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Podcaster Joe Rogan discussed the war in Iran with actor Michael Douglas on Wednesday, arguing that the conflict has angered supporters of President Donald Trump, who voted for him in part because of his promises to avoid new wars.
“I do not like this Iran war in any way, shape, or form,” Rogan said. “It doesn’t make any sense for us. It seems like it’s getting really out of hand. They were trying to get every single president, including Trump in his first term, to do this,” Rogan said on his podcast.
Douglas, who is both Jewish and a pro-Israel Democrat, agreed that the conflict was a mistake.
“Now we’ve done it, and it’s very clear it’s a giant quagmire. It’s very clear there’s no easy way out. Not good,” Rogan said. “And there’s still a lot of people that insist that it had to happen, that Iran was the greatest funder of state terrorism in the world and that what they were doing was, you know, funding and arming these forces and having them do these — to commit these terrorist attacks. And I’m sure a lot of that’s true.”
Podcaster Joe Rogan criticized President Donald Trump during a recent episode of his podcast. (Rogan photo from Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC/Trump photo from Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“I concur,” Douglas said, noting his concern about the expansion of the conflict following an attack on an airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which he compared to attacks on major U.S. airports. The actor then added, “I’m surprised with all of our Western intelligence and Israelis’ intelligence that we have not had a better handle on the situation.”
Rogan responded to criticism that the Trump administration had been persuaded the conflict would be an easy victory, saying, “Well, look, obviously I’m not an expert on international relations, but I don’t think the picture that they painted of how this was going to go down was even remotely accurate.”
“Yeah,” Douglas agreed. After Rogan recalled Iran’s crackdowns on protesters and mass arrests, Douglas said there have been “tens of thousands” of arrests and appeared to suggest the war was instigated by Israel.
“I think it was instigated by Israel by the fact that they had information that these key Iranian leaders would all be together and were persuaded that we take them all out. We can turn it over and, yeah, didn’t turn out that way,” the actor said.
“I don’t know how they convinced Trump to do it,” Rogan said. “I do know that in any international conflict, I’m sure even during Vietnam, even after people kind of knew the Gulf of Tonkin was horses—, there was I’m sure there’s people even today that defend the Vietnam War,” Rogan said, referring to U.S. claims of an attack on the U.S.S. Maddox in the waters off Vietnam on Aug. 4, 1964 that escalated the conflict.
“You’re going to get people that support this war,” he continued. “But I think the majority of the United States felt like one of the things that we were voting for when we voted for Trump is, ‘No more wars.’ Stop this s—. Like it’s crazy. You know, when I remember one of his speeches or one of his interviews, someone was asking him about Ukraine. ‘Do you want Ukraine to win? Do you want Russia to win?’ And he said, ‘I just want people to stop dying.’ And most people who voted for him based on that feel very upset that there’s a new war going on.”
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Michael Douglas, who is a Jewish and pro-Israel Democrat, suggested President Donald Trump’s war in Iran was instigated by Israel. (Getty Images)
“Yeah, yeah,” Douglas agreed.
Rogan also acknowledged that experts have warned about Iran’s increasing missile production and the dangers of the country acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Trita Parsi, the co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute, spoke to Fox News Digital about Rogan’s comments.
“I fully agree that Trump’s decision to start a war with Iran has deeply frustrated the anti-war component of his 2024 coalition and that it will be extremely difficult to get them back,” he said. “The gap between what he so explicitly promised — no more wars — and what he has delivered — yet another war of choice in the Middle East that does not serve U.S. interests — could not be any wider.”
Like Rogan and Douglas, Parsi agreed that “the Israeli presentation of Iran could not have been further from the truth, as Iran’s military capabilities and the theocracy’s resilience were far more formidable than the Israelis had asserted.”
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Some of President Donald Trump’s allies have turned against the president over what they say are betrayals of the key promises he campaigned on in 2024. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
He offered a grim assessment of the Republican Party’s future.
“The war has created a major rift within the Republican Party and created a MAGA vs. America First coalition,” Parsi said. “Moreover, the GOP’s ability to bring anti-war constituents to its side has been severely damaged. Many of them left the Democratic Party because of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza; now many of them will return to the Democratic Party due to the war in Iran.”
“These voters were crucial to Trump’s success in 2016 and 2024, and their significance is only likely to grow,” he added.
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White House spokesperson Davis Engle told Fox News Digital, “What matters most to the American people is having a Commander-in-Chief who takes decisive action to eliminate threats and keep them safe, which is exactly what President Trump is doing.”
“He campaigned proudly on his promise to deny the Iranian regime the ability to develop a nuclear weapon, and Americans are already safer because of his bold leadership,” he added. “The President makes these incredibly important national security decisions based on the best interests of the American people.”
