On Joe Rogan’s Show, Trump Had Nothing to Offer Young Men
Donald Trump went on The Joe Rogan Experience to connect with young men and demonstrate he has solutions to their concerns. Instead, the conversation showed the hollowness of his brand of fake populism.

Donald Trump speaking to the press on September 30, 2024, in Valdosta, Georgia. (Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images)
The most amazing moment in Donald Trump’s three-hour sit-down with podcaster and comedian Joe Rogan came about forty minutes into the interview. Leaning slightly forward, his hands spread out in front of him, Trump told Rogan the “most beautiful word in the dictionary.” This word is “more beautiful than ‘love.’” That word is “tariff.”
Joe interjected:
Rogan: Did you just float out the idea of getting rid of income taxes and replacing it with tarrifs?
Trump: Well, ok. . .
Rogan: Were you serious about that?
Trump: Yeah, sure. Why not? Because . . . our country was the richest, relatively, in the 1880s and 1890s. A president who was assassinated named [William] McKinley, he was the Tariff King. He spoke beautifully about tariffs, his language was really beautiful. . .