Donald Trump says domestic foes worse than Kim Jong Un during meandering Joe Rogan interview

Former US president and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in East Del Valle, Austin, Texas on October 25, 2024. Photo / AFP

• Donald Trump said “the enemy from within” poses a greater threat than North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
• Trump reiterated false claims of election fraud and suggested he could negotiate an end to the Ukraine conflict.
• The interview with Joe Rogan, lasting three hours, covered various topics, including Trump's policy ideas and personal anecdotes.

Donald Trump on Friday said “the enemy from within” the United States poses a greater threat than the dictator of North Korea, a pariah state and long-standing American adversary – reprising a phrase that has drawn criticism during a meandering three-hour interview with the popular podcaster Joe Rogan.

“We had no problem with him,” Trump said of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, before adding, “I say it to people – we have a bigger problem, in my opinion, with the enemy from within.”

The Republican presidential nominee has used the term “enemy from within” to describe his domestic political opposition and has suggested Democratic politicians such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (California) fall into that category. He recently said the military could be deployed against such domestic foes, prompting concern from critics.

In his conversation with Rogan, he alluded to the alarm those comments sowed. “It drives them crazy when I use that term,” Trump said, just before using it again. “We have an enemy from within, we have people that are really bad people, that I really think want to make this country unsuccessful.”

The interview underscored Rogan’s shifting tone on Trump. The host once said he turned down the chance to interview Trump and called him a “threat to democracy”. But on Friday he gave Trump an influential platform on The Joe Rogan Experience – the most popular podcast on Spotify – where the Republican presidential nominee reiterated his false claims of election fraud, suggested there was life on Mars, mused about Confederate general Robert E. Lee and made an aside about prophecies on the end of the world.

“You’re not a Kamala person, I know you,” Trump said to Rogan, referring to his Democratic opponent, US Vice-President Kamala Harris. Rogan laughed.

Harris’ team has said they discussed a podcast appearance with Rogan but it did not work out. Rogan said in his conversation with Trump on Friday that Harris “might still do it, and I hope she does”.

Rogan also asked what Trump could do about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly said, without providing details, that he could negotiate an end to the conflict.

“If I told you exactly what I’d do, I could never make the deal,” Trump told Rogan.

The podcaster has a large audience of younger men, and Trump’s appearance reflected his strategy of trying to motivate such voters to support him in the election. Rogan’s programme has stoked controversy for spreading misinformation about the coronavirus and giving airtime to far-right figures trafficking in racist and misogynistic views.

Trump’s marathon sit-down with Rogan showcased the former president’s zigzagging speaking style – prompting Rogan to joke at one point about “the weave”, the phrase Trump uses to explain his frequent tangents.

“Your weave is getting wide,” Rogan said, trying unsuccessfully to redirect the conversation to tariffs.

When Trump mused that he gets publicity without trying and couldn’t explain why, Rogan said the answer was easy: Trump says “wild” things. (He used an expletive.)

The interview covered some policy areas, too: Rogan asked whether Trump was serious about getting rid of income taxes and relying instead on tariffs, an idea Trump has previously floated. “Yeah, sure, why not?” Trump said.

Rogan asked Trump about his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. “We’ll do it another time,” Trump said, suggesting he would bring “many different papers”. Rogan pressed Trump for examples and Trump eventually steered the conversation to other topics.

Trump also repeated his attacks on former aides-turned-critics, including his former chief of staff John F. Kelly, who this week said Trump met the definition of a fascist.

The interview also delved into an assortment of other topics.

“There’s no reason not to think that Mars and all these planets don’t have life,” Trump said at one point.

“The Middle East is rapidly changing. You know, there are prophets that say the world will come to an end in the Middle East, you know that, right?” Trump said at another. “And you have weapons today that are so scary.”

The former president talked at length about the beauty of the White House, saying he had thought it was going to be “all metal doors” inside and instead found it to be stylish.

The interview delayed Trump’s appearance at a rally in Traverse City, Michigan, where hundreds of supporters waited in frigid temperatures. Many left before or during his remarks, and he apologised as he got on stage.

“I am so sorry,” he said. “We got so tied up, and I figured you wouldn’t mind too much because we’re trying to win.”

Trump said Rogan was “a great guy” he didn’t know well and the interview was “the longest interview I’ve ever done in my life”. He added that his staff had suggested he cancel his event.

During the sit-down with Rogan, Trump claimedhis pollsters once told him – shortly before the coronavirus pandemic upended his presidency – that if George Washington came back from the dead with Abraham Lincoln as his vice-president, the two would not have been able to win against Trump.

Trump said he “really [doesn’t] believe too much” in polls and speculated that the pollsters cut corners, even though he frequently touts his performance in public opinion surveys.