Joe Rogan, host of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” ripped House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) during an episode late last week after she defended members of Congress being allowed to trade stock.
Rogan’s remarks came in response to the following exchange that Pelosi had with a reporter a couple of weeks ago:
REPORTER: Madam Speaker, Insider just completed a five‑month investigation finding that 49 Members of Congress and 182 senior Congressional staffers have violated the STOCK Act, the insider trading law. I’m wondering if you have any reaction to that. And secondly, should Members of Congress and their spouses be banned from trading individual stocks while serving in Congress?
NANCY PELOSI, HOUSE SPEAKER: No, I don’t – no, to the second one. Any – we have a responsibility to report in the stock – on the stock. But I don’t – I’m not familiar with that five month review, but if the people aren’t reporting, they should be.
REPORTER: Why shouldn’t they be banned?
PELOSI: Because this is a free market and people – we are a free market economy. They should be able to participate in that.
Rogan blasted politicians for using the system to get rich after they leave office. “They make their money when they get out,” Rogan said. “What it is is [it’s] like an investment, if you get out you will have money for speaking engagements with all the companies that you helped, all the companies that you like, ‘Hey, I like you. I like you. Let’s hang out, let’s party.’ They’re like, ‘Hey, Mike. Mike the former president, we’d love to have you come speak at our conference, and we’re willing to pay you a half a million dollars.’ So this [it’s] like weird bribes.”
Rogan had one of his producers play the clip of Pelosi commenting on members of Congress trading stock, to which Rogan responded, “Have you ever seen a person look more nervous?”
“She’s giving this like very simplistic, almost vague answer,” he continued. “Because should you be allowed to participate in the stock market when you’re influencing the direction of the stock or when you know which direction something’s going to go in? Or when you’re going to pass a law that’s going to benefit these businesses, that’s going to force the stock to go up, and you know that, so you invest a sh*t ton of money before it happens? That seems like a problem. That seems like it’s a problem. Now why is that not a problem? Because we’re f***ing co-opted.”
WATCH:
TRANSCRIPT (Revised for clarity):
JOE ROGAN, HOST: Did you see Nancy Pelosi defend insider trading? … Think about how much money she’s worth. She makes like how much a year? How much does she make a year? …
GUEST: For being a congresswoman or overall?
ROGAN: Yeah, for being a [congresswoman].
ROGAN: She’s the Speaker of the House, right?
GUEST: Probably like a $200,000 job, right?
ROGAN: She’s a big wig.
GUEST 2: $600,000…
ROGAN: No, I don’t it’s that money. Fauci’s the highest paid government employee … and Fauci is slightly less than half a million dollars. But Fauci is like the highest paid government employee. … They make their money when they get out. What it is is [it’s] like an investment, if you get out you will have money for speaking engagements with all the companies that you helped, all the companies that you like, ‘Hey, I like you. I like you. Let’s hang out, let’s party.’ They’re like, ‘Hey, Mike. Mike the former president, we’d love to have you come speak at our conference, and we’re willing to pay you a half a million dollars.’ So this [it’s] like weird bribes. … It’s kind of genius. It’s a genius con game. What it is, is like a virus finds its way through the system. … Yeah, that’s the game of making big money after you quit. And then you can also sell books. If you’re president, you write a book, that book is selling. … Well, sort of, except that congresspeople [ain’t] doing that. They’re playing a game that’s illegal to play. Like if you know, specifically, that’s how they put Martha Stewart away, isn’t it? Wasn’t it insider trading? Yeah, so what is insider trading? It’s like, you know something, and because you know something, you can’t make a move on the market because you have inside information. Is that exactly what it is? …
[PLAYS CLIP]
REPORTER: Madam Speaker, Insider just completed a five‑month investigation finding that 49 Members of Congress and 182 senior Congressional staffers have violated the STOCK Act, the insider trading law. I’m wondering if you have any reaction to that. And secondly, should Members of Congress and their spouses be banned from trading individual stocks while serving in Congress?
NANCY PELOSI, HOUSE SPEAKER: No, I don’t – no, to the second one. Any – we have a responsibility to report in the stock – on the stock. But I don’t – I’m not familiar with that five month review, but if the people aren’t reporting, they should be.
REPORTER: Why shouldn’t they be banned?
PELOSI: Because this is a free market and people – we are a free market economy. They should be able to participate in that.
[END VIDEO]
ROGAN: Have you ever seen a person look more nervous? … She’s giving this like very simplistic, almost vague answer. Because should you be allowed to participate in the stock market when you’re influencing the direction of the stock, or when you know which direction something’s going to go in? Or when you’re going to pass a law that’s going to benefit these businesses, that’s going to force the stock to go up, and you know that, so you invest a sh*t ton of money before it happens? That seems like it’s a problem. That seems like it’s a problem. Now why is that not a problem? Because we’re f***ing co-opted.