When Joe Rogan explained his reluctance to have Donald Trump on his podcast: "I don't want to help anyone in this race"

Joe Rogan is one of MMA's most political figures, but previously refused to have former United States President Donald Trump as a guest on The Joe Rogan Experience. Back in 2021, he explained his stance on an episode of the Breaking Points podcast hosted by political commentators Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti.

Despite having multiple politicians on his podcast from a varied spectrum of parties and political positions, Rogan claimed that he would never welcome Trump onto his podcast, having turned down the request several times and for more than one reason.

"The problem is, it's a real problem in that I don't want anybody to be uncomfortable, and I don't think it's my role... If I'm talking to someone like him [Donald Trump], there are some uncomfortable things that have to be addressed."

Moreover, despite Rogan's interest in politics, he claimed that interviewing Trump was of no interest to him and that he only welcomes to his podcast those to whom he is eager to talk.

"I'm not interested in that. So, I don't care. I just like don't ever do things saying, 'This is going to be a big episode, this is going to be a lot of numbers.' I do things if I think someone's cool, if I'm interested in someone or I think what their position is is fascinating. With him it was like, I don't want to help anybody in this race. I certainly don't want to help him, and I certainly don't want to help [Joe] Biden."

Check out Joe Rogan's comments about turning down Donald Trump (57:50):

Whether Rogan will walk back on his position remains to be seen, but Trump isn't the only public figure that the UFC color commentator has turned down for an episode on his podcast. Brian Johnson, more popularly known as 'The Liver King,' was also turned away.

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Donald Trump recently hit out at Joe Rogan

This week, Donald Trump criticized Joe Rogan on Truth Social for the latter's praise of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent candidate in the 2024 United States presidential elections.

"It will be interesting to see how loudly Joe Rogan gets BOOED the next time he enters the UFC Ring??? MAGA2024"

Kennedy Jr., a former guest on Rogan's podcast, received high praise from the UFC commentator, which many interpreted as a political endorsement, especially after he criticized both the Democratic and Republican parties.

Following backlash from predominantly right-wing corners, Rogan addressed the criticism on X/Twitter.