‘Stand up and tell them to pound sand’: Ron DeSantis backs Joe Rogan, telling him not ‘kow to the mob’

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has backed podcaster Joe Rogan, saying Rogan should not apologize.
• Rogan is currently facing backlash over a viral video showing him saying the N-word repeatedly.
• Echoing former President Donald Trump’s support of Rogan, DeSantis told Rogan not to “kow to the mob.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has spoken up in support of Joe Rogan, telling the controversial podcaster to not apologize for saying the N-word and not to “kow to the mob.” 

Rogan is currently facing backlash after a video montage of him saying the N-word 24 times on his podcast went viral. The podcaster apologized on February 4 for using the word, calling it “the most regretful and shameful thing” he has ever had to discuss. 

In an interview with Fox News published on February 8, DeSantis responded to the ongoing firestorm around Rogan’s podcast, saying that Rogan should not apologize for what he said.

“No, he shouldn’t have apologized. I mean, you see what happens? The mob will come after people, and they’re targeting Rogan because he’s threatening to upset the apple cart on some of the things that they’re holding dear,” DeSantis said. 

“I think a lot of the legacy outlets, and I think the left, fear the fact that he can reach so many people, and so they’re out to destroy him,” DeSantis said. “But what I would say is don’t give an inch. Do not apologize. Do not kow to the mob. Stand up and tell them to pound sand.”

“If you do that, there’s really nothing that they’re able to do to you. The only way they have power is if you let them get your goat,” DeSantis added. 

DeSantis’ comments about the Rogan scandal echoed former President Donald Trump’s backing of the podcaster earlier this week. 

“Joe Rogan is an interesting and popular guy, but he’s got to stop apologizing to the Fake News and Radical Left maniacs and lunatics,” Trump said in a statement. “How many ways can you say you’re sorry? Joe, just go about what you do so well and don’t let them make you look weak and frightened. That’s not you and it never will be!”

Spotify — which struck a $100 million deal with the former “Fear Factor” host in 2020 — has held back from removing Rogan from its platform over the scandal, with its CEO Daniel Ek saying in a staff memo that “canceling voices is a slippery slope.” Meanwhile, conservative YouTube rival Rumble has offered Rogan $100 million to leave Spotify and join them, offering Rogan a platform with “no censorship.”