Joe Rogan looks on during the UFC 306 at Riyadh Season Noche UFC event at Sphere on September 14, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Popular podcaster and global “influencer” Joe Rogan endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump just hours before voting started in the United States presidential election.
Rogan took to X on Tuesday, saying Space X founder and X owner Elon Musk — who has also endorsed Trump and has appeared with him at rallies — had made “the most compelling case for Trump you’ll ever hear, and I agree with him every step of the way”.
“For the record, yes, that’s an endorsement of Trump,” said Rogan, whose The Joe Rogan Experience is the most listened to podcast in the United States.
Musk and Rogan are just two of scores of influencers and celebrities that have thrown their weight behind the candidates, with Democrat Kamala Harris having been endorsed by Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Jennifer Lopez, among others.
On the eve of the election, Trump and Harris delivered closing arguments in a heated final push across battleground states, their messages of stark contrast and highlighting the contentious nature of an election that has been defined by divisive rhetoric, political theatre, and high stakes for America’s future.
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Trump doubled down on his hardline immigration stance, making a call for the death penalty for migrants who kill US citizens or law enforcement officers.
“I am hereby calling for the death penalty for any migrant that kills an American citizen or a law enforcement officer,” the 78-year-old told supporters.
His speech took aim at migration flows at the southern border, framing them as a national security threat.
Amplifying his characteristic tough-on-immigration rhetoric, Trump suggested college athletes could confront incoming migrants, a vision that he shared with the crowd.
“Oh, those Penn State guys. I wanted them to wrestle the migrants,” he joked, before proposing a new “migrant league” in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Trump implied that such a league would be tough enough to rival the established fighters, saying, “I think the migrant (league) might actually win. That’s how nasty some of these guys are.”
In Philadelphia, Kamala Harris, 60, called for unity. Addressing a crowd on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where an iconic scene from the film Rocky was shot, Harris cast herself as the underdog, prepared to “climb to victory”.
She likened herself to boxer Rocky Balboa, the resilient fighter, as she rallied supporters in what she called “the most consequential election of our lifetimes.”
“The momentum is on our side. We will win,” Harris told her audience, saying that every vote mattered in what she predicted could be “one of the closest races in history”.
Throughout her campaign, Harris has positioned herself as an advocate for affordable healthcare, promising to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and provide additional support for low-income families.
She has also been vocal in her criticism of Trump’s immigration policies, arguing they “foster division and do not reflect American values”.
Harris’s message was amplified by celebrity endorsements, with Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, and Jon Bon Jovi attending her events and urging Americans to vote.
Winfrey’s endorsements are known to hold particular weight among voters, with two University of Maryland economic students finding that following her endorsement of Barack Obama, she helped him garner about one million primary votes.