Podcaster Joe Rogan mocked President Donald Trump over his handling of the Epstein files — and admitted he considered purchasing the deceased sex offender’s private island in the Caribbean.
During a wide-ranging interview with comedian Brian Simpson released on Wednesday, Rogan took aim at Trump’s dramatic change in tune regarding Epstein, who is once again in the national spotlight.
“I heard there’s no files. I heard it’s a hoax,” the Texas-based podcast host said. “And then all of a sudden he’s going to release the files. I thought there was no files. He wants an investigation now! Like, what is going on?”
The Republican president has repeatedly described the controversy surrounding Epstein as a “hoax” perpetuated by Democrats. And, he previously attempted to persuade GOP lawmakers from voting for a bill mandating the Department of Justice to release its files on Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.
But, over the weekend, Trump suddenly reversed course. In a Sunday post on Truth Social, the president wrote, “House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide.”
On Tuesday, the House voted nearly unanimously to compel the Justice Department to make public its files on Epstein. On Wednesday, the Senate passed the bill, which will now head to Trump. He previously said he would sign it.
Trump has maintained that he did nothing wrong and that he cut ties with Epstein years ago. He says he knew nothing about Epstein’s criminal behavior.
The Republican president also recently instructed the Justice Department and the FBI to investigate Epstein’s links to former President Bill Clinton, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and others.
Summers’ private emails with Epstein were made public last week, when a House committee released a trove of documents from the late pedophile’s estate. In one 2018 exchange, Epstein described himself as Summers’ “wing man.” Summers has been married since 2005. On Wednesday, he released a statement saying, “I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused.”
During the two-hour podcast interview, Rogan revealed that he once expressed interest in purchasing one of Epstein’s most notorious properties: Little Saint James, a small private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Multiple women have testified in court that they were trafficked to and abused on the Caribbean isle, known by locals as “Pedophile Island.” It was bought by billionaire investor Stephen Deckoff in 2023 for $60 million.
“We looked at that island,” Rogan told Simpson. “We were trying to buy it,” he said. “We were actually — I shouldn’t say we were trying to buy it, we were thinking about it very briefly... But it was too expensive. It was like 55 [million].”
“What? It’s not discounted now?” Simpson asked.
“That’s the discount!” Rogan responded.
Rogan, who hosts one of the most popular podcasts in America, hosted Trump on his show in October last year, ahead of the 2024 presidential election. On the eve of Election Day, the comedian and former UFC commentator endorsed Trump. He wrote on X that Elon Musk “makes what I think is the most compelling case for Trump you'll hear, and I agree with him every step of the way.”
Since then, Rogan has criticized the Trump administration on multiple occasions, including over his decision to deploy the National Guard to U.S. cities and over his aggressive immigration tactics. On other occasions, he’s appeared to signal his support for Trump, telling podcast guests in October that Trump should run for California governor and “fix” the state.
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