Joe Rogan reignites feud with Trump: ‘What if Iran nukes New York City?’

Joe Rogan criticized the wars in Iran and Gaza in a new podcast episode, further distancing himself from President Donald Trump’s foreign policy.

The comments, made during an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, come despite the president’s recent attempts to maintain Rogan's support.

Rogan endorsed Trump in 2024 and remains a central figure in the “manosphere” media that helped the president win a second term. However, he is now breaking with the administration on immigration, the release of the Epstein files and military intervention in the Middle East.

During a discussion with comedian Ari Shaffir, Rogan compared the humanitarian crisis in Gaza to the current escalation with Tehran.

“If you talk about like what's happening in Gaza, people say well, October 7th shouldn't have happened,” Rogan said. “Like, okay, you're right. It shouldn't have. But guess what? Those kids who live in Gaza, they didn't do October 7th.”

open image in gallery

He then addressed the U.S. involvement in Iran.

“What we did to Iran, what if Iran nukes New York City?” Rogan asked. “Those kids that live in the Bronx, they had nothing to do with what happened in Iran. So is that okay? What are we talking about?”

The remarks follow a period of back-and-forth between the two men. Rogan recently appeared in the Oval Office, standing behind Trump as he signed an executive order intended to accelerate access to medical research for psychedelic drugs.

As reported by The Independent, Trump mocked Rogan as a “liberal” during the White House event. Rogan later told his audience that the president was joking.

“He called me a liberal during the whole thing,” Rogan said during an episode of his podcast.

“He’s very liberal,” Rogan said, imitating Trump’s voice.

At the event, Trump said: “We all respect Joe. He’s a little bit more liberal than I am. That’s OK. I have a lot of friends that are liberal, but Joe is an amazing guy.”

Rogan also addressed a viral clip of a seemingly tense handshake with Trump at a recent UFC fight, explaining that the president was simply confirming the psychedelics deal.

“It wasn’t like he was mad at me at all,” Rogan said on his podcast. “It was the opposite.”

open image in gallery

The personal rapport has not silenced Rogan’s critiques of the administration’s military strategy. He previously called the war in Iran an “insane” choice and suggested it was being used to bury the Epstein files.

The war in Gaza began after the October 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people. It has resulted in the deaths of some 70,000 Palestinians, as reported by the Gaza Health Ministry, but there have been claims that the true number is much higher. A United Nations commission of inquiry has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, a charge Israel denies.

“It’s not going to get any better,” Rogan said in his conversation with Shaffir. “They’ve destroyed Gaza, Gaza’s just a wasteland now.”

Shaffir noted how polarized the public has become over the suffering.

“I could show you a dead baby and a lot of people would go well, I got to know what their last name is first before I can tell you if I feel bad or not,” he said.

“That’s what’s so dark,” Rogan replied.

For now, Trump has refrained from attacking Rogan on social media, even as he continues to lash out at other conservative media figures who have questioned his foreign policy.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies