It’s not every day that one of President Donald Trump’s most vocal 2024 boosters turns the spotlight on what he sees as a serious misstep in the administration’s agenda.

But that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday when comedian and podcaster Joe Rogan used his platform—the hugely popular Joe Rogan Experience—to question the White House’s aggressive immigration tactics, particularly the deployment of National Guard troops to U.S. cities.

Rogan, who endorsed Trump just days before last November’s election and credited with helping rally young male voters, didn’t hold back. “The military in the street, I think, is a dangerous precedent,” he said during a conversation with fellow comedian Bryan Callen.

The FrankNez Media Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.

Rogan’s comments come amid a wave of federal actions aimed at mass deportations, a cornerstone promise from Trump’s campaign that has now sparked unease even among some of his staunchest supporters, including MAGA firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The podcaster, known for his eclectic mix of UFC commentary, conspiracy deep dives, and unfiltered political takes, has long advocated for stronger border security.

Back in the lead-up to the election, he praised Trump’s focus on what he called a “wide open” border, arguing it was one of the reasons voters backed the Republican in a landslide victory.

But on his latest episode, Rogan drew a sharp line between enforcement and what he views as overreach.

“But does that mean that you support everything that they’re doing now, where they’re kicking people out? No! No. The storming into the f—ing Home Depot and arresting people? No, that’s not cool either,” he told Callen.

Rogan Says America’s ICE Raids Are “Horrific”

This isn’t Rogan’s first brush with critiquing the administration’s immigration playbook since Trump took office for his second term.

Earlier this month, he described Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids as looking “horrific,” recounting scenes of longtime residents being separated from their families.

“Everybody who has a heart sees that and goes, ‘That can’t be right,’” Rogan said, emphasizing that his support for deportations was always targeted at criminals, not everyday workers.

He doubled down on Wednesday, calling for “a balance to be had here” and suggesting pathways to legal status for undocumented immigrants who’ve been productive members of society—paying taxes, raising families, and steering clear of trouble.

This is a sentiment most Republicans in California have.

An LA Times and UC Berkely IGS poll that paints a picture of how Americans in California feel about immigration policies that intrude in daily life activities.

47% of Republicans disagreed with the statement that “ICE agents should expand immigration enforcement into schools, hospitals, parks and other public locations.”

A July 2025 Gallup poll also found that 59% of Republicans support a path to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally.

This means nearly half of Republicans do not want ICE interference in daily lives, and more than half of Republicans support illegal immigrants the right to a path to citizenship.

Big Cities Like Los Angeles and Chicago Take a Hit

The backdrop to Rogan’s remarks is “Operation Midway Blitz,” the Trump administration’s high-profile push to ramp up deportations in Democratic strongholds like Chicago and Los Angeles.

In Chicago alone, hundreds of National Guard troops have been authorized to assist ICE agents in what the White House describes as a dual effort to enforce immigration laws and curb urban crime.

Demonstrators have gathered outside detention facilities in places like Broadview, Illinois, protesting what they call heavy-handed tactics that echo the unrest of 2020 but with a sharper focus on migrant communities.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson defended the moves in a statement earlier this month, framing them as necessary amid “ongoing violent riots and lawlessness that local leaders like Illinois Governor Pritzker have refused to step in to quell.”

She added that President Trump “will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities” and expects court vindication.

Trending

Treasury Now Says Shutdown is Costing US Economy $15bn Daily

Why Joe Rogan’s Thoughts on The Matter Carry Weight

Rogan’s pivot adds to a growing chorus of discomfort from unexpected quarters. Polling between the 2024 election and Trump’s inauguration—conducted by outlets like CNN, the New York Times, and Reuters—showed that nearly half of Americans (48%) viewed the incoming administration’s early actions as “worse than expected,” with only about one in five saying they were better.

Rogan himself admitted surprise at the scope of the crackdown. “I really thought they were just going to go after the criminals,” he said last week, a sentiment echoed in analyses suggesting that even casual observers are only now grappling with the full extent of Trump’s promises made good.

This tension traces back further, to the spring when Rogan’s early enthusiasm began to fray. In April, he reacted sharply to reports of gang members being rounded up and shipped to El Salvador without due process, calling it “dangerous” on his show.

Trump addressed the criticism head-on in an ABC News interview marking his first 100 days, acknowledging Rogan’s point but pushing back. “Listen. I was elected to take care of a problem that was—a unforced error that was made by a very incompetent man,” the president said, referring to former President Joe Biden.

He argued that due process standards differ for those in the country illegally, a stance that didn’t fully assuage Rogan or others.

By summer, the podcaster’s critiques sharpened. He labeled ICE raids on construction sites and gardens “insane,” targeting not cartel operatives but “just construction workers” and “gardeners.”

In one episode, Rogan vented about the deportation of over 200 Venezuelan migrants in March—many not linked to the Tren de Aragua gang, despite White House claims—calling the scenes “horrific” and warning it was ruining the very cause he once championed.

He even highlighted a specific case: a “gay barber” mistakenly deported based on tattoos, urging the administration to “exercise greater caution” before upending lives.

Rogan’s demeaner suggests what many Americans are thinking — the White House has gotten out of control.

The FrankNez Media Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.

The Political Fallout Grows Across the Spectrum

Rogan isn’t alone in this brooder’s remorse among the influencer crowd that propelled Trump to victory.

Podcasters like Theo Von and Tim Dillon, who also platformed the candidate during the campaign, have voiced similar regrets over the militarized approach, with some lamenting they “really really wish I never got into politics.”

Trump’s team courted these voices aggressively—think three-hour sits with Rogan in October 2024, Cybertruck hangouts with streamers like Adin Ross, and chats with the Nelk Boys—betting on their sway with low-propensity male voters.

It paid off: Trump flipped the gender gap wide open, winning men 53% to 37% in final USA Today/Suffolk polls.

But now, as the “No Kings” protests gear up for this weekend, that coalition shows cracks.

For Rogan, who once joked post-election that “voting works” only because Trump won—hinting at lingering 2020 skepticism—these moments feel like a reckoning.

His show, the top podcast on Spotify with millions of weekly listeners (mostly men under 35), amplified Trump’s unscripted charm during that marathon 2024 interview, where the then-candidate mused on everything from election fraud claims to replacing income taxes with tariffs.

Yet Rogan’s heterodox streak—backing Bernie Sanders in 2020’s Democratic primary, voting Libertarian that fall—has always made him a wildcard.

His pre-election nod to Trump, swayed by Elon Musk’s arguments, was careful: not a full-throated roar, but a nod to civility and intelligence in discourse.

As the dust settles on these deployments, Rogan’s call for conversation feels like a plea for course correction, and we’re for it.

Whether the administration listens—or if this signals a broader backlash—remains to be seen.

Also Read: Republicans Face Growing Backlash as Voters Blame Them for Govt. Shutdown

Contact | About | Home