Joe Rogan said on July 8 that Donald Trump may have “f—ed it up” by going to war with Iran, putting his latest criticism of the president in the middle of a live conflict debate. He made the remarks on The Joe Rogan Experience while hosting Rupert Lowe.
July 8 On The Joe Rogan Experience
“We might’ve f—ed it up by going to Iran,” Rogan said on Wednesday, adding, “I mean, this war is not something anybody that’s conservative wanted.” He went further: “Most people don’t want it, except supporters of Israel,” and “They’re the only people that seem to be thinking it’s a good idea in this country.”
Rogan also said, “Most people are horrified by the idea because Trump was elected,” then tied the criticism to the campaign promise he says many listeners expected from Trump: “One of the pillars that he stood for apparently was that he doesn’t want any more wars.” That is the line Rogan chose to draw between the president’s earlier messaging and the war now under discussion.
Ceasefire Ends, Strikes Resume
The comments landed on Wednesday as the United States and Iran resumed strikes after an almost three-week ceasefire. That timing makes the exchange less like a detached podcast aside and more like a reaction to a conflict that had already moved back into an active phase by the time Rogan spoke.
In February, the war with Iran started more than four months before the July 8 comments. By June, Rogan was already pressing another Trump-adjacent issue, saying ICE officers’ tactics were setting a “dangerous precedent” and warning that “we’re opening the door for militarized police on our city streets.”
Rogan’s Trump Split
Rogan has not been uniformly hostile to Trump. He recently praised Trump’s UFC “Freedom 250” at the White House, calling it “so America” and “so Trump” after first dismissing it. He has also openly denounced Trump’s handling of the files on Jeffrey Epstein and Trump’s comments against Rob Reiner.
That back-and-forth is part of why this latest turn matters to listeners who track Rogan as more than a culture-war amplifier. Forbes says The Joe Rogan Experience draws about 11 million listeners and downloads per episode and ranks as Spotify’s top global podcast and the No. 1 podcast on Apple Podcasts, so a shift in his Trump commentary reaches a large and politically mixed audience.
What comes next is the response Rogan’s criticism draws from Trump’s circle, because Rogan has already shown he will praise Trump in one week and cut him down in the next. For now, the sharper question is the one he left hanging: what specific decision by Trump made him think the war with Iran had been “f—ed” up?
