Vance, who appeared on The Penny Show, said every movement is “idiotic” as he defends MAGA supporters and immigration registry/YouTube
US Vice President JD Vance has responded to criticism from podcast host Joe Rogan, after Rogan described supporters of Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement as “foolish” and “unintelligent”.The exchange, revealed via separate podcast appearances this week, shows how far apart Rogan and the administration have become, especially on immigration policy, the war with Iran and the handling of the Epstein files, issues on which Rogan has publicly criticized the president and federal agencies rather than offering the broad support he once did.
Rogan’s statements on MAGA supporters
Rogan made the comments during an episode of The Joe Rogan Experiencewas released on Thursday, March 26, during his conversation with comedian and political commentator Dave Smith.
The podcast, widely viewed as the most listened to in the US according to Spotify, has increasingly become a space where Rogan has aired criticism of the Trump administration. While discussing the MAGA movement, Rogan said:
“That phrase is disgusting… ‘Make America Great Again,’ and then it becomes a movement for a bunch of idiots, because a lot of them are idiots.” He went further, distinguishing between those he described as true supporters and others of whom he was more critical:
“A lot of them are really weird, uninteresting, unintelligent people who have something to cling to, and there’s a lot of people who are just real patriots, and they’re all lumped into this one group, and you have to accept the idiot too? Wow.” The comments came during a wide-ranging conversation in which Rogan criticized US military actions against Iran, calling the situation “cluster” and suggesting that it ran counter to campaign promises to avoid foreign conflicts.
In a separate episode two weeks ago, Rogan, speaking to freelance journalist Michael Shellenberger, said:
“It sounds so crazy based on what he ran on… I mean that’s why a lot of people feel betrayed, right? He ran saying, ‘No more wars, end these stupid, senseless wars,’ and then we have a war that we can’t even clearly articulate why we’re doing this.”
A shift in Rogan’s stance
Rogan had previously endorsed Donald Trump in the 2024 election, but has since taken a more critical tone. In recent episodes, he has questioned the administration’s approach to immigration enforcement, arguing that raids could target individuals without serious criminal records, and describing the issue as more complex than simple deportation numbers. He also criticized the handling of the Epstein files and raised concerns about what he sees as increasingly aggressive or militaristic policies, marking a marked shift from his previous support.
Vance responds: “We love our fools.”
Vance addressed Rogan’s comments during an appearance on Penny show on Saturday, March 28, hosted by conservative commentator Bennie Johnson.The vice president was asked “what he thought” of Rogan’s comments and if he “considered himself a fool,” Vance dismissed the criticism but did not reject the entire premise.
“I think we have a lot fewer idiots than the far left, but everyone has some idiots,” he said.
“We love our idiots. We love our wonderful children. We love anyone who wants to save the country.” Johnson also pressed Vance on Rogan’s claim, made in a separate episode with former US Army Petty Officer Bill Thompson, that former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were “better at deporting people” than Trump. Vance said he didn’t see the comment directly but dismissed it outright: “I didn’t see Joe say that. I’m going to text Joe because that’s definitely false.” He went on to defend the administration’s immigration record: “The numbers coming out of the Obama administration or any other administration, they weren’t doing a tenth of what we’re doing. So Joe is wrong on this. We were the best administration in American history at deporting illegal aliens. The problem is we also followed the worst administration in letting them in. So, there’s a lot of work to do.”
Vance added that the administration is now focused on reversing what he described as the impact of policies under President Joe Biden: “We’re taking the flood of people that Joe Biden led into our country and getting them out.”
