Conservative-friendly independent podcasters — whom many Democrats blame for helping President Donald Trump win in 2024 — appear to be turning on him, largely over his Department of Justice’s (DOJ) handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case.
The DOJ and FBI concluded that the convicted pedophile and longtime Democratic financier did not kill himself and had not kept an official client list, according to a leaked memo obtained by Axios on July 6.
Trump’s MAGA base immediately revolted, with several of the movement’s most prominent voices openly condemning the DOJ’s findings. (RELATED: ‘Dark Forces At Play’: MAGA Revolts Over Trump DOJ’s Epstein Findings)
But another bloc — less reflexively loyal yet arguably more critical to his November win — also expressed disapproval.
Comedian Andrew Schulz, who faced a swell of backlash for hosting Trump on his “FLAGRANT” podcast in October, criticized the president over the Epstein revelations, among other issues.
“If I wanted to vote for somebody who wasn’t going to end the foreign wars, who was going to increase the budget, who was gonna just silence the Epstein files and throw it away, I should have just voted for Kamala,” Schulz said in Tuesday’s “FLAGRANT” episode.
The episode also featured interviews with Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna and the former Obama staffers behind “Pod Save America,” signaling Schulz and his team’s growing openness to the left amid their frustrations.
While the Epstein news sparked the immediate backlash from Schulz and others, his criticism on issues like U.S. actions in Iran and Trump’s landmark spending bill reflects broader discontent in the podcasting world.
Dave Smith, a comedian and prominent libertarian podcaster, publicly apologized in June for voting for Trump after the president voiced support for preemptive Israeli strikes on Iran.
“I supported him last year. I apologize for doing so,” he said. “It was a bad calculation. At the time it seemed like the right one. He should be impeached and removed.”
True to his word, @ComicDaveSmith apologizes for his Trump support and even calls for Trump’s impeachment and removal!! after Trump helps launch Iran War. Full segment will post shortly. pic.twitter.com/hzf5zTVH9i
— Krystal Ball (@krystalball) June 16, 2025
Days after the DOJ memo leaked, Smith laid out a litany of his grievances with the Trump administration.
“In the last month Donald Trump has launched a war of aggression on behalf of a foreign government, exploded the debt, announced that he’s continuing the Biden policy of arming Ukraine, and covered up a giant child rape operation,” Smith tweeted on July 8.
In the last month Donald Trump has launched a war of aggression on behalf of a foreign government, exploded the debt, announced that he’s continuing the Biden policy of arming Ukraine, and covered up a giant child rape operation.
— Dave Smith (@ComicDaveSmith) July 8, 2025
Joe Rogan, whose late-October interview with Trump was widely seen as a game-changer in the president’s campaign, has recently criticized Trump’s immigration policies on his podcast.
“It’s insane. The targeting of migrant workers, not cartel members, not gang members, not drug dealers. Just construction workers showing up on construction sites and raiding them,” Rogan, who admitted to voting for Trump and encouraged his listeners to do so in November, said in a July 8 episode of his podcast.
Joe Rogan: “It’s insane. The targeting of migrant workers, not cartel members, not gang members, not drug dealers. Just construction workers showing up on construction sites and raiding them.” pic.twitter.com/r04H8zA2hk
— Joe Rogan Podcast News (@joeroganhq) July 3, 2025
Shane Gillis, a comedian popular with conservatives, expressed his back-and-forth feelings about Trump and his policies in a recent episode of his podcast as well.
“Trump brings me back every time. I’ll go through weeks where I’m like ‘fuck him, I’m done with his bullshit.’ But then he’s like ‘Iran and Israel don’t know what the fuck they’re doing.’ And I’m like ‘that’s my dog,’” Gillis joked.
“But then the next day he tweets like ‘we need to make sure Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t get persecuted,’ and you’re like ‘There he is. God dammit. Fuckin’ piece of shit got me again’” he concluded.
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