Trump makes a beeline for Joe Rogan at UFC 327 after podcaster ripped Iran war

MIAMI, FLORIDA: It was business as usual for President Donald Trump as he made a big entrance at UFC 327.

Trump arrived Saturday night at Miami’s Kaseya Center flanked by UFC boss Dana White and a tight-knit family entourage that included daughters Ivanka Trump and Tiffany Trump.

The crowd erupted in a loud cheer as Trump emerged from the tunnel, with music from MAGA rocker Kid Rock blasting across the speakers.

Trump waved to the crowd and then made a beeline straight for the announcing table, where podcaster and UFC commentator Joe Rogan was stationed.

The two shared a handshake and a brief exchange. Trump pointed at Rogan, said a few words, and leaned in. Rogan was all smiles, visibly engaged and nodding along as Trump spoke into his ear. It looked easy, familiar, even friendly. 

Rogan’s recent shots at Trump

The warm moment comes after Rogan has spent weeks taking swings at Trump over the the Iran war.

“The problem is from the outside, like the rest of the world, you look at this unnecessary aggression by the United States government, and then you tack on whatever propaganda they have already been spitting out about America for the last 20 or 30 years, and then this war with Iran gets really ugly,” Rogan said. “Because that’s how you start a World War III. You start a World War III by doing something that — other than people that wanted this forever — who else thinks that’s a good idea?”

He questioned the premise of the conflict. “Who else thinks it’s a good idea to just attack a country that isn’t doing anything. They haven’t done anything," he said.

However, Iran is estimated to have been responsible for the deaths of more than 1,000 Americans since 1979 through its terrorist proxies.

Rogan also suggested the move was a political betrayal. “It just seems so insane based on what he ran on,” he said. “I mean, this is why a lot of people feel betrayed, right? He ran on ‘No more wars, end these stupid, senseless wars,’ and then we have one that we can’t even really clearly define why we did it.”

But the numbers suggest Trump’s base isn’t wavering. A YouGov–Economist poll found 91 per cent of MAGA voters and 83 per cent of self-identified Republicans support the war effort.

Rogan, who endorsed Trump in 2024 and hosted him on his podcast weeks before the election, has since cooled off and recently described himself as “politically homeless.” That said, he has also floated the idea that Trump may have launched Operation Epic Fury as a distraction from the Epstein Files.

Vance says US-Iran peace talks have failed

The Miami appearance came as Vice President JD Vance was in the middle of a marathon meeting with Iranian leaders in Pakistan, working toward a deal aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the conflict.

At the time of writing, Vance announced that the talks had failed and that the delegations was heading back to the US, capping more than 21 hours of high-stakes negotiations in Islamabad.

“The bad news is that we have not reached an agreement, and I think that's bad news for Iran much more than it's bad news for the United States of America. So we go back to the United States having not come to an agreement," Vance said at a press conference in Islamabad. "We've made very clear what our red lines are, what things we're willing to accommodate them on, and what things we're not willing to accommodate them on. And we've made that as clear as we possibly could, and they have chosen not to accept our terms."