Joe Rogan Praised by Twitter After Bernie Sanders Appears On Podcast to Debate Health Care, Gun Laws and Aliens

Joe Rogan became a top-trending Twitter topic Wednesday after Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders appeared on his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, the night before. They discussed everything from universal health care to gun laws—and even aliens.

Some users joked about Rogan's apparent habit of interrupting guests on the show. Others praised the comedian and commentator for hosting a pragmatic discussion. A few seemed rather stunned by Sanders' decision to appear on the show at all, which boasts nearly 6 million subscribers on YouTube but could be considered an unexpected choice for leading presidential candidates like Sanders.

This is the second time that Sanders—the fist-shaking leftist who has made an enemy of Wall Street and captivated America's youth—is running in the Democratic presidential primaries. Though, this time, he isn't going toe-to-toe with establishment favorite Hilary Clinton.

In a pool of 24 candidates vying for the 2020 presidential nomination, Sanders isn't the freshest candidate of the bunch. And while Sanders policies have hardly changed (in discussion with Rogan, Sanders once again highlighted his aim to take power back from Wall Street and restrict gun laws once and for all), perhaps his decision to appear on Rogan's show highlights a refreshingly new strategy, or so says a horde of social media users.

"Such a smart move by Bernie Sanders' team to have him go on Joe Rogan," Emma Vigeland, a correspondent for The Young Turks Network, wrote.

She continued: "Traditional political types might scoff at it, but Rogan's reach - to independents, conservatives and liberals - is enormous. He's a humanizing, fascinating interviewer, even if I don't always agree with him."

Several users on Twitter and Youtube expressed shock at the length of the interview, pointing out that the one-on-one conversation allowed the candidate to break down his key political issues without as much interruption as a network-produced debate.

"All politics aside, it's incredible that this style of interview happened. Hats off to Bernie for coming on the show. It was nice to hear what he actually thinks without talking heads interrupting," one Youtube user wrote.

Another user said: "You can disagree with this man, fine. I do too on several issues. But I have to respect a presidential candidate that will sit down at this length and answer the questions he is getting asked. A lot harder say nothing for 1.5 hours than it is for 45 seconds."

The laid-back tone of the interview also seemed to allow for some less serious (and more humanizing, as one user pointed out) talking points, including aliens. At the end of the show, Rogan asked Sanders if the United States government would divulge information about aliens and UFOs, if Sanders were to be elected president.

"Well, I tell you, my wife would demand I let you know," said Sanders. "She goes, Bernie, 'What is going on do you know? Do you have any access?'"

While Sanders said he didn't currently have any information on aliens or UFOs, he told Rogan he'll "announce it on the show. How's that?"

Slate writer Justin Peters argued earlier this year that Rogan's show has gained a certain amount of political importance, after having hosted in February fringe Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang for a two-hour conversation. The interview has snagged over 3.4 million views on Youtube to date. Rogan also hosted Tulsi Gabbard in May. The episode has over 2.2 million views to date.

In a day and a half, the episode garnered nearly 2.5 million views on YouTube. To watch the full interview, click here.