Joe Rogan: From COVID Smear Target to MAGA Powerhouse

His story exposes the corrupt underbelly of the fake news industrial complex and shows why so many Americans are fed up with the lies. Let’s rewind to 2021, when Rogan contracted COVID-19. Instead of relying solely on the experimental vaccines—which he had already expressed reservations about—Rogan consulted doctors and opted for a regimen that included monoclonal antibodies, Z-Pak, prednisone, and yes, ivermectin. Ivermectin, a Nobel Prize-winning drug used safely by billions of humans worldwide for parasitic infections and even listed by the World Health Organization as an essential medicine, became the focal point of the media’s assault.

Rogan recovered in just three days, but that quick turnaround only fueled the rage from outlets like CNN, who couldn’t stand that an unvaccinated influencer was thriving while their narrative crumbled. CNN led the charge with what can only be described as blatant propaganda. Hosts like Don Lemon and Jim Acosta ridiculed Rogan for supposedly taking “horse dewormer,” a deliberate misrepresentation ignoring ivermectin’s extensive human applications. On-screen graphics screamed headlines like “Joe Rogan says he took widely discredited livestock drug for COVID,” painting him as a reckless fool endangering public health.  Continued below this next clip

This wasn’t just sloppy journalism; it was a calculated hit job to discredit anyone straying from the Fauci-approved script. Even CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, appeared on Rogan’s podcast and admitted under pressure that calling ivermectin “horse dewormer” was wrong—but CNN doubled down in a statement, accusing Rogan of peddling “unproven treatments” and risking lives. The lowest blow came when CNN manipulated a video clip of Rogan. To make him appear sickly and jaundiced—as if to prove his alternative treatment was failing—they ran his footage through a filter that turned his skin a ghastly yellow. Rogan called it out as a “blatant lie,” noting how CNN altered his appearance to fit their narrative of him as a dangerous misinformation spreader.

Joe Rogan Says Dr. Pierre Kory Treated 200 Members of Congress with Ivermectin. This thing work and they are aware of it, but they choose to hide it from us because of their selfish interest.

This wasn’t an accident; it was visual propaganda straight out of the Soviet playbook, designed to scare viewers away from questioning the vaccines or exploring other options. Rogan later blasted CNN for losing “a fload of credibility” over these tactics, pointing out their hypocrisy in mocking him while raking in ad dollars from pharmaceutical giants. Even a CNN contributor, Mary Katharine Ham, sided with Rogan against her own network, calling their coverage “horses” and dishonest. The attacks didn’t stop at CNN. The Biden administration got involved, attempting to plant a “trusted messenger” on Rogan’s podcast to push the COVID vaccine agenda. When that failed, the pressure mounted on Spotify, Rogan’s platform host. Artists like Neil Young pulled their music in protest, and Rogan revealed that two former presidents—likely Obama and Clinton—personally called Spotify executives to demand his censorship over “misinformation.”

This was the deep state in action: unelected bureaucrats and elite influencers colluding to silence a guy with a microphone who dared to host doctors like Peter McCullough and Robert Malone, who exposed flaws in the vaccine rollout. Rogan described it as a “wake-up call” about the liberal media’s true nature, realizing they weren’t journalists but activists pushing a one-sided agenda. Far from destroying him, these smears supercharged Rogan’s platform. During the controversy, he gained 2 million subscribers in a single month, proving that Americans crave unfiltered truth over sanitized propaganda. His audience, already massive at over 14 million followers on Spotify, dwarfed CNN’s dwindling viewership, which has been hemorrhaging ratings as people tune out the fake news.  Continued below this next clip

Joe Rogan: “One thing that I learned during COVID… This whole ‘trust the experts’ thing, suck my d*ck. There’s a lot of these people that are full of sh*t, and bought and paid for.”

Joe Rogan: “One thing that I learned during COVID… This whole ‘trust the experts’ thing, suck my d*ck. There’s a lot of these people that are full of sh*t, and bought and paid for.” pic.twitter.com/vkASuhAPuv

— Joe Rogan Podcast News (@joeroganhq) August 28, 2025

The backlash against Rogan highlighted the broader conservative grievance: The pandemic was weaponized to control the population, from forced lockdowns to vaccine mandates, all while suppressing alternatives like ivermectin that could have saved lives without enriching Pfizer.This ordeal radicalized Rogan. Once a self-described liberal who voted for Bernie Sanders, he began peeling back the layers of government overreach and media bias. By 2024, as the election loomed, Rogan hosted lengthy interviews with figures like Elon Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., dissecting the failures of the COVID response and the dangers of censorship. Musk, in particular, made a “compelling case” for Trump, emphasizing free speech and economic freedom.

On the eve of the election, Rogan dropped his bombshell endorsement: “I agree with him every step of the way. For the record, yes, that’s an endorsement of Trump.” Trump touted it at rallies, calling it a game-changer, and conservatives hailed it as a tipping point that helped mobilize young male voters alienated by the left’s woke excesses. Rogan’s shift to MAGA wasn’t just personal; it symbolized a broader awakening. Post-endorsement, he revealed that numerous artists and comedians privately thanked him for speaking out, admitting they supported Trump but feared Hollywood’s cancel culture backlash. In the X ecosystem, conservatives celebrated Rogan’s courage, with posts noting how his endorsement overshadowed celebrity nods like Oprah’s for Kamala Harris.

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Critics on the left seethed, blaming Rogan’s “last-minute Hail Mary” for swinging the election away from their radical policies on gender, race, and open borders. But for MAGA supporters, it was vindication: The same media that tried to bury Rogan with lies ended up burying their own credibility. Today, in 2025, Rogan continues to thrive as a voice for the forgotten man, interviewing Trump and pushing back against the establishment. His COVID ordeal proved that propaganda doesn’t work on a free people—it only strengthens resolve. As Trump rides high post-victory, Rogan’s story reminds us why the fake news media is dying: Americans won’t be gaslit anymore. The backfire was epic, turning a podcaster into a MAGA icon and helping reclaim the country from the swamp. And now President Trump has the opportunity to cement American freedom and the Constitution once again by preventing the Democrats from coming back into power to attempt their Marxist revolution. As of 9/18/2025, his AG is an utter failure in stopping voter fraud.