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Trump Unleashes MAGA Army on Joe Rogan for the Pettiest Reason

Donald Trump is freaking out over Joe Rogan’s pseudo-endorsement for president.

Donald Trump yelling and pointing a finger
Scott Olson/Getty Images

After Joe Rogan spoke favorably of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and then tried to backtrack and claim it wasn’t an official endorsement, he drew the ire of Donald Trump.

The Republican presidential candidate and convicted felon took to Truth Social Friday afternoon to attack the conservative comedian, podcaster, and UFC commentator, speculating that UFC fans might not be happy with Rogan’s stance.

Twitter Screenshot: Kaitlan Collins @kaitlancollins After Joe Rogan voiced support for RFK Jr., saying he was "only one that makes sense to me," Trump responds with this: Truth Social screenshot Donald J. Trump @realdonaldtrump: It will be interesting to see how loudly Joe Rogan gets BOOED the next time he enters the UFC ring??? MAGA2024

The notoriously thin-skinned Trump has courted the UFC and mixed martial arts fans during his presidential campaign, even having UFC CEO Dana White introduce him at the Republican National Convention. Trump attended three UFC events in 2023 alone, and continued to show the organization his support in 2024. He has even floated the idea of UFC matches between migrants and native-born Americans.

Attacking Rogan, who hosts one of the most popular podcasts in the country and one listened to by many on the right, is not the wisest decision for Trump. Rogan has survived criticism over his views on Islamophobia, vaccines, Covid-19, racism, and the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgender people, among other controversies. Despite courting a nuclear level of criticism, he continues to retain millions of listeners, and his UFC fan base predates the podcast. And again, Rogan said he hasn’t actually made his endorsement yet.

Rogan’s following mostly consists of young men, just like that of Adin Ross, who recently interviewed Trump for his livestream. Trump wants and needs that audience to turn out and vote for him, and in recent weeks, young people, both men and women, have been flocking to the Harris-Walz campaign and helping to sell out rallies. If Trump alienates them, he might find himself at a disadvantage on election night.

Elon Musk Won’t Quit Trying to Stoke Civil War in the U.K.

Can someone tell the far-right maniac to cut it out?

Elon Musk smiles smugly and makes a hand gesture as if in question
Marc Piasecki/Getty Images

Why in the world is Elon Musk trying to stoke violence and disorder in the United Kingdom? Free speech, of course!

Following a stabbing last month in Southport in the northern U.K. that killed three young girls, disinformation quickly spread on Elon Musk’s platform, X, including the rumor that the attacker was an asylum-seeker.

On Sunday, hundreds of far-right anti-immigrant protesters attacked a hotel housing asylum-seekers in Rotherham, a town in South Yorkshire, England. From there, rioters continued to take to the streets in other cities and towns.

As violent mobs took to the streets, Musk tweeted that “civil war is inevitable” and blamed “open borders.”

Twitter screenshot Elon Musk @elonmusk: Civil war is inevitable 11:07 PM · Aug 3, 2024 · 9.7M Views

As the week went on, anti-fascists and U.K. police faced down the rioters, eventually quelling the protests. On Tuesday, the U.K. government promised to bring rioters and their online agitators to justice.

In response, Musk went so far as to call the U.K. authorities pursuing the right-wing violent perpetrators the “Woke Stasi” and clashed with new Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “Is this Britain or the Soviet Union?” Musk asked in another tweet.

“Let me also say to large social media companies and those who run them: Violent disorder, clearly whipped up online, that is also a crime,” responded Starmer. “It’s happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere.”

Days have passed, and still, Musk seems unfazed by Starmer’s threats or by the real-world violence his social media site has platformed. With no hint of remorse, he tweeted on Friday afternoon, “Support freedom of speech in the UK!”

Twitter screenshot Elon Musk @elonmusk: Support freedom of speech in the UK! 1:27 PM · Aug 9, 2024 · 18.4M Views

MAGA’s “Tampon Tim” Attack on Tim Walz Quickly Falls Apart

Republicans’ newest smear of Kamala Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, is crumbling in the face of facts.

Tim Walz speaking at a rally
Hannah Beier/Bloomberg/Getty Images

A conservative strategy to knock Minnesota Governor Tim Walz down a peg drastically backfired on Friday when it turned out the entire scheme was, actually, not true at all.

The day after Vice President Kamala Harris announced Walz as her running mate, conservatives threw their first major punch at the Midwesterner, labeling him “Tampon Tim” in reference to a 2023 Minnesota state law that conservatives criticized for providing menstrual products in school bathrooms. That included—according to the right-wing media pundits that amplified the rumor—a mandate to also put them in boys’ bathrooms.

Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly amplified the nickname, as did Chaiya Raichik, who posted a photo to her X account, Libs of Tiktok, of a tampon dispenser in the toilet, captioned, “This happened in the boy’s bathroom in an Oregon school after Oregon passed similar laws to Tampon Tim requiring tampons in boy’s bathrooms.” Donald Trump’s campaign also got in on the gossip, with campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt telling Fox News that “there is no greater threat to a woman’s health than leaders ... who support putting tampons in men’s bathrooms in public schools.”

But as it turns out, no one had actually done their research before blasting the transphobic conspiracy into the world—not even a simple Google search of the law’s actual text. In reality, the wording of Minnesota’s law offers “considerable flexibility” in its implementation and doesn’t specify which bathrooms the product should be placed in, reported the Star Tribune. “That might mean making these products available for free in various locations for all who need them, such as unisex bathrooms, girls’ bathrooms, the school nurse or the front office, but not necessarily in boys’ bathrooms.”

