Joe Rogan targets Trump over 'shady' crypto deals

Joe Rogan took aim at U.S. President Donald Trump’s crypto dealings, saying his administration has “done some shit that no government has ever done before” and calling its involvement in crypto “nuts.” 

Rogan made the comments on an Aug. 13 episode of The Joe Rogan Experience alongside comedians Shane Gillis, Mark Normand and Ari Shaffir.

“Trump has made billions in crypto,” Rogan said, before pointing to Trump’s sons and what he described as “weird business deals.” 

He added that “there’s a lot of money flowing around” and claimed the dealings were something investigators “could dig in and start arresting people” over.

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Joe Rogan is a comedian, longtime UFC color commentator and host of The Joe Rogan Experience, one of the world’s biggest podcasts with over 20 million subscribers and billions of views.

Rogan went further, describing Trump’s crypto activities as “shady as f***, but it’s legal,” while questioning whether they should be. 

His remarks revive conflict-of-interest questions that have followed the Trump family’s expanding digital asset businesses during Trump’s second term.

Trump has repeatedly rejected those concerns. In an August interview about the CLARITY Act, he said he does not run the businesses himself and instead lets his children manage them. 

“I don’t talk to them about much other than to say ‘I love you, kids,’” Trump said.

Rogan’s criticism echoes scrutiny of Trump’s crypto business

Trump’s 2025 financial disclosure, released in June 2026, showed more than $1.4 billion in income from family crypto ventures. Nearly $800 million came from World Liberty Financial and another $635 million from sales of Trump memecoins.

Trump co-founded World Liberty with his sons, while the White House says his business interests are overseen by his children. 

Trump nonetheless remains the beneficiary of the trust receiving the income.

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The foreign-deal scrutiny intensified after a UAE-linked entity reportedly acquired a large stake in World Liberty shortly before Trump’s January 2025 inauguration. 

Months later, in May 2025, the Trump administration announced an agreement facilitating advanced U.S. AI chip exports to the UAE and an AI campus in Abu Dhabi.

Those concerns have spilled into negotiations over the CLARITY Act. Senate lawmakers have debated ethics restrictions covering senior government officials’ crypto interests, while Trump has said he would accept a blind trust. 

The White House maintains that the president and his family have not engaged in conflicts of interest.

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