By Nick Mordowanec

Copyright newsweek

Joe Rogan, the host of one of the most prominent podcasts in the world, said on Thursday’s show that he is not a Republican and that “the idea of some socialism is wonderful.”Why It MattersRogan’s voice has become one of the most influential in American politics because of his large listener base, which on YouTube alone exceeds 20.2 million subscribers. He’s had individuals across the political spectrum on his program, including President Donald Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. As of this week, his podcast was the most listened to on Spotify and No. 4 on Apple Podcasts.The comedian and actor has garnered his fair share of criticism over the years—including during the 2024 presidential election cycle when he had Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, on the program while an interview with the Democratic candidate, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, never came to fruition.What To KnowRogan interviewed comedian, actress and podcaster Jordan Jensen on Thursday’s episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. About an hour into the three-hour conversation, Rogan said, “I’m not even a Republican.”He said he voted for Trump because he was worried about Joe Biden’s presidency and how he “was not really a president for four years,” adding that the same people would run the government if Democrats won again in 2024.Jensen asked, “Weren’t you like a Bernie bro?” And Rogan replied in the affirmative.”I’ve only voted Republican once in my life,” Rogan said. While discussing his comedy club, he added. “The idea that you have to be a Republican to get into that club is so ridiculous. That club is filled with gay people, Black people, straight people, white people, Asian—nobody gives a f***. You’re just doing comedy.”After Rogan mentioned that he has had dinner with conservatives such as Tucker Carlson, Jensen again asked whether he was a “Bernie bro.””I am—look, I think the idea of socialism is wonderful if everybody had their s*** together and everybody was disciplined,” Rogan said. “But it’s not the case, and I think that human nature, unfortunately, you’re gonna need some socialism though, right? You’re gonna need the fire department.”He continued: “Like, this is one of the things that I point to all the time. People say, ‘Oh, socialism doesn’t work.’ The fire department is an entirely socialist idea. Like, we all pay into it, and they take care of everybody’s fire. Right? You can’t have only the rich people have a fire department. And the poor people, their f****** house burns down all the time. That’s crazy, right? We all agree to that.”Rogan said the same perspective should be extended toward other parts of society, be it education or health care.”Are we a f****** community or are we not, and if we’re a community, you have to take care of the downtrodden, and you have to do it because it’s bad for them and it’s also bad for you,” he said. “We’re all in this together. So you have to have a social safety net. I believe in all that.”He added: “But I also believe you can’t just give people free money because then they rely on it, and they become dependent on it, and then it takes away their ambition, and then they don’t do anything. That’s true, too. That doesn’t mean you’re not compassionate.”I don’t like either one of these parties. I don’t think there’s a solution that’s correct. I think you have overcorrection after overcorrection. I think the country goes one way, and then it swings hard the other way. … Everyone is so tribal, and everyone’s so locked into their idea that they’re the good guys and these are the bad guys.”Rogan and Bernie SandersIn 2020, when Sanders—an independent senator who caucuses with the Democrats—was running for president, Rogan said on The Joe Rogan Experience that he would “probably” vote for him in the Democratic primary.That endorsement made some of Sanders’ supporters uncomfortable at the time because of the perception around Rogan and his past stances.On a repeat appearance by Sanders this past March, Rogan said health care “100 percent should be socially funded.””I think that Medicare and Medicaid—having programs where people who are hurt can get an operation, and it’s not going to bankrupt them for the rest of their life, is another thing that I think society should be,” Rogan said at the time.He continued, “It should be a part of our agreement to take care of each other as a community, that we chip in money for what people would think of as socialist positions.”Sanders said Rogan was “absolutely right” after the fact and shared the viral clip on his social media accounts.Epstein ‘Line in the Sand’In July, during a conservation with former CIA officer Mike Baker, Rogan said the conversations surrounding the death of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the government files related to the case were “a line in the sand” for him.”We thought Trump was going to come in and a lot of things are going to be resolved,” Rogan told Baker. “We’re going to drain the swamp. We’re going to figure everything out.””You have this one hardcore line in the sand that everybody has been talking about forever, and then they’re trying to gaslight you on that,” he added.The podcaster also seemed to question Trump’s remarks regarding Epstein and the release of the files after the president asked a reporter earlier this summer: “Why do you care? Why does everyone care about Epstein?” Rogan referred to it all as “crazy.”Trump had suggested during the campaign that his administration would be transparent about the files’ release, as did other officials in his administration—including FBI Director Kash Patel.However, questions about the files and any purported connection to the president have only escalated. Hearings took place on Capitol Hill this week, with members of Congress grilling Patel on the contents of the files and why more information was not publicly released.