In a nearly three-hour interview, Trump talked about tax cuts, election integrity, and the perils of the presidency as he ramps up his 2024 campaign.
Former President Donald Trump sat down with podcast host Joe Rogan on Friday for a nearly three-hour interview. Trump candidly spoke on a wide array of topics.
The episode, recorded in Austin, Texas, and published Friday night, had already been viewed by three million viewers within four hours on YouTube, where there are 17.6 million subscribers to “The Joe Rogan Experience.” Spotify has another 14.5 million subscribers to the podcast.
In the freewheeling conversation, Trump began by reflecting on his years as a businessman and reality TV host on “The Apprentice” before entering politics in 2015. Until then, his engagement with politics, during a time when he was a Democrat, had been as a donor, he said.
Trump described his early days in the White House—which he described as a hallowed place—as a “surreal experience,” but said that feeling wore off with time and it simply became a place he lived.
“I had two things that I was focussed on: governing the country and survival,” Trump said, saying that once he took office “they came down” on him. “I mean nobody has ever been treated that way,” he added, referring to the tsunami of opposition and negative press he received.
‘Being President Is a Very Dangerous Business’
Rogan and Trump discussed the two assassination attempts on the Republican presidential nominee in the last three months.
“Being president is a very dangerous business,” Trump said.
Rogan suggested the mainstream media was quick to move on from the topic of his assassination attempts because Trump was the target. During the conversation, he said he would open up all of the JFK assassination files.
Trump also commented on pop culture, lamenting a shift in public sentiment once he ran for office. He said, “Everyone used to love me,” referencing Whoopi Goldberg and other celebrities.
Reflecting on the sheer amount of publicity he received during his 2016 presidential campaign and during his time in office, Trump called on Rogan to suggest why that was.
Rogan said it was because “You said a lot of wild [expletive].”
“Maybe,” Trump said.
Rogan suggested that media coverage of Trump’s freewheeling remarks and comedic instincts when speaking off the cuff made him more popular, such as during his 2016 debate against former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, who was the Democratic presidential nominee.
Trump highlighted some of the political stances of his current Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. In particular, he addressed her past support of the defund the police movement, saying that someone with that view shouldn’t be running for president.
He also spoke about past hiring decisions.
Trump described the appointment of John Bolton as both a tactical move and a mistake. While Bolton had positives, Trump said he was warned too late not to hire Bolton and said his appointment signaled to other countries that the United States would go to war with them.
Turning to President Joe Biden, Trump said their debate is what “got him out” of the race. Biden later withdrew and Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee.
On the topic of polls, Trump said he doesn’t put too much stock in them, citing polls that put him behind Clinton during the 2016 election cycle.
“These pollsters, they charge you half a million bucks and they interview like 251 people,” Trump said. “I don’t want to get myself into too much trouble.”
He suggested that some pollsters take the money and don’t poll. “I honestly believe there’s likely a lot of fraud,” he said. He noted that he is happy with his current polling results which put him ahead of Harris.
Tariffs
The former president also suggested the United States would have begun paying down its national debt due to his corporate tax cuts and tariffs program had the COVID-19 pandemic not disrupted his administration’s economic plans.
“So what happened is this. We were ready to rock and roll, and then we had the COVID thing, and we had to focus on that,” Trump said when asked how his tariffs program contributed to the country’s deficit.
“And if we didn’t give some businesses a hand, they would have all … you would have had a depression like in 1929,” Trump continued. “But we were ready to start … we were going to. We would very shortly have been paying off debt—you know we have $35 trillion in debt.”
Trump defended his approach, explaining that he cut corporate taxes from nearly 40 percent to 21 percent, which he said boosted revenue by encouraging companies to bring money back to the United States.
He said companies like Apple would have been charged prohibitive taxes so they kept their money overseas until he cut taxes.
“Apple took in hundreds of billions of dollars. They brought it back from overseas,” Trump said, adding that his policies helped prevent a possible economic slump due to COVID-19.
Trump also proposed cutting the tax rate to 15 percent for products made in America, saying it would be a big incentive for U.S. manufacturing.
Energy, Environmentalists, Elections
Trump criticized wind energy for its effects on wildlife, saying that wind turbines are harmful to birds and whales, and he advocated for nuclear power.
He said there is an industry around environmentalism populated with “bad guys” who make a lot of money filing lawsuits to make it difficult to develop conventional power plants and infrastructure.
“They use it as a way to stop you,” Trump said, adding that they receive “massive fees.”
He voiced dismay over the state of America’s food supply.
He said his decision to skip the Republican primary debates was wise because he was leading by 60–70 points so he was going to be the focus, and he asked, “Why would I stand there like an idiot for two hours and let every one of them scream at me?”
Trump also addressed election integrity, emphasizing his support for voter ID laws. He said that opposition to such laws was “because they want to cheat.”
The sprawling discussion delved into the topic of election fraud being labeled a taboo topic. The pair noted remarks by top Democrats in Congress, and Trump said, “They are still denying 2016.”
As the conversation moved on Rogan asked about the former president’s active lifestyle. Trump revealed his preference for golf over running and said that he hadn’t taken a day off in 56 days, “It’s the home stretch. … We have 11 days now.”
The popular podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience” is known for its mix of cultural, political, and controversial conversations.
Trump’s appearance follows other high-profile podcast visits, including a livestream conversation in August with X owner Elon Musk, which Musk said reached one billion views.