Right now I’d give him about a five percent chance of being the 2028 GOP nominee.

That’s slightly less than Elon Musk, who I’d put at 10 percent considering he’d need a constitutional amendment to make him eligible for the presidency.

I bet $250 billion could help sway a lot of state legislators, though.

It’s strange to me that Rogan still identifies as a liberal rather than as, say, a libertarian. Just listen to the point he makes here about Universal Basic Income (language warning):

Spotted this on r/JoeRogan and wow 😂 Rogan is surprised about how fox news has his back and claims he is super liberal then proceeds to demonstrate how he is just a rightwinger 🤷🏾‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/si8Tt4bDnj

— Eiynah — (@NiceMangos) June 1, 2022

Does that sound like a liberal?

“I am not a conservative, I’m not conservative,” he repeats, as if to reassure himself. Really? How many liberals have interviewed Alex Jones multiple times, Joe?

I feel like we’re watching a guy come out of the political closet, bit by bit. He hasn’t fully admitted his orientation to himself yet but he’s working through it, gradually accepting certain realities he was taught not to accept. Like, for instance, the fact that the institutions with the most influence over American culture are emphatically liberal and chronically pressured by the left to adopt the radical cultural preferences of young progressives. If you’re subversive by nature, as comedians are, who’s a more natural target in an environment like that, liberals or conservatives? Which is more likely to touch a nerve?

Whose comedy seems more culturally relevant at the moment, Stephen Colbert’s or Dave Chappelle’s? Jimmy Kimmel’s or Ricky Gervais’s?

So, yeah, of course conservatives are more likely to defend comedians for being politically incorrect in 2022, when even corporate America is formally “woke.” As for Fox News having Rogan’s back during his battles with the left, that’s partly due to what I just described — the right will always be drawn to those antagonized by the left — and partly due to Rogan being a COVID vaccine skeptic, like so many conservative populists are. Fox’s 8 p.m. guy spent a full year just-asking-questions about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. A network that caters to an audience who’s receptive to that message will naturally sympathize with Rogan.

There’s also the old familiar phenomenon of how each side loves a convert and hates a traitor. You know how warmly received Trump-hating conservatives are by CNN and MSNBC. But it works the other way too, with liberal heretics like Musk and Bill Maher gaining Strange New Respect on the right after criticizing progressive excesses. Rogan’s in the same category. In fact, from a policy standpoint, he’s probably further right than either Musk or Maher:

"I don't think it's wise to take the guns away from the people and give all the power to the government. We see how they are even with an armed populace. They still have a tendency toward totalitarianism."
– Joe Rogan 💯🔥 pic.twitter.com/mRvv4gUqnJ@RedFreckles111

— Watchman 🇺🇸 (@JohnD91394640) June 1, 2022

Finally, although Rogan may prefer liberal policies on balance, the fact that he enjoys UFC and hunting and guns and other classically masculine interests inevitably orients him towards the right in an age when Democrats rely heavily on women voters and Republicans rely heavily on men. The educational divide between the parties is also awkward for him; Rogan’s hobbies are more typical of blue-collar people than white-collar ones despite his tremendous wealth. Put simply, one of the key questions in American culture now (and always, I suppose) is whether someone is “one of us.” And in ways more complicated than simple policy platforms, Rogan comes closer to being “one of us” for righties than for lefties.

He’ll figure that out eventually. Accepting yourself for what you truly are is a process!

Exit question: Rogan/Musk in 2028 or Musk/Rogan?