'Imagine if it blew up': Joe Rogan in disbelief over Trump using press as decoys in plane switch

Joe Rogan joked about how the press might have reacted and imagined how Trump could respond if the aircraft had been attacked
Joe Rogan said the reporters had unknowingly signed up for a potentially dangerous situation without being told that President Donald Trump was no longer aboard (Getty Images, AP Photo)
Joe Rogan said the reporters had unknowingly signed up for a potentially dangerous situation without being told that President Donald Trump was no longer aboard (Getty Images, AP Photo)

WASHINGTON, DC: Joe Rogan was shocked to learn that President Donald Trump had secretly changed planes when leaving Turkey after a reported security threat, which left the members of the press who were on the original plane in the dark about the fact that the president had already left.

On the most recent episode of ‘The Joe Rogan Experience,' Rogan talked about the unusual incident with comedian Joe DeRosa as a guest. When discussing the choice to transfer Trump to a different military aircraft while the press pool stayed on the original plane, both of them responded with a combination of disbelief and humor.

Joe Rogan reacts to Trump’s secret plane switch

Trump was secretly whisked off Air Force One in an airport catering truck and flown out of Turkey aboard a different military aircraft last month, while members of the press were left on the previous aircraft.



Critics have expressed outrage over leaving the press pool in the dark and possibly under threat.

Rogan acknowledged he understood there is a logic to leaving and not informing the press, as his producer Jamie Vernon explained that could alert others about the threat or the president's whereabouts, but Rogan and DeRosa still cracked up over the outrageousness of it all.

"I understand, Jamie. Exactly. And if the press dies, so sad, but you just get more press," Rogan joked in response to Vernon.

"If that's true, that is so wild that he didn't even tell them," Rogan agreed.

The family of Army 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan depart Air Force One with U.S. President Donald Trump at Dobbins Air Reserve Base as they accompany him to Georgia following Feehan's dignified...
The discussion came as reports about Trump’s secret departure from the original aircraft continued to draw attention (Getty Images)

He added after confirming the "crazy" story was true, "Bro, those press people were signing up for something they didn't know they were signing up for. And they didn't tell them at all. When you want to know who is more important, you or the president, that's when you find out."

The press left in the dark, amusing Joe Rogan

Rogan zeroed in on what really caught his attention: the fact that the journalists had no idea Trump had already left the plane.

DeRosa asked if there was any backlash from the press, to which Rogan joked, "I would imagine they're a little perturbed. That would perturb me."

Rogan joked later that Trump would probably just "talk s**t" about the reporters if they had been targeted and died.

President Donald Trump speaks directly to CEO of Americans for Ibogaine W. Bryan Hubbard while Joe Rogan looks on in the Oval Office of the White House, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump speaks directly to CEO of Americans for Ibogaine W Bryan Hubbard while Joe Rogan looks on in the Oval Office of the White House, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Washington (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

"That's so crazy. Imagine if it blew up. He'd be like, I should have been there, I wanted to be there with them when they died!" he said.

He used the moment to talk about something bigger: how the president interacts with the press that follows him everywhere.

DeRosa wondered if the reporters felt blindsided or upset about being kept in the dark. 

"They're heroes!" DeRosa added. "He would probably talk s**t about them," he said, then impersonating Trump again, "Maybe if they had written nicer things about me, I would have told them!"

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 6: U.S. President Donald Trump gaggles with reporters while in-flight aboard Air Force One on February 6, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida. The President is spending the weekend at Mar-a-Lago, his private club. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Donald Trump
President Donald Trump gaggles with reporters while in-flight aboard Air Force One on February 6, 2026 in Palm Beach, Florida (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images) 

The whole back-and-forth happened as Trump’s secret exit from the plane kept making headlines. Rogan and DeRosa kept circling back to how odd the whole thing was, and the position those journalists found themselves in, still stuck on the plane without a clue.

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