Podcaster Joe Rogan said he publicly endorsed Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election because he strongly opposed Michigan Governor Tim Walz, branding the Democratic vice presidential nominee a “liar”.
Rogan said he had no intention of weighing in on politics because “it’s gross,” but felt compelled to after news reports emerged revealing Walz had lied about spending time in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square Protests and made confusing statements about his military record.
“This is so nuts. When that Tim Walz guy — it’s so nuts that guy was going to be the vice president,” Rogan said on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience in late November.
Podcaster Joe Rogan claimed he only publicly endorsed Donald Trump out of opposition to Tim Walz (The Joe Rogan Experience / Spotify)
“You’re telling me this whole thing is fake then. You’re telling me that you don’t care if someone is a liar? You don’t care if they lie about their military rank, where they served, you don’t care if they lie about being an assistant, you don’t care if they lie about Tiananmen Square,” Rogan added.
During the campaign, Walz’s record was put under a microscope by the media after it was revealed he was not in Hong Kong during the Tiananmen Square Protests – despite his assertion that he was there.
Later, Walz admitted he “misspoke” about the timeline of his experience in Hong Kong.
But Republicans also accused Walz of “stolen valor” for exaggerating about his time in the Army National Guard and ranking. However, this is inaccurate.
Walz served in the Army National Guard for 24 years and rose to the level of command sergeant major. He retired in 2005, before his unit would have been deployed to Iraq, but did not retire as a command sergeant major because he did not complete the required coursework. But the National Guard has affirmed it is accurate for Walz to state he served at that rank.
Though Walz did not serve in combat, his unit was deployed for disaster relief assistance and provided security assistance at the European U.S. Air Force bases.
Despite this, Rogan claimed there were “too many things” about Walz’s misrepresentations, which led him to endorse Trump on the eve of Election Day.
Rogan made no mention of the multiple inaccuracies or false claims Trump has made throughout his career – including his widespread lie about mass voter fraud during the 2020 election that ultimately led to a mob of angry supporters violently storming the Capitol.
One Washington Post analysis claimed Trump lied more than 30,000 during his four years in office from 2016 to 2021.
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump lied about immigration and migrants being sent from prisons and “mental institutions” from other countries to commit mass violent crimes in the United States. He lied about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio eating cats and dogs during the presidential debate. These lies ultimately helped him win over voters.
