Joe Rogan Raises Eyebrows by Claiming Trump's UFO Files Release Is to 'Distract Us' From Iran War
Joe Rogan discussed Trump's UFO files dump with Rep. Tim Burchett.
May 8 2026, Updated 2:42 p.m. ET
Joe Rogan isn't buying the timing of the Trump administration's bombshell release of more than 160 declassified files related to UFO sightings and the possibility of extraterrestrial life, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
On Friday, May 8, the Pentagon announced that the "American people can now access the federal government’s declassified UAP (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) files instantly."
Just Another Distraction
Joe Rogan theorized that the UFO files were another 'distraction' from Trump.
The info dump included photos, videos and more, from details on a mysterious image from the 1972 Apollo 17 mission revealing three dots in a "triangular" that could be a "physical object," to a strange clip of an unidentified star-like thing moving in space.
However, as gas prices continue to skyrocket and former MAGA loyalists turn from Trump amid the Iran war, Rogan suggested the files were just another distraction.
Joe Rogan pointed out the UFO files dump came when Americans were 'upset' with Trump over the Iran war.
"What doesn't totally make sense is why now...I mean this is being cynical… the Iran war is not going very well," Rogan told Tennessee congressman Tim Burchett on the Thursday, May 7, installment of The Joe Rogan Experience. "The American public's very upset. A lot of people don't think we should have ever been involved in that in the first place. And we need some good news."
"We need something to distract us," he continued. "We need something to take our focus off-"
"If I was gonna do it, now would be the time I'd do it," Burchett interrupted.
'He Just Wants to Get It Out There'
Tim Burchett said he believes Trump genuinely wants Americans to have access to the UFO files.
However, Burchett broke with Rogan slightly as he claimed that he does think Trump, 79, genuinely believes "America needs to know this stuff."
"I think he just wants to get it out there," he explained. "I don't think he cares about trying to get everybody off target by disclosing UFOs. I think he cares about all of it, but I don't think he cares if they're talking about it or not."
Rogan also pointed out that the POTUS could be releasing the files so that he can take credit for such a major historical event in his last term.
"If someone's going to do it, do it," the podcaster added. "You want to leave a legacy? Be the guy who releases all these files."
Joe Rogan Continues to Diss Trump
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Joe Rogan recently slammed some MAGA fans as 'dorks.'
This is far from the first time Rogan has turned on Trump. Despite endorsing him in the 2024 presidential election, the former Fear Factor host has frequently called out the president for the "stupid" conflict with Iran.
In another installment of his podcast, he even went so far as to rip some MAGA supporters as "unintelligent" and "dorks."
Last month, he admitted that he's felt "politically homeless" for a long time, as he doesn't identify strongly with Republicans or Democrats.
"Neither one of them make any sense to me," he said at the time. "We need like a logical centrist government that’s, like, just says, there’s a lot of things that we should do to make this country a better place...We can do these things and we don’t have to attach them to left or right."
