DeSantis Tells Joe Rogan to Stand His Ground: 'Do Not Cow to the Mob'
Florida governor tells podcaster 'do not apologize' to the Left's cancel mob
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Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has weighed in on the recent cancel attacks against Joe Rogan by advising the podcaster not to "cow to the mob."
Speaking during a new interview with Fox News, Gov. DeSantis said Rogan should stand his ground, tell the Left "to pound sand" and "not apologize."
Rogan, who hosts "The Joe Rogan Experience" exclusively on Spotify, has come under fire recently as his show has grown to reach massive audiences.
Cancel mobs have targeted him for hosting guests who questioned the effectiveness of lockdowns and government-imposed mandates.
On Monday, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek wrote a letter to employees stating the company will stand by Rogan and would not be "silencing" the podcaster.
Rogan took to Instagram Friday evening, where he issued an apology over the discussions on his past shows, expressing his "deepest, sincerest" apologies.
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But DeSantis told Fox News Digital on Monday that Rogan should "not apologize" for his previous statements.
"No, he shouldn't have apologized," DeSantis asserted.
"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.
"And with COVID, he's just bringing opposing views.
"He's letting people decide.
"They say he's against [the COVID vaccine].
"I do not listen to his show, but then I read he specifically advocated for people with co-morbidities and elderly to get vaccinated," 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.
"But what I would say is don't give an inch.
"Do not apologize.
"Do not cow 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."
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In addition, in response to a question asking about CNN pundit Brian Stelter's recent commentary wondering why people trust Rogan more than CNN, the Florida governor responded that it is because the media outlet has "spewed misinformation."
"Well, I think when people are going to look back at this, they're going to look at outlets like CNN, New York Times as having spewed misinformation they claim to be policing it," said DeSantis.
"But if you look from the beginning, who was advocating for lockdowns?
"CNN and New York Times.
"Who is advocating for school closures? Those outlets.
"Who has advocated for force masking of kids? Those outlets."
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In a separate joint interview with his wife, first lady Casey DeSantis, the governor expanded on his criticism of the mainstream media, bringing up accusations that President Trump's campaign colluded with Russia, which was dispelled by the Mueller Report in 2019.
"I mean, just think when Trump was president, I mean, you know, you had some of these major legacy outlets ran for years with unproven conspiracy theory about Russia collusion," the governor said.
"And that was meant to basically divide the country.
"They wanted to mobilize against Trump as much as they talk about the 2020.
"They didn't accept the 2016 election.
"They wanted to basically nullify that result," DeSantis told Fox News.
"And so how is that something that's bringing people together?
"And so I think that, you know, there's a lot of different reasons, but I think the role of some of those, what I would say are failed legacy outlets, the way they're trying to get relevance again is to basically play to a base and try to be financially viable as a result.
"But the result is, I think, you know, they're trying to sow divisions rather than, you know, be a little bit more even-handed in ways that people may find common ground," DeSantis added.
DeSantis has been outspoken against "cancel culture" and other culture wars, including the teaching of Critical Race Theory in Florida's schools.
