Actor and activist Mark Ruffalo didn’t hold back when he aimed at podcast host Joe Rogan, accusing him of either being “not that smart or not that dumb.” This comes in the wake of Rogan’s sudden criticism of Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
The sharp Threads post came in response to Rogan’s Trump criticisms during a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. In the episode, Rogan appeared surprised by the scope of Trump’s proposed deportation agenda.
Ruffalo to Rogan: “It’s a little late now”
Ruffalo’s post read, “Dear @joerogan. It’s a little late now to pretend like Project 2025 didn’t exist and wasn’t the [playbook] all along.”
The viral post was Ruffalo’s response to what he sees as Rogan’s belated realization. Specifically, Ruffalo was referring to Rogan’s apparent discomfort with Trump’s plans to expand ICE raids and mass deportations. As Ruffalo points out, these details were provided in advance in the conservative Project 2025 blueprint.
What Rogan said—and why Ruffalo’s calling him out
It’s good Rogan is here now but my god man they were waving around “mass deportation now” signs last summer https://t.co/x9Ei6I4URy
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 5, 2025
In the July 5 episode with Amjad Masad, Rogan voiced alarm over reports of Trump preparing to deploy the military and ICE to detain and remove millions of undocumented immigrants. “It’s insane,” Rogan said, who previously endorsed Trump over Joe Biden.
Ruffalo’s post skewers this change of tone. According to Ruffalo, the policies Rogan now finds outrageous were never hidden. They were made explicit in Project 2025, a multi-agency transition plan organized by the Heritage Foundation that lays out how a second Trump administration could dismantle much of the federal bureaucracy and centralize power within the executive branch.
The document includes aggressive immigration enforcement measures, plans to purge civil servants deemed disloyal, and the reclassification of thousands of federal employees. The full plan, published at Project2025.org, has been a source of mounting controversy, with critics warning that it outlines a roadmap to authoritarianism. Ruffalo’s post suggests that Rogan’s newfound objections ignore months of public planning.
The backlash to Rogan’s Trump support
Ruffalo is an Academy Award-nominated actor and an outspoken political activist and environmentalist. Ruffalo has frequently used his platform to criticize Trump and raise awareness about climate change, voter suppression, and systemic injustice.
His latest criticism of Rogan fits into a larger pattern of progressive figures warning about the dangers of mainstreaming Trump’s agenda. Ruffalo’s frustration isn’t just with Rogan’s politics—it’s with what he sees as willful ignorance: that influential voices like Rogan’s helped normalize Trump’s second-term ambitions, only to feign surprise once the specifics emerge.
Rogan’s interview with Masad has already sparked blowback from both sides of the political spectrum. Progressives accuse him of providing cover for Trump, while some conservatives view his hesitation on immigration policy as a betrayal.
“Not that smart or not that dumb”
Ruffalo’s Threads post adds to the growing chorus of critics challenging Rogan’s credibility as a political commentator. If Rogan didn’t know about Project 2025, Ruffalo suggests, the issue isn’t just political judgment—it’s basic literacy. “You are either not that smart or not that dumb,” Ruffalo wrote. “It’s hard to tell at this point.”
