Many of Donald Trump’s supporters left a Michigan rally before he arrived after the former president kept them waiting for three hours to tape a popular podcast interview.
Those who remained at the outdoor rally on an airport tarmac huddled in the cold Friday night as they waited for the former president to touch down in the battleground state.
Trump apologized to the crowd for the delay, which he blamed on an interview with Joe Rogan, the nation’s most listened-to podcaster and an influential voice with younger male voters Trump is aggressively courting.
The interview, taped in Austin, Texas, was released Friday night and ran three hours, with Trump telling many familiar stories from his rallies and other interviews but also engaging with Rogan on topics like the existence of UFOs.
Minutes before Trump’s Michigan rally was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, his spokesman posted on the social media platform X that Trump was just leaving Texas, more than two hours away by air. Trump recorded a video from his plane urging his supporters to stay, noting it was Friday night and promising, “We’re going to have a good time tonight.”
Trump eventually took the stage at the Traverse City airport, where temperatures dipped to about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The crowd erupted into cheers as video screens showed Trump’s plane arriving and then him walking off his plane and down the steps.
“I am so sorry,” he said. “We got so tied up, and I figured you wouldn’t mind too much because we’re trying to win.”
Attendees who hadn’t left bundled up, some covered by blankets, as they waited for him to land. The crowd sounded and looked disengaged as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon tried to kill time onstage. Hats were thrown to attendees.
Among those who stuck around at Trump’s rally were John and Cheryl Sowash, who live in Traverse City, and arrived at the airport at 4 p.m.
“Things happen,” said John. “He spoke to a lot more people talking to Joe Rogan than he did here.”
Indeed, Cheryl said she was worried about Trump, who had missed speaking to a larger crowd.
“He’s gonna be disappointed, because there were twice as many people here. He missed it,” she said.
Trump’s interview with Rogan was part of the Republican nominee’s strategy of appearing on podcasts targeting young male voters and tapping surrogates who sometimes use crude language.
Rogan pressed Trump on whether he’s “completely committed” to bringing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. into his administration.
“Oh, I completely am,” Trump responded, but added he and Kennedy disagree on environmental policies. He said he’ll tell Kennedy to “focus on health, do whatever you want.”
Kennedy has been instrumental in spreading skepticism about vaccines, rejecting the overwhelming consensus among scientists that the benefits of inoculation outweigh the rare risk of side effects.
Trump again seemed to entertain the idea of eliminating federal income taxes, telling Rogan, “Yeah, sure why not?” when asked by the podcast host if he was serious about it.
He also repeated at length his grievances about the 2020 election but said, “If I win, this will be my last election.”
Trump said he’s “never been a believer” in theories about extraterrestrial life visiting Earth. He said he is asked constantly about what the U.S. government knows about “the people coming from space.” He said as president he was told “a lot” but he dodged Rogan’s entreaties to discuss alien life in detail.
Trump called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “brilliant guy, whether you like it or not.”
The podcaster is known for his hours-long interviews on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which is listed as No. 1 in the United States, according to Spotify’s charts. He calls women “chicks” and once laughed as a comedian friend described repeatedly coercing young female comics into sex.
Associated Press writer Colvin reported from Traverse City, Weissert from Washington and Cooper from Phoenix. AP writers Michelle L. Price in New York, Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Melissa Perez Winder in Traverse City contributed to this report.