Video footage of President-elect Donald Trump hugging Joe Rogan white attending a UFC fight over the weekend has gone viral on social media.
On the eve of Election Day, podcaster Rogan declared his support for Trump as he faced off against Vice President Kamala Harris. In a social media post, Rogan gave credit to billionaire businessman Elon Musk for his decision.
Rogan, whose podcast The Joe Rogan Experience is one of the most listened to in the world, wrote Musk's platform X, formerly Twitter: "The great and powerful Elon Musk. If it wasn't for him we'd be f*****. He makes what I think is the most compelling case for Trump you'll hear, and I agree with him every step of the way. For the record, yes, that's an endorsement of Trump."
Days after the victory, Rogan—who also interviewed Trump on his podcast in the leadup to the election—served as a color commentator at the UFC 309 mixed martial arts bout headlined by Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
In footage shared on X, Trump, who is a regular attendee at UFC events, is shown making his way through the ringside area before animatedly pointing at and gesturing toward someone before walking with his hand outstretched.
After briefly shaking hands with commentator Jon Anik, Trump walked with his arms outstretched toward Rogan. The two shared a hug as Trump spoke in the media personality's air. They then shook hands as Rogan appeared to thank Trump.
Trump also shook hands with fighter-turned-commentator Daniel Cormier, before gesturing toward Rogan and shaking his interviewer's hand once again. The commentators smiled as Trump continued to speak with them before he returned to his seat.
"Donald Trump gets excited when he sees Joe Rogan for the first time since their interview and winning the election," read a caption accompanying the footage on X.
As of press time, the clip has garnered more than 11 million views on the platform.
While Rogan officially endorsed Trump this past election cycle, he had praised Harris and her campaign team after her debate against Trump on September 10.
"Whoever is helping her, whoever's coaching her, whoever's the puppet master running the strings ... amazing job. They did an amazing job—from the moment Biden drops out," he said on his podcast at the time.
Rogan said that he believed the difference in the debate was not "who's going to have better policies" or "who's going to be better for the country," but it was down to which candidate was better prepared for the debate stage.
He added that Harris was way better prepared and that when it came to answering tough questions, she answered by "saying things she believed, and they sounded real good" rather than answering the questions.
The podcaster said that this skill was also proof that Harris was working with a team, in comparison to Trump, who he intimated did not prepare or work with a team.
Rogan then joked that Trump's team likely tried to warn him not to say "people are eating cats and dogs," and made fun of the portion of the debate in which Trump referred to a since disproven rumor about Haitian illegal immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, stealing and eating pets. The claims added to the debate over immigration policy, which is consistently among the top issues for U.S. voters.
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