Joe Rogan had little interest in interviewing Donald Trump two years ago.
“I’m not a Trump supporter in any way, shape or form … I’ve had the opportunity to have Trump on my show more than once — I’ve said no, every time. I don’t want to help him. I’m not interested in helping him.”
Rogan spent three-plus hours with Trump earlier this week for a historic podcast interview.
What changed?
The media and Democrats, but we repeat ourselves, soured on the First Amendment.
Press outlets have little interest in defending free speech unless said speech comes from the Left. Journalists didn’t criticize social media platforms for banning Trump in 2021. Nor did they aggressively cover The Twitter Files. The
The shocking expose found former Twitter employees actively censoring right-leaning views. Journalists did all they could to ignore and/or minimize the scandal.
So did the Democrats. Some attacked liberal journalist Matt Taibbi for bringing the matter to light.
More recently, the Biden administration’s censorship schemes came to light. The Democrats’ current standard bearer, Kamala Harris, is no friend to speech. Nor is Gov. Tim Walz.
Rogan got the message. And he’s not alone.
Hours after Rogan’s one-on-one with Trump aired Tim Dillon released a lengthy interview with Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance. The two had an amicable chat about life and politics, with the duo agreeing on most issues of consequence.
Dillon, a true comedic rebel, clearly wanted to get Vance’s message out to the masses. The conversation proved mostly serious, with some comic absurdities thrown into the mix.
Days earlier, Vance also sat down with Theo Von, another rebel comic with a growing audience.
Now, we’re learning Tony Hinchcliffe will join Trump at Sunday’s Madison Square Garden rally.
Hinchcliffe’s blistering set at Netflix’s “The Roast of Tom Brady” cemented his rising star status. Now, he’s asking his minions to vote Trump.
The “Kill Tony” star is the modern-day Howard Stern, a joke slinger who ignores the so-called comedy rules. He’s been apolitical up until now.
That ends Sunday.
These comics aren’t openly conservative. They haven’t chosen a side in the past. Each can be critical of the GOP when called upon.
Rogan was probably a center-Left person up until recently. Watching the corrupt press try to crush his career for questioning pandemic inconsistencies likely changed his mind.
Why have they all joined the MAGA movement, to various degrees?
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The answer couldn’t be more obvious. The GOP is far friendlier to the First Amendment than today’s Democrats. Need more examples? Both John Kerry and Hillary Clinton railed against free speech in recent weeks.
No major party figure chastised them for their comments.
And let’s not forget the aborted Ministry of Truth. The Democrats’ quest to crush so-called “misinformation” is the tell. Think information that’s inconvenient to them.
Now, consider how rebellious comics like Rogan and co. processed these messages.
Their livelihoods depend on free speech. Their careers are thriving, in large part, due to social media platforms and YouTube.
A Harris/Walz victory will likely lead to more online censorship. That could crush their respective careers.
- Imagine if Spotify stopped having Rogan’s back after a controversial podcast exchange.
- What if Von’s podcasts got demonetized?
- Dillon’s bawdy brand of humor could be targeted sooner than later.
- “Kill Tony” might perish if his show is deemed too “problematic” in Big Tech’s eyes.
The comedians may loathe Trump’s rampaging ego. They likely prefer a pro-choice ticket. They’re putting those wishes aside.
They understand the big picture. Lose the First Amendment and America falls. And they’ll fall first.
The comics in question are still trying to flirt with the center. Rogan invited Harris onto his program, but the word salad spinner couldn’t find time to record the interview. Von opened his Vance chat by saying he reached out to both Harris and Walz for a similar interview.
Will either take the bait? If so, will Von press them on free speech? Here’s betting he will, which may be why they won’t have time to appear.
These comics are making the time to support Team Trump. They know he’s their last best hope to protect free speech.
UPDATE: Hinchcliffe’s raucous MSG performance wrapped with him explaining his Trump endorsement. He thinks it’s generally “divisive” for comics to pick a political side.
He broke that policy for a very powerful reason.
“Censorship is amongst us people. It’s a very, very, very big deal, and I’m just here to say that you guys are for the right candidate,” Hinchcliffe said to end his set. “Tell your friends, let’s close it out, and let’s make speech free again, make America healthy again.”
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