After backing President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, podcaster Joe Rogan now says the war in Iran has left many supporters feeling “betrayed” by a president who “ran on no more wars.”
Rogan hosts the most-listened-to podcast on Spotify, reaching millions of listeners worldwide. His remarks are the latest sign that some prominent media figures who once aligned themselves with Trump are now openly questioning the administration’s military actions in Iran.
The topic came up during Rogan’s March 10 podcast episode in a conversation with journalist Michael Schellenberger.
“It just seems so insane based on what he ran on,” Rogan said. “I mean, this is why a lot of people feel betrayed, right?”
“He ran on no more wars, end these stupid, senseless wars and then we have one that we can’t even really clearly define why we did it,” Rogan added.
Trump appeared on Rogan’s widely followed podcast in 2024 as part of a campaign strategy aimed at reaching younger male voters. Rogan ultimately endorsed Trump the day before the election and later attended Trump’s inauguration after he returned to power.
Since launching his first presidential campaign in 2016, Trump frequently criticized past U.S. military interventions in the Middle East. During the 2024 race, the Republican National Committee even promoted his campaign as the “pro-peace ticket,” appealing to voters who were tired of prolonged foreign conflicts.
Trump’s political rise also helped reshape the Republican Party’s approach to foreign policy, shifting it toward a more populist message that often rejected the long-standing GOP tradition of projecting American military power abroad. His non-interventionist rhetoric became a core theme within the MAGA movement.
However, the current conflict with Iran is now drawing criticism from several well-known conservative voices who previously supported Trump. Among them are media figures Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly.
Carlson told ABC News that the Iran campaign is “disgusting and evil,” while Kelly said, “I would like to be better convinced that this is worth the sacrifice of American blood and treasure.”
Facing growing criticism from within his own political base, Trump responded in an interview with journalist Rachael Bade by dismissing the criticism from Carlson and Kelly.
“MAGA is Trump − MAGA’s not the other two,” he said.
“MAGA wants to see our country thrive and be safe,” Trump added. “And MAGA loves what I’m doing − every aspect of it… This is a detour that we have to take in order to keep our country safe and keep other countries safe, frankly.”
