Joe Rogan unloaded on the Democratic Party in front of one of its longtime Hollywood backers, Oscar winner Michael Douglas.
The podcast host laid out why Democrats lost his support during a Wednesday conversation with the actor, taking particular issue with the party’s immigration policies and its handling of the 2024 presidential election.
“First of all, the open border was insane,” Rogan declared. “It was insane to just not only leave the border open but give people instructions on how to get in, and also transport them to cities, and then put them up in hotels.”
Rogan suspected Democrats had ulterior motives for allowing large numbers of migrants into the country.
He raised the possibilities of cheaper labor, future voters and population increases that could give certain states more congressional seats after the next census.
“It was really clear that a game was being played,” Rogan added. “Yeah, yeah,” Douglas replied.
The actor has spent years supporting Democratic candidates, contributing to Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential bid.
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He also backed Michael Bloomberg’s unsuccessful White House run in 2020 and hosted a fundraiser for Joe Biden in 2024.
Rogan argued that the country’s two-party system encourages people to excuse behavior from their preferred side that they would otherwise condemn.
He questioned how Democrats could expect him to remain loyal while pursuing immigration policies he opposed.
“If you want me to be a Democrat while you’re just letting people fly in from the open border, I’m like ‘Hey! Fix that!’ It seems crazy to have 10 million people of unknown origin enter into your country over a period of four years,” Rogan told Douglas.
The podcaster also objected to Democrats selecting Kamala Harris as their 2024 presidential nominee without holding a new open primary.
“This whole thing is supposed to work a very specific way,” Rogan argued. “And if it’s like, ‘We have to win, so we’re just going to push that aside, and here’s your candidate!’ What the f**k are you doing? That’s not how it’s supposed to be done, and if you want me to vote for that — I’m not going to vote for that. That seems crazy. That seems dangerous.”
Rogan accused Democrats of misleading Americans about Biden’s cognitive decline and criticized their approach to crime and policing, including the “f**king defund the police stuff.”
He was no happier with the vaccine mandates and travel restrictions promoted during the COVID pandemic.
“I didn’t like the whole COVID vaccine mandatory thing that they were pushing for those four years,” he recalled. “I didn’t like the coercion. I didn’t like keeping people from flying. I didn’t like any of that stuff. It was all crazy. And to me, that’s what that group stood for.”
Douglas eventually asked where Rogan stood politically now, rather than where he had been during the 2024 election.
Rogan criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to take military action against Iran, questioning how it fit with Trump’s anti-war campaign message.
The conversation came weeks after Rogan accused independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders of bending the knee “to the Democratic establishment.”
Rogan also defended his friend Shane Gillis after the comedian’s latest “Saturday Night Live” monologue sparked accusations of misogyny.
Shane Gillis’ monologue! pic.twitter.com/ky6fVtWBx9
— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) October 11, 2026
Gillis, hosting the show for the third time, joked about the revealing workout clothes he’d encountered at a New York City gym.
“I haven’t been to the gym in so long, I didn’t know women just dress like whores now? Look, I’m sorry. There’s no other way to describe it,” Gillis told the audience.
The comedian described brightly colored, tight-fitting shorts and the awkwardness of trying not to stare while women filmed themselves exercising.
“Have you seen it? I’ve seen it. The shorts. Have you seen the shorts?” Gillis asked. “Those neon, they’re like artificial bait-colored.”
He joked that the workout videos probably featured him lurking in the background.
“I’m in the background of like 10 TikToks right now,” he cracked.
Actor Dan Levy was among those who objected to the routine. In an Instagram video, Levy argued that jokes like Gillis’ could contribute to sexual assaults against women.
Rogan defended the comedian during a Thursday episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” arguing that the joke was aimed at Gillis himself rather than the women he described.
“The joke is on Shane, ’cause the joke is that he looks like a creep in the background of all these TikToks, watching these ladies that are wearing nothing doing these exercises,” Rogan explained.
Gillis has appeared on Rogan’s podcast numerous times, and the two are friends.
Rogan also described seeing women exercising in extremely revealing shorts, including outfits he claimed were nearly transparent.
“I’ve seen ladies at the gym that wear essentially sheer pink, really small shorts with no underwear on, and they’re doing deadlifts,” he recalled.
Digital content creator Cody Tucker joined the conversation with a joke of his own.
“Oh, I knew one of them was pregnant before she did. I’d say you’re about six weeks!” Tucker joked.
Rogan rejected the criticism of Gillis as misogynistic, arguing that a comedian making a provocative joke shouldn’t be confused with someone who genuinely hates women.
“Real misogyny actually exists. … Real men who hate women do exist,” Rogan explained.
He defended Gillis’ character and insisted that the comedian’s routine had been misunderstood.
“Shane Gillis is not one of them. And he’s a great guy. It’s just a joke.”