In an unexpected turn of events, outspoken podcast host and self-described “bleeding heart liberal” Joe Rogan suggested last week that in a hypothetical rematch of the 2020 presidential election, he would pull the lever for former President Donald Trump, as the New York Post reports.

The reasoning, as Rogan explained, is that in his estimation, President Joe Biden is already “gone,” and his Cabinet – at least as currently comprised – is of questionable quality.

Rogan sounds off

Speaking with comedian and political commentator Russell Brand during last Thursday's installment of The Joe Rogan Experience, the host of the same name discussed the upcoming election and his complaints about the current administration.

“I would vote for Trump before I'd vote for Biden. Just 'cause I think with Biden, like he's gone,” Rogan began.

Pointing to his broader worries about the people with whom Biden has surrounded himself, Rogan added, “You're gonna be relying on his Cabinet. And I knew his cabinet would be this f**king sideshow of diversity – which is exactly what it is.”

Making a pointedly sarcastic reference to the self-described nonbinary former Energy Department official Sam Brinton, who is currently facing charges of felony theft of luggage taken from multiple airports on multiple occasions, Rogan said, “You just said, 'Oh look at this. A man who dresses like a woman and has a beard and a mustache, but also wears lipstick. This is perfect for us. I don't give a f**k what this guy's good or bad at. I don't give a f**k what his credentials are. This makes us look like we're inclusive. This makes us look like we're on the right side, so let's hire this person.'”

Brand concurs

Far from a conservative himself, Brand joined in criticizing what he believes is the Biden administration's transparently shallow commitment to diversity, as the Daily Mail noted.

Brand began, “I feel sometimes that Joe Biden is the perfect president for the time. 'Cause he's like the perfect metaphor of what it is. The system is over.”

The British firebrand continued, “And for all of the talk of diversity, what have you got? You've got a career politician, white male that's falling apart before your very eyes. I'm telling you that it's bulls**t.”

Blasting the factionalism he sees as one of the worst ills of American society at present, Brand accused Democrats of causing vast swaths of citizens to hate one another, saying, “You can't criminalize half of a country and say that they're far right fascists any more than you say that in my view, extreme leftists.”

Like-minded critics

Rogan's decision to host a chat with Brand was particularly timely, given the latter's headline-grabbing appearance just two days later on Real Time with Bill Maher in which the biting social critic expanded on the topic of the country's political divide and the role played by big media in widening it.

As the Post noted separately, Brand made some particularly searing comments in conversation with Jon Heilemann, a political analyst for MSNBC, whom he accused of hypocritically attacking Fox News and other conservative outlets for acting in the same biased manner as his own network.

“I have to say that it's disingenuous to claim that the biases that are exhibited on Fox News are any different than the biases exhibited on MSNBC,” said Brand. “I've been on that MSNBC, mate – it was propagandistic nut-crackery on there.”

When asked by Heilemann to cite a “specific example of an MSNBC correspondent or anchor being on television saying something they knew was false,” Brand raised the “ludicrous, outrageous criticism of Joe Rogan around Ivermectin” and “deliberately referring to it as a horse medicine when they know this is an effective medicine.”

Durable disdain?

For two self-identified liberals such as Rogan and Brand to raise such serious concerns about the incumbent Democratic president is something that is likely to give party elites serious food for thought, particularly given that Biden himself has yet to officially announce his candidacy in 2024, and a replacement at the top of the ticket is theoretically not out of the question.

Despite Rogan's professed disdain for Biden and those working in his White House and his seemingly hyperbolic remarks about supporting Trump, prior statements made by the popular podcast personality seem to suggest that in reality, the former commander in chief is highly unlikely to earn his vote.

As the Post noted, Rogan has already offered praise for Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who, though not yet officially in the race, is widely expected to throw his hat into the ring in the near future.

“Yeah, I think Ron DeSantis would work as a good president,” Rogan said last year, adding, “I mean, what he's done for Florida has been admirable.”