Joe Rogan isn't letting go of Epstein — that's a problem for Trump
Epstein's name was mentioned more than 40 times on the most recent episode of 'The Joe Rogan Experience,' which consistently ranks as the most popular podcast in the United States.
The episode was another instance of Rogan, who endorsed Trump on the eve of last fall's election, heaping criticism on his Trump administration friends — and another indication that the conspiracy-coded Epstein controversy isn't fading away.
We are now entering week number four of this scandal engulfing President Trump, largely because the outrage is coming from within Trump's normally steadfast circle of conspiracy-minded media boosters.
And as arguably one of the most, if not the most influential of those figures, Rogan's criticism suggests Trump's headache will only grow from here.
Rogan criticized the FBI and Justice Department's case-closed memo from early July, asserting that the administration is trying to 'gaslight' everyone. He predicted that it would not work.
Referring to his own podcast conversation with FBI director Kash Patel last month, Rogan said Patel's responses about Epstein didn't make any sense.
'Then he's like, 'Well, we have a film, we're gonna release that film,' and the film has a f**king minute missing from it,' Rogan said, referring to a prison video that was meant to dispel theories about Epstein's 2019 death, which a medical examiner ruled a suicide.
'Like, do you think we're babies? Like, what is this?' Rogan asked aloud.
Rogan's guest, former CIA officer Mike Baker, said the government should 'release everything' — a pithy phrase that has gained popularity in MAGA media circles this month.
Government officials have pushed back on those demands by citing the explicit nature of the materials and concerns for the victims involved.
On the podcast, Baker expressed bafflement at the way Attorney General Pam Bondi teased further Epstein-related revelations, and then said that nothing more would be forthcoming.
'The mob wants to eat,' he said, 'and they've been throwing red meat to the mob about 'Epstein files' now for years.'
Rogan interjected, 'It's part of how they got elected.'
And now, Baker said, 'the mob is oddly bipartisan because it's got the Dems, too, referencing the Democratic leaders who have charged President Trump with a coverup.'
The Rogan conversation reflects the lingering questions about Epstein's crimes and his accomplices — questions that have been hyped by right-leaning podcast hosts and other media personalities for years.
On Sunday, CNN's Fareed Zakaria pointed out that when Patel visited Rogan last month, Patel claimed 'that he has now found a secret vault in the FBI full of dark secrets no one had ever seen. Forget about Epstein, they seemed to be saying; it turns out there are hundreds more conspiracy theories to dangle in front of the MAGA faithful.'
Patel's deputy, Dan Bongino, was roasted over the weekend for what might be dubbed 'dangling.' He wrote on X about FBI investigations that have 'shocked me down to my core. We cannot run a Republic like this. I'll never be the same after learning what I've learned.'
While some of the people in Bongino's replies seemed persuaded, and expressed enthusiasm to find out more, others accused him of pumping up another Epstein-style mystery that will never be satisfactorily solved.
'The country is not a reality TV show with cliffhangers and teasers,' AEI senior fellow Robert Pondiscio wrote on X. 'Either tell people what has 'shocked you to your core' or hold your tongue until you can. Anything else breeds suspicion, mistrust, and cynicism.'
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