Joe Rogan, the wildly-popular podcaster who endorsed Donald Trump last year, has raised concerns about the president’s deployment of the military in American cities, and aggressive tactics against immigrants.
On Wednesday’s episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, he argued that there was a “balance” to supporting Trump, such as agreeing with the president’s stronger border policies while opposing his aggressive use of federal law enforcement.
“The military in the street, I think, is a dangerous precedent,” Rogan said, in his latest criticism of Trump.
Rogan also voiced opposition to immigration law enforcement detaining undocumented immigrants – or those officers perceive as undocumented immigrants – at day laborer pickup spots like Home Depot. “That’s not cool either,” Rogan told his audience, which averages at 11 million listeners per episode.
Earlier this month, Rogan said he was surprised to see the aggressive force used against immigrants, saying the Trump administration was “ripping parents out of their communities.” He added: “I really thought they were just going to go after the criminals.”
Rogan’s comments add him to a growing number of people who are troubled by the president’s use of executive authority to flex his power over U.S. citizens.
Trump has deployed National Guard members into American cities that he claims, often with little evidence, are overrun by crime or out-of-control riots by invoking a rarely-used presidential power to federalize a state’s troops.
The president’s actions have drawn widespread criticism with polls showing most Americans oppose his use of the military to control cities.
State leaders, like Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and California Governor Gavin Newsom, have pushed back on Trump’s actions, filing lawsuits to try to stop him. Federal judges have even sounded alarm bells at Trump’s use of the National Guard, with some blocking the president’s actions and claiming the aggressive tactic is unwarranted.
After deploying National Guard members to Los Angeles this summer, in response to anti-immigration raid riots, a federal judge told the administration it had violated the Posse Comitatus Act – a federal law that prohibits the government from using the military to enforce domestic law.
But Trump has continued to do so, attempting to send the guard into Portland, Oregon, to control anti-immigration raid protests; Chicago, Illinois, to protect federal law enforcement and Memphis, Tennessee, to help curb crime.
Some Democratic leaders, such as Pritzker, have accused Trump of sending in federal law enforcement to spark chaos in cities. Troops have been seen clashing with civilians as tensions mount.
Nationwide demonstrations, known as the “No Kings” protests, are planned for the weekend to oppose Trump’s use of power to utilize the military for domestic enforcement.
This weekend’s events will be the second iteration of the protests. In June, thousands of people came out for peaceful demonstrations around the world in opposition to Trump’s harsh immigration policies.
There are more than 2,600 protests anticipated to pop up across the nation this weekend. Organizers of the demonstrations say those who have signed up to participate, which is not required, is nearly double what it was in June.
Protests are expected in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Seattle, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and others. But smaller cities are expected to have protest as well.
