Joe Rogan Would Like to Clarify: He Did Not Endorse Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The world’s astir fashionable podcaster has, benignant of, but not really, thrown his enactment to 1 of the 2024 statesmanlike race’s slightest fashionable candidates.

On Thursday, Joe Rogan said helium preferred Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is moving arsenic an independent, for president. “He’s the lone 1 that makes consciousness to me,” Mr. Rogan said, arsenic a impermanent connected a podcast hosted by Lex Fridman, and called Mr. Kennedy a “legitimate guy.”

Mr. Rogan’s devoted following, 1 that leans young, antheral and numbers successful the tens of millions, is highly coveted. His remarks astir Mr. Kennedy, uttered connected a amusement with a acold smaller scope than his own, nevertheless acceptable disconnected a frenzied response.

Supporters of erstwhile President Donald J. Trump, disquieted that Mr. Rogan’s stance could carve disconnected voters and wounded his electoral chances travel November, rapidly turned connected the podcaster, standup comic and U.F.C. announcer. They questioned his quality and adjacent mocked his height, a spectacle that was greeted with thing akin to joyousness — or, astatine least, schadenfreude — among Democrats who person agelong written disconnected Mr. Rogan arsenic adjuvant to their cause.

By Friday morning, Mr. Rogan was backpedaling. “This isn’t an endorsement,” helium posted connected the societal media level X, and advised that helium is “not the feline to get governmental accusation from.”

Mr. Trump himself weighed successful connected Friday afternoon, pondering “how loudly Joe Rogan gets BOOED the adjacent clip helium enters the UFC ring” in a post connected his societal web that seemingly reflected his concerns that the influential podcaster could extremity the scales against him.