Joe Rogan says Trump admin is 'trying to gaslight you' over Epstein scandal
Rogan's comments on his widely popular podcast "The Joe Rogan Experience" aired July 25, and come as the controversy over the Epstein investigation continues to dog the administration and the Republican party.
"This one's a line in the sand," Rogan said, while discussing the scandal with guest Mike Baker, a former CIA officer. "We thought Trump was going to come in and a lot of things were going to be resolved − 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 had been talking about forever and then they're trying to gaslight you on that," Rogan said.
Is Trump in the Epstein files? Before Bondi's reported alert, here is where he appeared
The latest: Ghislaine Maxwell says she is willing to testify, under these conditions
The Trump administration has dealt with uproar, including from the president's Republican and MAGA base, over the Department of Justice's announcement in early July that it won't release its files on Epstein, a former financier and convicted sex offender who died while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking in 2019.
The president and many of his allies have spent years claiming Democrats had suppressed evidence of an alleged Epstein "client list," believed to contain high-profile names involved in sex trafficking and a wider child abuse conspiracy. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in March she had a "truckload" of Epstein files to review and potentially release, further stoking expectations.
The DOJ announced July 7 its investigation found no evidence of the supposed client list and no evidence to charge others in Epstein's 2019 death, concluding he died by suicide.
Jeffrey Epstein timeline: How the Florida case led to15 more years of sex abuse
Backlash over Epstein comes from MAGA base − and the podcast scene
Trump's former friendship with Epstein, along with several years of conjecture flamed by many MAGA allies, has only heightened discord among the president's supporters, in a scandal that has been rife with conspiracy theories and suspicion from the start.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken July 15-16 found 69% of Americans believe the federal government is hiding details about Epstein's clients.
Rogan is just the latest Trump-friendly podcaster and comedian to come out against the administration's handling of the scandal, joining in similar refrains of outrage from fellow conservative and conservative-leaning figures like Theo Von, Tim Dillon, Tucker Carlson and Andrew Schulz.
More: Popular podcaster criticizes JD Vance over past Epstein comments: 'What changed?'
In a social media post July 16, Von, whose podcast and social media channels have millions of subscribers, recirculated a clip of a former interview with Vance in which the then-candidate appeared to agree to release alleged files about the criminal investigation into Epstein. Von wrote: "Yeah, what changed?"
The commentators and comedians are commonly lumped together within the so-called "manosphere," a corner of media channels that cater to predominantly male audiences and lean anti-establishment to conservative. Rogan's podcast is the most popular on Spotify, reaching millions of people per week, and his 2024 endorsement is often credited with helping turn out male voters for then-candidate Trump in the November election.
Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr.
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