Hillary Is ‘More MAGA Than MAGA’: Joe Rogan Argues Dems Were Tougher on Border Than Trump

Joe Rogan argued Democrats like Barack Obama and both Bill and Hillary Clinton were tougher on illegal immigration — in terms of what they said and the policies they endorsed — than President Donald Trump.

Rogan made his case during the Wednesday episode of his podcast.

“She’s more MAGA than MAGA,” Rogan said about Hillary Clinton, based on clips from her doomed bid for president in 2008.

“Her take on the border was like hardcore,” Rogan continued. “If you’ve been convicted of a crime, get out. If you stay here, pay a stiff penalty, and you have to get in line, and you have to learn English! And everyone cheers. Like, that is a hardcore right-wing 2026 perspective.”

His guest, Bill Thompson, a former U.S. Army chief warrant officer, agreed and added, “Obama did it too in 2012.”

“Yes, absolutely,” Rogan said. “And Obama deported more people than Trump did.”

Deporting illegal immigrants and stopping illegal entries into the U.S. have been two of the president’s top priorities, both in his first term and since returning to office last year. Critics have argued Obama did a better job on the matter during his presidency, with USA Today reporting last year:

Throughout eight years in office, the Obama administration logged more than 3.1 million ICE deportations, according to Syracuse’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. The peak was fiscal year 2012, when more than 407,000 people were removed.

By comparison, the first Trump administration maxed out at deporting 269,000 people in 2019, according to the same TRAC data set. Across four years, the Trump administration recorded fewer than 932,000 deportations.

Trump fans have argued that the courts have thwarted the president’s ability to quickly remove illegal immigrants from the U.S. since he returned to office. And the Department of Homeland Security bragged border apprehensions hit a record low in 2025, thanks to Trump’s policies.

The DHS said in a January release:

In fact, total U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) apprehensions along the southwest border in the first year of the current administration (90,084) were less than the average month during the Biden administration (155,485). USBP apprehensions over the last 12 months were the lowest ever recorded in CBP history (i.e., both Jan. 20-Jan.20 and Jan-Dec.)

In President Trump’s first year, USBP recorded 95% fewer encounters per day along the southwest border than during the Biden administration, with daily average encounters along the southwest border 1,936% higher during the Biden administration than during the first year of the current administration.

Outgoing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem added, “In President Trump’s first year back in office, nearly 3 million illegal aliens have left the U.S. because of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, including an estimated 2.2 million self-deportations and more than 675,000 deportations.”

Rogan’s comments on Trump and immigration come a few weeks after he ripped the president over the Iran war. The podcast star claimed Trump’s supporters feel “betrayed” by Operation Epic Fury — despite polling showing MAGA overwhelmingly supports it. 

Watch above via YouTube.

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