Former President Donald Trump sat down with podcaster Joe Rogan on Friday for a conversation that touched on many topics, including Trump’s appointments during his term in the Oval Office, the assassination attempt against the GOP leader, and whether there is life on other planets.
The nearly three-hour, wide-ranging interview was released late Friday night on YouTube, and it has already amassed close to 12 million views in just 13 hours. It appears that it was the longest interview that either Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris has participated in this election cycle.
Trump’s interview on the Joe Rogan Experience in Austin, Texas, was of such length that it helped cause an hourslong delay for the Republican’s rally in Traverse City, Michigan, Friday evening.
Here are five takeaways from Trump’s discussion with the massively popular podcast host.
Administration appointments were his ‘biggest mistake’
The former president shared dissatisfaction over his administration appointments, including his former chief of staff, John Kelly, and former national security adviser John Bolton.
“I picked some people that I shouldn’t have picked,” Trump said.
“A guy like Kelly, who is a bully, a bully, but a weak person,” Trump said.
Kelly recently came out warning that if Trump is reelected, he will rule like a dictator, adding that the former president meets the definition of a fascist.
Trump also called Bolton an “idiot.”
Trump also told Rogan that he felt out of his depth in making appointments when he first got to the White House. With minimal ties to Washington and 100 major appointments to fill, Trump shared that he didn’t know who to go with.
“I wasn’t a Washington guy, I was a New York guy,” Trump said. ” I was a New York builder, and I built buildings in New York, and I knew that whole world, but I didn’t know the Washington world too well, and all of a sudden, you’re supposed to be appointing top people.”
Biden’s age wasn’t his issue, Trump says
Trump said that his concerns with President Joe Biden, who is three and a half years older than Trump, were not because of his age, but because of his believed cognitive impairment.
“We have a guy that doesn’t make it past four o’clock, and it’s not because of age,” Trump said. “I know so many guys in their late 80s, and they’re better than him. I said to one guy, ‘I think you’re smarter than you were 25 years ago.’ I’ve known him a long time. He’s 89 years old. He’s sharp. He’s great. Biden gives people a bad name.”
Since Biden dropped out of the race, Trump is now the oldest presidential candidate ever and more than 18 years older than Harris. Harris has called Trump “deranged” and “mentally unstable,” and her campaign has targeted Trump’s age, attacks the GOP leader and his allies have rejected.
Trump claims being shot made him a ‘tougher guy’
Rogan asked Trump if he had a scar from the bullet that hit his ear and almost took his life in the assassination attempt that shook the nation in July.
Trump showed his ear, indicating to Rogan where the bullet “zigged right in.”
Rogan said the scar healed pretty nicely.
“It’s not like some of the wrestlers’ [scars], some of the UFC fighters [scars], Trump said. “But you see the things take off a little bit, but it makes me a tougher guy.”
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) October 26, 2024
Trump entertains the idea of eliminating federal income tax
Rogan asked Trump if he was serious about his proposal of eliminating a federal income tax, an idea the Republican candidate shared on Fox News earlier this week.
Trump voiced casual support for the idea of eliminating the federal income tax, suggesting a return to economic policies that existed before the early 20th century.
“Yeah, sure,” Trump said. “But why not?”
Trump suggested that to replace the revenue stream, the government would just create more tariffs, something upon which critics have cast doubt.
‘No reason’ not to believe there’s life on other planets
Rogan asked Trump whether he believes there are government secrets about extraterrestrial life — a conspiracy theory that has gained steam among the public in recent years. A Pentagon investigation found that there is no evidence that the United States has covered up evidence of alien existence.
“There’s no reason not to think that Mars and all these planets don’t have life,” Trump said.
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Rogan countered that all the rovers and equipment on Mars failed to prove evidence of life on the planet.
“Maybe it’s life that we don’t know about, Trump said in response.