Podcast megastar Joe Rogan hit the headlines on Thursday, August 8, when Newsweek reported that he had officially endorsed independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for president. The story cited comments made by Rogan during an episode of his podcast in which he described his overall support for the candidate.
“I am a fan. He’s the only one to make sense to me,” Rogan said. “He’s the only one that doesn’t attack people. He attacks actions and ideas, but he’s much more reasonable and intelligent.”
It’s not the first time that Rogan has said something positive about Kennedy, but Newsweek was among the first outlets to explicitly state that Rogan was endorsing Kennedy.
During the same episode of his podcast, Rogan said that Republicans and Democrats are both guilty of perverting democracy, stating, “that’s just what they do.”
“They gaslight you, they manipulate you, they promote narratives, and the only one who is not doing that is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,” he also said.
Did He Actually Endorse Kennedy?
Well, Newsweek and others may be getting ahead of themselves a little here. The first thing we have to understand is that news outlets – yes, that includes us – are always looking for new ways to attract the attention of readers. We believe in being completely transparent with our readers, which is why we always provide you withal the facts – and if we question something, we’ll let you know.
With that in mind, it’s fair to say that Newsweek was a little quick to call Rogan’s comments an “endorsement” – and that while it’s clear Rogan is a fan of Kennedy, he didn’t explicitly state that he “endorses” him. In politics, it’s typically expected that a high-profile individual will use the exact phrase “I endorse” to offer their full support to a candidate. That might then be followed up by appearances at rallies and other ways of assisting their campaign. But Rogan didn’t use those exact words, and he isn’t using his platform to campaign for Kennedy. In fact, Rogan has said in the past that he believes he shouldn’t use his enormous platform for political reasons.
While Rogan has repeatedly said that he doesn’t believe he is the kind of person who should be endorsing political candidates because he believes the responsibility of influencing people’s political decisions is far too complex and consequential, he has repeatedly expressed his support for Kennedy. So Newsweek’s report is by no means real news. Way back in April Rogan hit the headlines when he said that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a great person” and that he would vote for him if he is on the ballot come November.
“The real problem is people that want that job [as a politician] shouldn’t have that job. There is a rare few. I think RFK is a great person; I would vote for him. I think Tulsi Gabbard is a great person; I would vote for her,” Rogan said during an interview with comedian Francis Foster. “There’s people I think that are running for office, and they’re legitimately trying to do well for the world. They’re trying to make a better place. They think they have ideas that would sort out some of the problems that we have, and they’re one of us. That’s real.”
It’s clear that Rogan supports Kennedy, and it’s also clear that he is likely to vote for him if he ends up on the ballot in his state – but it’s hard to say at this stage that he is officially “endorsing” the candidate. Rogan has not, after all, encouraged others to turn out for the candidate, nor has he appeared at any of Kennedy’s rallies or campaign events. There have been plenty of opportunities for Rogan to do something with the Kennedy campaign, too – and if this really was an endorsement, the Kennedy campaign would have almost certainly jumped at the opportunity to leverage that endorsement into more support.
Throughout his campaign, Kennedy has hosted a series of comedy nights across the country. Big stars like Rob Schneider have headlined the events, but the most notable absence has been…Joe Rogan. Don’t forget that before Rogan made it big as a podcaster, he made a living as a TV host and comedian. And he still does comedy! So if this were really the kind of endorsement the media wants us to think it is, then surely he would have been at those events, right?
That’s not to downplay the entire thing, of course. Rogan does support Kennedy, and in the sense that he wants him to win the presidency, he likely wants his listeners to do the same – but as it stands, the only people treating this as a proper endorsement are Team Kennedy and the media.
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday, Kennedy himself thanked Rogan for his support.
“From one ‘legitimate’ guy to another, thank you @JoeRogan for always putting substance first,” Kennedy wrote.
“This election is not about left vs. right. It’s about Americans of goodwill coming together to end the tyranny of corruption in our system – so that we once again have a government and economy that works for all people. Let’s do this,” he added.
Kennedy-backing accounts were also quick to share the story, along with photographs of Kennedy and Rogan together in his podcast studio.
“BREAKING NEWS: The most popular podcaster on the planet has just endorsed @RobertKennedyJr for president! Thank you, @joerogan,” the RFK Jr for President fan page also wrote.
It’s good news for Kennedy, anyway, but it comes at a time when his entire candidacy is at risk. The independent presidential candidate is currently fighting a lawsuit initiated by a Democrat-aligned PAC that alleges he lied when registering as a New York voter. The outcome of the case could determine not just whether Kennedy appears on the ballot in New York, but whether he can appear on other ballots across the country.
