Joe Rogan tells Texas Democrat James Talarico to run for president

Podcast giant Joe Rogan suggested on his show Friday that his latest guest, Texas Democratic State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, run for president as Democrats scramble for a new leader.

“You need to run for president,” Rogan told Talarico near the end of the nearly 3-hour conversation. “We need someone who’s actually a good person.”

The two shared a laugh, though Talarico warned against people putting faith into one politician, regardless of whatever side of the aisle they support. He used Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, whom Rogan has frequently supported, as an example.

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“I like Bernie a whole lot, but some people treat him as if he’s a messianic figure,” Talarico said. “And Trump on the right, people treat him as a messiah in some ways. This is a problem.”

He added, “The change is going to come from your listeners, not from me, right? I can be a part of that, but I mean, if there’s any hope I can give people, it’s that the people in power, including the billionaire mega-donors who basically run this whole thing, and I can get more into that if you want… But they are very afraid of the power that the people have. That I know for sure.”

Talarico has called himself a “proud progressive” in the past and has pushed back against Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. 

In 2022, Talarico called Abbott “the greatest public safety threat” to the state following the Uvalde mass shooting.

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“You know me well, and I try to be careful with what I say, but Texans are dying. The kids in Uvalde, the teachers in Uvalde, the hundreds of Texas who died during the blackout last year, the Texans who died needlessly from Covid-19 because our governor chose to open bars too early in the pandemic. Greg Abbott is the greatest public safety threat in our state. He is the greatest public safety threat to Texans right now,” Talarico said on MSNBC.

By contrast, Rogan has been outspoken about his opposition to lockdowns and has invited guests who have blamed the “Defund the Police” movement for the response to the Uvalde shooting.