Joe Rogan listens to President Donald Trump speak in the Oval Office of the White House on Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demri Nikhinson)

Joe Rogan describes their recent conversation donald trump At the UFC event, he shot down speculations of a rift between the two.The moment attracted attention at UFC 327 in Miami, where his brief exchange with Rogan became a topic of discussion among fans, especially given Rogan’s recent public comments on the White House event and broader issues.Speaking on a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan said that his exchange with Trump “wasn’t that he was angry at me at all; it was the opposite,” even as his broader stance on the administration has become more critical in recent months.

What happened at UFC 327?

The conversation came after Trump attended UFC 327 in Miami on April 11, where he received a more mixed reaction from the crowd than a previous appearance with UFC President Dana White. During the program, Trump approached Rogan cageside, leading to speculation among fans about the nature of their conversation. Addressing that Recent episode of his podcastRogan rejected the idea of ​​tension. When guest Luis Gomez asked, “The big conspiracy theory is that Trump is angry at you, when he came up to you at the UFC, and he was talking dirty to you?”, Rogan responded, “No, it was the opposite.” He then connected this exchange to a prior discussion about ibogaine, a psychedelic substance that he has advocated in the treatment of mental health conditions. “I said how effective it is, and I said it’s been around for a very long time,” Rogan explained. “And he said, ‘What are you looking for? Are you looking for FDA approval?’ He says, ‘I like it.’ He said, ‘Let’s do it!’

Ibogaine controversy escalates after Joe Rogan shared details with Donald Trump sparking debate over PTSD treatment and health risks (Image via Getty)

Rogan said that when they met again at a UFC event, Trump said it directly: “Literally he sees me the next day at the UFC, shakes my hand and says ‘It’s done.’ That’s what he was saying and I said, ‘Thank you, sir.’ It wasn’t that he was angry with me at all; It was the opposite.

Executive order and Ibogaine discussion

A few days after that exchange, Trump signs an executive order Its aim is to accelerate research into psychedelic-based treatments. Rogan was present behind the president in the Oval Office during the signing, which Trump said would “dramatically accelerate access to new medical research and treatments based on psychedelic drugs.” The order directs federal agencies to expedite the research, review, and potential approval processes for treatments including ibogaine, particularly for patients with serious mental health conditions who have not responded to existing treatments. Referring to Rogan’s role in raising the issue, Trump said during the Oval Office event: “We all respect Joe and he’s a little more liberal than me. That’s OK. I have a lot of friends who are liberal. Joe is a wonderful guy. He wrote me a little note about it, and I checked it out. Everybody came back with the same answer.”

Rogan’s criticism of White House UFC card

Despite that access, Rogan has Are openly criticizing the planned UFC event at the White House, known as UFC Freedom 250 or the White House card, is scheduled to take place on June 14. He confirmed that he would be part of the commentary team but made clear his reservations about the programme. “Yeah, I’m not thrilled about that (incident),” Rogan said. “Yeah, I’ll be there but I’m not thrilled about it, it doesn’t seem like a smart idea… It’s kind of a gimmick, you know, it is.” He also noted how the card has been received by fans, noting that expectations may have contributed to the criticism. “And people are criticizing the card but if it was any other card it would have been a great card, it’s just that they’re criticizing it because they said it would be the greatest card ever.” Rogan said the setting itself raises logistical and safety concerns. “It would also be a security nightmare.”

Concerns about time and global stress

Rogan’s gravest concerns are with the timing of the event, particularly given the ongoing tensions with the United States in the Middle East. “It feels crazy,” he said on his podcast. “I know it would be very high security and high tension and weird to have a fight at the White House in the middle of a war.” He said that although tensions are expected to ease, he is not sure this will happen in time. “I hope the war will be resolved by June, but honestly I don’t believe that will happen.” “It will be strange, it will be a very high-profile event where everyone will be in one place at one time.”