Minnesota is far from the only state to offer such assistance in an effort to thwart an economic phenomenon known as “period poverty,” which forces young girls to skip or leave school when they or their families can’t afford to buy period products. Under Republican Governor Mike DeWine, Ohio has set aside $5 million in funding for a near-identical program to Minnesota’s in its schools. Alabama and Georgia have created grants for menstrual product accessibility, while other states like Washington, Nevada, Illinois, and Utah still mandate that their schools provide the products even with zero state funding, according to the Tribune.

“If we don’t talk about it, it’ll never be fixed,” 18-year-old Elif Ozturk of Golden Valley, Minnesota, told the Tribune. “These people who are in power, predominantly old men, have no clue what young girls go through every single day.”

MAGA Chaos Ensues as Joe Rogan Refuses to Endorse Trump

Did Donald Trump just lose a huge endorsement?

Donald Trump speaks at a mic and makes a hand gesture
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Podcaster and comedian Joe Rogan seemingly endorsed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for president, but after drawing anger and scorn from the MAGA faithful, he quickly tried to backtrack.

Rogan made the initial show of support for RFK Jr. on Thursday on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, attacking both Republicans and Democrats.

“They gaslight you, they manipulate you, they promote narratives, and the only one who is not doing that is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,” Rogan said, adding that Kennedy is “the only one that makes sense to me.”

“He’s the only one that—he doesn’t attack people, he attacks actions and ideas, but he’s much more reasonable and intelligent,” Rogan said. “I mean, the guy was an environmental attorney and he cleaned up the East River. He’s a legitimate guy.”

Trump’s fans weren’t happy. Right-wing influencer johnny maga called the news “sad,” while fellow influencer Catturd attacked Rogan, calling him “the podcast Equivalent of a dumb blonde joke.”

Twitter screenshot Catturd ™ @catturd2: So - I’ve never been a Joe Rogan fan - can’t stand him - yes he has a popular podcast, but I’ve always thought he was absolutely politically dumb - he’s great at figuring things out 2 years after we do. What a legend. So did it surprise me when he endorsed idiot RFK jr today? LOL! No. We are talking about the same fucking idiot who endorsed Bernie Sanders right? 😂 He’s the podcast Equivalent of a dumb blonde joke. 9:41 PM · Aug 8, 2024 · 2.7M Views

Rogan was joined by right-wing podcaster Tim Pool, who initially posted on X that he was supporting Kennedy too. Later, though, both Rogan and Pool backtracked, with Pool claiming that he was trolling, and Rogan later claiming that his words weren’t an endorsement. But that was too late for Kennedy himself, who posted messages of appreciation to both Rogan and Pool.

The confusing messages from Pool and Rogan follow white supremacist Nick Fuentes’s rejection of Trump’s campaign earlier on Friday. The far-right Nazi sympathizer said that the Republican presidential nominee’s campaign was headed for a “catastrophic loss” and “declared a new Groyper War against the Trump campaign,” referring to his movement of white nationalist trolls.

Wherever Pool, Rogan, and Fuentes stand, they are very influential on the far right, which Trump depends on as a support base. Far-right movements and individuals could cause a lot of problems before and after November’s elections, but the question is whether they’ll be on Trump’s side or redirect their efforts elsewhere.

More on Trump’s base turning against him:

Try to Make Any Sense of What Trump Says Here About the Abortion Pill

During a trainwreck press conference, Donald Trump was asked about mifepristone. His answer was total gibberish.

Donald Trump sits at a table. A large U.S. flag is behind him.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Donald Trump isn’t ruling out a ban of the abortion pill mifepristone, he said at his long and rambling press conference Thursday.

NBC News correspondent Garrett Haake asked Trump if he would take other measures against abortion rights besides an outright ban, specifically mentioning revoking access to mifepristone. Trump gave an open-ended answer.

“You could do things that will be—would supplement absolutely, and those things are pretty open and humane, but you have to be able to have a vote. And all I want to do is give everybody a vote, and the votes are taking place right now as we speak,” Trump said.

“Is that something you would consider?” Haake followed up.

“There are many things on a humane basis you can do outside of that, but you also have to give a vote, and the people are going to say …” Trump trailed off.

Beneath the former president and convicted felon’s word salad is a signal that he is open to banning the pill. The Supreme Court shot down a right-wing legal challenge to mifepristone’s FDA approval in June, but Republicans in Louisiana have successfully restricted access. It’s no secret that banning the abortion pill is a top priority of religious conservatives, as Project 2025 explicitly mentions banning “chemical abortion” and includes several ways to carry such a ban out.

During his presidential campaign, Trump has tried to publicly downplay Republican efforts to ban or restrict abortion, but his messages to the Christian right suggest otherwise. The conservative operatives crafting policies for a possible Trump administration are more concerned with framing rather than softening any anti-abortion measures, even if that means severe punishments for women who get abortions as well as the people who help them.

Trump has also pushed the Republican lie that Democrats like President Biden support “abortion after birth,” even repeating it in Thursday’s press conference. It seems that Trump is trying to hide his abortion views from the public, tell friendly audiences what they want to hear, and then carry out the bidding of conservatives if he returns to the White House.