Spotify podcaster Joe Rogan is concerned that free speech will be in peril if Vice President Kamala Harris beats former President Donald Trump in the upcoming November election.
During the latest episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” the titular host criticized the “wild things” Harris and her running mate Tim Walz have said regarding free speech.
“I don’t think it turns around if Kamala Harris gets into office. I think they clamp down more,” Rogan remarked, highlighting X and Rumble as the only social media platforms where free expression remains largely unimpeded.
Rogan reminded listeners about the extreme moderation of posts about masks and other Covid-19 related topics, which were later proven accurate, as an example of how restrictive social media may one day be if Harris is elected.
Joe Rogan is absolutely right https://t.co/0pNA2CHHSo
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 27, 2024
He brought up one of the vice president’s past comments about Twitter CEO Elon Musk potentially losing his “privileges.”
While debating during her 2019 presidential run, Harris called for Trump’s Twitter account to be deactivated, claiming that social media companies have a “responsibility” to the public and currently operate without sufficient “oversight or regulation.”
“That has to stop,” Harris said at the time.
Kamala will shut down X if she wins pic.twitter.com/sML999zQlB
— Clown World ™ 🤡 (@ClownWorld_) August 30, 2024
“She openly discussed the need for the same rules to apply to Facebook and Twitter and the possibility that Elon Musk could lose his privileges. There are so many wild things that they are saying,” Rogan commented.
Musk shared a clip of Rogan’s remarks, stating that Rogan was “absolutely right.”
The UFC color commentator also took a jab at Walz, who recently claimed there’s “no guarantee to free speech on misinformation or hate speech.”
“Tim Walz said that the First Amendment doesn’t apply to misinformation or hate speech. Okay, well, it certainly does. It does,” Rogan countered.
“Sometimes people say things wrong and the goal of the First Amendment is, you say something wrong, and then this guy who is an expert says the right thing, and you correct him.”
Just last week, Rogan praised Harris’s debate performance against Trump, attributing her success to better preparation and a more effective team.
During an episode that featured comedian Tom Segura, Rogan commended the team behind Harris.
“I just wanna say, whoever’s helping her, whoever’s coaching her, whoever’s the puppet master running the strings,” Rogan sealed with a chef’s kiss, “you did a f**king amazing job.”
Rogan did point out that Harris’s performance came down to being backed by a team that was superior to Trump’s. “She’s nailing it,” he noted.
“The difference in that debate was not a difference in who’s gonna have better policies? Who’s gonna be better for the country? The difference in the debate, in my opinion, was who was better prepared,” Rogan explained.
“She was way better prepared and even when it came to answering tough questions, instead of answering, she would just say things that she believes and they sounded real good, and that’s the sound bite.”
Trump, according to Rogan, excels at improvisation and can be “funny like a comedian,” but such a spontaneous style isn’t ideal in a debate format.
“Someone needs to tell him you’ve got these tiny little windows, and you should have all the words ready for those windows,” Rogan suggested.
Rogan also anticipates the upcoming “craziness” regardless of whether Trump or Harris wins the presidential election in November.
In a September episode of his Spotify show with Fox News’ Kat Timpf, Rogan questioned whether there would be “more violence” in response to Trump or Harris taking the White House.
“In terms of people’s reaction, do you think more violence will take place if Trump gets in office or more violence will take place if Kamala gets in office?” He asked. “Because I anticipate there’s going to be some craziness after the election.”
“Whenever the election is decided, there’s going to be some madness. Real madness,” he added.
Timpf agreed that either candidate’s success with provoke some kind of backlash.
“It’s going to be bad no matter what, in terms of the reaction of the other side. I’m not looking forward to it,” she stated.
“I’m not saying this is happening, but this would be the ultimate goal of a communist dictatorship. You cause chaos, you step in to stop the chaos, you install new rules to make sure there’s no chaos anymore,” Rogan concluded.
“You cause a problem, you bring up a solution. That solution allows you to gain more control and you just keep doing it.”