Joe Rogan, the host of The Joe Rogan Experience, sat down with Evan Hafer, a Special Forces veteran and CEO of Black Rifle Coffee Company, to discuss shifting political perceptions, media narratives, and the evolving impact of accusations such as racism against supporters of President-elect Donald Trump.
During the conversation, Rogan shared how his once high regard for former President Barack Obama changed over time, particularly during Kamala Harris’ campaign.
He pointed to what he saw as Obama’s dishonesty regarding Trump, specifically referencing the widely debated “very fine people” comment.
“We did trust the government, but this is, which is such a weird thing to say,” Rogan began, reflecting on his changing views. “You know, I used to think it was the Obama administration, but boy, Obama, during this Kamala Harris… it changed my opinion to that guy.”
Hafer asked if Rogan had previously held a favorable view of Obama. “Oh, really, did you have a high opinion of him before?” Hafer inquired.
“Yeah, I did. Yeah, I did, just as an intelligent person, the Statesman I felt like, he’s probably like, caught up in the system,” Rogan responded.
“It’s very difficult to make real, meaningful change. You know, you think you’re gonna do something, and then you get into office, you’re like, Oh God, what a fucking quagmire this place is. But watching him just straight up lie about Trump, the thing that got me was that very fine people thing, the white supremacist thing, they just kept trying to say that he was a racist, which is this thing that I think worked in like, 2017. Yeah, I think it worked back then. I don’t think it works anymore. I don’t think people believe it anymore. I think that we’ve gotten numb to all this stuff.”
Hafer agreed, likening repeated accusations to the tale of crying wolf. “It’s the sky is falling thing, cry wolf or whatever,” Hafer said.
“It’s like, you guys can only call, you only call me a fascist so many times. I mean, like, The New York Times wrote that article a couple years ago, right where I’m, like, it was the front of the coffee cup where it’s like, do you want Trump 2024, do you want low taxes? Do you want this? Yeah. I’m like, I want all that sounds good.”
Hafer humorously acknowledged the difficulty of deflecting such accusations, adding, “And like, you can only call me a fascist, racist asshole. I mean, to be fair, like I can float into the asshole category, relatively easy.”
🚨 JOE ROGAN: “Obama during the Kamala Harris campaign really changed my opinion of him. I used to have a high opinion of him as an intelligent person. I thought he was just caught up in the system. Watching him straight up lie about Trump, with the ‘very fine people,’ thing, the… pic.twitter.com/7Qh3NCxxMZ [2]
— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) November 16, 2024 [3]
Rogan and Hafer agreed that media attempts to label Trump and his supporters as racists or fascists no longer hold the sway they once did.
Rogan suggested the public has grown desensitized to such rhetoric, which he described as losing its effectiveness over time.
The segment highlighted a broader conversation about political narratives and the enduring divide between media coverage and public opinion, particularly as President-elect Trump prepares to take office once again.
Both Rogan and Hafer underscored the importance of cutting through partisan narratives and focusing on substantive issues.