Joe Rogan isn’t letting go of Epstein — that’s an issue for Trump
Joe Rogan says the Trump administration’s refusal to launch extra details about Jeffrey Epstein is a “line within the sand.”
Epstein’s identify was talked about greater than 40 instances on the newest episode of “The Joe Rogan Expertise,” which constantly ranks as the preferred podcast in america.
The episode was one other occasion of Rogan, who endorsed Trump on the eve of final fall’s election, heaping criticism on his Trump administration pals — and one other indication that the conspiracy-coded Epstein controversy isn’t fading away.
We are actually coming into week quantity 4 of this scandal engulfing President Trump, largely as a result of the outrage is coming from inside Trump’s usually steadfast circle of conspiracy-minded media boosters.
And as arguably one of the vital, if not the most influential of these figures, Rogan’s criticism suggests Trump’s headache will solely develop from right here.
Rogan criticized the FBI and Justice Division’s case-closed memo from early July, asserting that the administration is attempting to “gaslight” everybody. He predicted that it might not work.
Referring to his personal podcast dialog with FBI director Kash Patel final month, Rogan mentioned Patel’s responses about Epstein didn’t make any sense.
“Then he’s like, ‘Properly, we’ve a movie, we’re gonna launch that movie,’ and the movie has a f**king minute lacking from it,” Rogan mentioned, referring to a jail video that was meant to dispel theories about Epstein’s 2019 dying, which a medical expert dominated a suicide.
“Like, do you suppose we’re infants? Like, what is that this?” Rogan requested aloud.
Rogan’s visitor, former CIA officer Mike Baker, mentioned the federal government ought to “launch all the things” — a pithy phrase that has gained recognition in MAGA media circles this month.
Authorities officers have pushed again on these calls for by citing the express nature of the supplies and considerations for the victims concerned.
On the podcast, Baker expressed bafflement on the means Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi teased additional Epstein-related revelations, after which mentioned that nothing extra could be forthcoming.
“The mob needs to eat,” he mentioned, “they usually’ve been throwing pink meat to the mob about ‘Epstein recordsdata’ now for years.”
Rogan interjected, “It’s a part of how they received elected.”
And now, Baker mentioned, “the mob is oddly bipartisan as a result of it’s received the Dems, too, referencing the Democratic leaders who’ve charged President Trump with a coverup.”
The Rogan dialog displays the lingering questions on Epstein’s crimes and his accomplices — questions which were hyped by right-leaning podcast hosts and different media personalities for years.
On Sunday, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria identified that when Patel visited Rogan final month, Patel claimed “that he has now discovered a secret vault within the FBI filled with darkish secrets and techniques nobody had ever seen. Overlook about Epstein, they appeared to be saying; it turns on the market are lots of extra conspiracy theories to dangle in entrance of the MAGA trustworthy.”
Patel’s deputy, Dan Bongino, was roasted over the weekend for what may be dubbed “dangling.” He wrote on X about FBI investigations which have “shocked me all the way down to my core. We can’t run a Republic like this. I’ll by no means be the identical after studying what I’ve realized.”
Whereas a few of the folks in Bongino’s replies appeared persuaded, and expressed enthusiasm to search out out extra, others accused him of pumping up one other Epstein-style thriller that may by no means be satisfactorily solved.
“The nation will not be a actuality TV present with cliffhangers and teasers,” AEI senior fellow Robert Pondiscio wrote on X. “Both inform folks what has ‘shocked you to your core’ or maintain your tongue till you possibly can. The rest breeds suspicion, distrust, and cynicism.”