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Rogan said Trump should run California. Newsom fired back with a list of California's achievements. The internet picked sides.Joe Rogan suggested on his podcast that Donald Trump should run for governor of California after leaving the White House. "Just take over California and fix it," Rogan said during a conversation with Triggernometry hosts Francis Foster and Konstantin Kisin. He called the idea "one of the funniest things of all time" and did a Trump impression: "We're gonna fix everything. You've got a problem with water. I know how to get the water."The comment came after Rogan described friends "fleeing LA" and said California had hit "societal global warming" since the pandemic. He called the state's political shift a product of BLM protests, COVID lockdowns, and what he sees as failed progressive leadership. Rogan has mentioned Governor Gavin Newsom by name in over 120 episodes and has called him a "bullshit artist" who "ruined" California. Newsom fired back publicly, posting on X that Rogan was "too chicken" to have him on the show and listing California as the 4th largest economy in the world, number one in manufacturing, farming, and tech investment.Rogan made the remarks in October 2025. Newsom is term-limited and will leave office after the 2026 gubernatorial election. If Trump were to run, the earliest opportunity would be 2030.