president’s September debate performance while crowning the star turn of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

“She’s nailing it,” exclaimed Rogan in response to Harris’s campaign and debate performance. “Whoever’s helping her, whoever’s coaching her, whoever is the puppet master running the strings; f–king amazing job.”

Rogan repeatedly teased Trump in the Don’s signature accent during his interview with comedian Tom Segura before comparing Harris’s baiting of Trump in the ABC debate to mastering the art of Jiu Jitsu. 

“She was like, ‘If you go to his rallies, his crowds are boring, they’re tired, they’re all leaving early,’ and he’s like, ‘My crowd’s are the best crowds, I have the number 1 crowds.’ He couldn’t help himself!”

Rogan, as he has done for the past several years, downplayed left-wing fantasies about Trump being a dictator and highlighted Trump’s success in guiding the American economy during his one term in office. 

“He actually was the president for four years, and the economy really did well,” Rogan told Segura. “He really did try to cut some of the bullsh-t down that’s going on in this country. Who knows what would have happened if he had four more years.” 

But Rogan’s support for the former president ended there. When tasked with discussing Trump’s performance in 2024, Rogan continued to hammer on the weaknesses of his campaign. 

“I know he’s doing mock debates but someone needs to tell him—you’ve got these tiny little windows and you should have all the words ready for those windows,” Rogan remarked. “There should be no repeating things.”

The former Fear Factor host bluntly stated that Harris was “better prepared” for last Tuesday’s debate which was widely characterized as a surprise Harris victory by most outside MAGA’s ardent faithful.

“The difference in that debate was not ‘who has better policies’ or ‘who’s gonna be better for the country,’” Rogan stated. “The difference in the debate was who was better prepared. She was way better prepared. Even when it came to tough questions, instead of answering she’d just say things she believes and it sounded really good.”

Spotify’s $100 million man has continually dodged attempts by Trump to appear on his platform. According to the UFC’s top commentator, Trump has reached out numerous times in an attempt to reach Rogan’s much-desired audience of young males but Rogan has repeatedly turned him away. 

“I’m not a Trump supporter in any way, shape or form,” Rogan recently told the podcaster Lex Fridman. “I’ve had the opportunity to have him on my show more than once—I’ve said no, every time. I don’t want to help him. I’m not interested in helping him.”

Despite Rogan’s comments and his relentless criticism of Trump’s debate performance, suggestions on 𝕏 Tuesday that Rogan had become a “Kamala fanboy” appear to be exaggerated. In episode #2200 of his Joe Rogan Experience, which premiered this August, Rogan expressed his strong opposition to Harris’s stance of censoring free speech on social media. 

“She’s saying she wants government oversight and regulation for social media,” Rogan said. “That’s crazy.” 

Over the course of more than 2000 episodes, Rogan has interviewed a slew of bipartisan political figures such as Bernie Sanders, Dan Crenshaw, Wesley Hunt, Tulsi Gabbard, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

Speaking with Segura, Rogan praised the Kennedy scion who ditched his independent presidential bid to support Trump in August. “If Trump winds up winning, they’re gonna expose our food systems,” Rogan said in praise of Kennedy and Trump’s pledge to “Make America Healthy Again.”

The viral clips of Rogan’s critique will surely frustrate Trump who has overtly attempted, to varying degrees of success, to reach a younger demographic of voters as he seeks another term in the Oval Office. In interviews with Adin Ross, Lex Fridman, the Nelk Boys, the golfer Bryson DeChambeau, and other social-media influencers, Trump has attempted to bridge the age gap with new voters who were non-voting, young adults when Trump first won Pennsylvania Avenue in 2016.

Trump has fairly won plaudits for his ability to connect, sincerely, with this cadre of celebrities and talkers. But there have been missteps as well.

In a scene reminiscent to Trump’s mispronunciation of the name of rapper “Lil Pump” at a campaign event in 2020, the former president last weekend misgendered Puerto Rican reggaeton artist Nicky Jam during his rally in Las Vegas.

Jam deleted his endorsement of the president within 24 hours after Trump said the musician was a “hot woman” moments before the male artist walked on stage. It was just the latest Zoomer faux pax committed by the 78-year-old who is desperate to reach the all-important youth voter base. 

Earlier this week, Trump posted “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT” on his struggling Truth Social platform after the pop star and global icon endorsed Harris for president. Swift’s endorsement of Harris was expected but it was Trump’s hateful rhetoric that made international waves in the news. 

Even the Trump fan Brittany Mahomes, who ironically is close friends with Swift, and who was shouted out by Trump only weeks ago, said she was “deeply disturbed” by Trump’s venom toward Swift and is now “rethinking” her support of the former president. All the Adin Ross and Lex Fridman interviews in the world can’t move popular opinion quite like a single tweet from the self-described “Catlady” of pop—and Trump knows it. 

Rogan’s mockery is unlikely to sway the election, but it does signal a major shift in the 2024 election cycle that has seen Trump go from being characterized as a dangerous strongman to that of a laughingstock who poses no actionable threat to the industrial order that runs Washington, DC. In his debate rant about pets “being eaten” in Ohio, America saw not the iron fist of a fixed man but the crazed ravings of an aging shadow who may believe just about anything Laura Loomer tells him. 

If Rogan, who is often snapped smiling with Trump at UFC events, can see the writing on the wall, who can’t?