Podcast host Joe Rogan recently expressed his frustrations with Donald Trump and the war in Iran, which had left him feeling “politically homeless.” With remarkable speed, the White House responded, not by attacking the host, but by announcing a policy measure to address one of Rogan’s concerns. The Washington Post reported:
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President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered new efforts to boost federal research into psychedelics and make the drugs available in controlled therapeutic settings, flanked by military veterans who said the move would save lives. […]
The president was joined by federal health officials and Joe Rogan, a popular podcaster who had urged Trump to increase access to psychedelics.
While the White House tends not to organize Saturday morning events, officials made an exception this past weekend, holding an Oval Office gathering in which the president signed a directive on psychedelics. Rogan’s role was unsubtle: The podcast host literally stood behind Trump, hovering over the president.
What’s more, Trump repeatedly talked about Rogan, crediting him for helping put the issue on his radar and describing the host as “the great Joe Rogan,” who’s “a fantastic person.” The president also offered the host an opportunity to speak at the signing ceremony, and Rogan talked about recently having sent Trump some information on the issue.
“The text message came back, ‘Sounds great. Do you want FDA approval? Let’s do it,’” Rogan explained. “It was literally that quick.”
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Soon after, Mehmet Oz, who leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told attendees, “This was an unimaginable task in one week to be able to go from a series of connections and communications with Joe Rogan” to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In other words, according to powerful federal officials speaking at a White House event, a podcast host with no medical background sent some information to a president who has long struggled to understand scientific basics, and just days later, the president issued a controversial directive related to potentially dangerous drugs without any meaningful deliberation or forethought.
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