'I voted for none of this': Trump-friendly podcasters now walking away from him
Several prominent internet personalities who helped boost President Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign are now publicly distancing themselves from his administration, nine months into his second term.
Rolling Stone noted in a report published Monday that figures like Adin Ross, Joe Rogan, Andrew Schulz and Theo Von were among a wave of manosphere podcasters and streamers who gave Trump access to large audiences of young men during the election cycle. Their platforms often served as uncritical venues for Trump to promote his message.
Now, some are expressing regret or frustration over their involvement.
“I really really wish I never got into politics,” Kick streamer Adin Ross told his viewers recently, the report noted.
“I just don’t think I’ll ever care enough again for another politician.”
Ross interviewed Trump at Mar-a-Lago in August 2024.
During the appearance, Ross encouraged his followers to vote for Trump and presented him with a custom Tesla Cybertruck and a Rolex watch. The two mocked traditional media and praised each other throughout the conversation.
Ross’s interview was one of several high-profile appearances Trump made on what the report called “bro-focused” shows during the campaign.
Another came in the same month, when comedian Theo Von hosted Trump on his "This Past Weekend" podcast.
Trump questioned Von about his past drug use, while Von asked the president about his children. Von later attended Trump’s inauguration.
Last month, the Department of Homeland Security used a clip of Von saying, “Heard you got deported, dude. Bye!” in a social media video about immigration enforcement. That’s when Von responded with public criticism and distanced himself from the administration’s policy.
“My father immigrated here from Nicaragua. One of my prized possessions is his immigration papers from when he came here — I have them in a frame,” Von said. “This was just f—— up. It was f—— up.”
Von also posted, then deleted, a message to DHS saying: “I didn’t approve to be used in this. I know you know my address so send a check. And please take this down and please keep me out of your ‘banger’ deportation videos.”
Immigration enforcement has emerged as a key issue dividing Trump’s administration and some of the same media figures who once amplified him. Earlier this year, Joe Rogan criticized the mass deportation of hundreds of Venezuelan men — most without criminal records — to El Salvador’s CECOT prison.
“This is kind of crazy that that could be possible,” Rogan said in March. “The cause is let’s get the gang members out, everybody agrees, but let’s not let innocent gay hairdressers get lumped up with the gangs.”
Rogan again criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in July.
“There’s two things that are insane,” he said. “One is the targeting of migrant workers — not cartel members, not gang members, not drug dealers — just construction workers. Showing up at construction sites, raiding them. Gardeners. Like, really?”
The report also highlighted how Andrew Schulz, host of the Flagrant podcast, expressed disillusionment with Trump’s broader agenda, despite having voted for him in 2024.
“I voted for none of this,” Schulz said in July.
“He’s doing the exact opposite of everything I voted for. I want him to stop the wars — he’s funding them. I want him to shrink spending, reduce the budget — he’s increasing it. It’s like everything that he said he’s going to do — except sending immigrants back, and now he’s even flip-flopped on that, which I kind of like.”
