Joe Rogan mocked Donald Trump during an episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” prodding the president for switching up his story around the Epstein files.
Trump had spent much of his second term calling the Department of Justice‘s case files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein a “hoax.” In posts to Truth Social and statements to the press, the president accused his Democratic Party opposition of fabricating the documents from the late trafficker as a means of undermining his administration.
Just last week, Trump had repeatedly scolded congressional Republicans and his own supporters for supporting the supposed smear campaign as pressure built to release the files publicly. Epstein was a long-time associate of Trump’s — at one point, Epstein called the president his “closest friend” — and emails shared earlier this month by members of the House ominously claimed that Trump “knew about the girls.”
Shortly before Congress passed a resolution to force the release of the files, Trump changed his tune. He openly called for the release of all the documents about Epstein and pushed for Attorney General Pam Bondi to launch an investigation into prominent Democrats mentioned in those already public emails. On Wednesday, Rogan wondered about Trump’s change of heart.
“I heard there are no files,” Rogan said. “I heard it’s a hoax. And then all of a sudden, he’s going to release the files. I thought there were no files. He wants an investigation now. Like, what is going on?”
Rogan, who supported Trump in the last presidential election, did offer a bit of cover for the president. He said that Epstein’s trafficking racket was a means of blackmailing “high-profile, extremely wealthy” people.
“I think this is a pattern that has existed forever in politics,” Rogan claimed. “They want you to be compromised when you get into any sort of a position, so they can control you. And I think these things like Epstein, and there’s probably a bunch of other similar operations that are being run.”
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Elsewhere in the episode, Rogan claimed he considered buying Epstein’s infamous private island at a bargain rate.
“We looked at that island. We were trying to buy it,” he said. “But it was too expensive. It was like 55 [million].”
BREAKING: Joe Rogan just tore Trump apart on misleading us about the Jeffrey Epstein files.
“I heard there are no files. I heard it’s a hoax. Then all of a sudden he’s going to release the files. Well, I thought there were no files. He wants an investigation now. Like, what is… pic.twitter.com/sAII0zQBQB
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) November 19, 2025
A resolution pushing for the release of the Epstein files passed both chambers of Congress by a near-unanimous vote. The president has not signed the bill. Still, Attorney General Bondi shared on Wednesday that the files would be released within 30 days.
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