Widespread change in Rogan’s stance on Trump

Rogan had supported Trump ahead of the 2024 election, but his stance has changed, with criticism coming in several areas of policy. He has taken issue with federal immigration enforcement operations, particularly ICE raids, saying agents were targeting “the easiest pickings”, and later argued that masked federal officers were “a problem on the streets of our city” during operations in Minneapolis following the fatal shootings of residents Renee Good and Alex Pabretti. On foreign policy, Rogan has also Questioned the attitude of the administration to Iran, suggesting a connection to domestic political issues. He said, “Look, the Epstein files have come out, we’re going to war with Iran.” These posts mark a clear distance from Trump, even as the two continue to interact publicly at events such as UFC fights.

where things stand

Despite raising concerns about Trump’s approach to issues such as immigration, foreign policy and the broader direction of the administration, Rogan remains involved with the UFC and is still expected to be a part of his White House schedule. His continued outreach and visible rapport with Trump, including their UFC talks and Oval Office appearances, puts him in a rare position of maintaining a cordial relationship while still openly pushing for areas with which he clearly disagrees.

PM Modi and US President Donald Trump (file photo)

TOI correspondent from Washington: US President Donald Trump on Thursday worsened Washington’s already sour relations with the world’s two largest countries by reposting a four-page racist rant by a supporter, calling India and China “hell” and accusing them of exploiting America’s birthright citizenship privileges.The MAGA supremo, who is considered unpatriotic and unregulated by a growing number of Americans and is known for posting unfiltered garbage, decided to repost an anti-immigrant attack by conservative radio host Michael Savage, who supports nativist nationalism while emphasizing borders, language and culture. In his article, Savage claims that under birthright citizenship, “Here a child becomes an instant citizen, and then they bring the whole family over from China or India or some other hellhole on the planet.“In language that echoes crude nativist overtones, he charged that immigrants from these countries exploit the system through so-called “birth tourism” and described them as “gangsters with laptops”, accusing them of undermining American workers and institutions.The post shared on Trump’s Truth social platform was not a casual endorsement or a casual “like.” It was a wholesale amplification of Savage’s comment, effectively elevating the sitting president’s rhetoric into mainstream political discourse. By choosing to repost the entire comment without any warnings or distorted language, Trump was seen as endorsing not only the policy criticism, but the rhetoric itself.The repost comes as the US Supreme Court considers the legality of Trump’s executive order seeking to curtail birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment. It also coincides with falling approval ratings and a contentious midterm election cycle, suggesting that immigration and the cultural concerns surrounding it remain central to Trump’s political strategy.US officials, some of whom are clearly frustrated by Trump’s unfiltered posts and statements, were left to clean up the mess by repeating some of the complementary things he had said about India in the past. The MAGA boss has often spoken of his personal relationship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing personal warmth and great friendship, while rarely articulating a concrete policy approach to US-India relations.Despite US diplomats trying to highlight the fiasco, the US Embassy in New Delhi approached the media to play down the latest scandal, with former officials admitting that US-India relations are currently at an all-time low. Former Obama White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel recently said at a Harvard event that the Trump administration had basically spit in India’s face, even as many regional experts are surprised by the US President’s embrace of Pakistan, a country he described as a haven for terrorists during his first term. India’s External Affairs Ministry said it had seen Trump’s post, without elaborating.Trump’s record is littered with controversial—and often explicitly racist—comments dating back years. During his first presidency, he reportedly referred to Haiti as well as African countries as “waste countries” in a White House meeting, while expressing a preference for immigrants from Nordic countries.Previously, in one of the most infamous cases, Trump took out full-page newspaper ads in 1989 calling for the death penalty for the Central Park Five case – five black and Latino teenagers who were later acquitted after spending years in prison. Even after his innocence was established, Trump continued to question his acquittal, a stance that has been widely criticized as racially charged and is emblematic of a broader pattern of prejudice dating back to his father, Fred Trump, who was seen as an exploitative land shark.Trump’s political career began with the so-called “birther” conspiracy targeting Barack Obama, which falsely claimed that the first black American president was not born in the United States. Throughout his campaigns, Trump also called for a “complete and total shutdown” of Muslim immigration, described Mexican immigrants as “rapists” and repeatedly warned of an “invasion” from the southern border. In that context, Savage Repost seems less an aberration than a continuation.