Trump is late to Michigan rally after three-hour Joe Rogan podcast: NPR

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally in Traverse City, Michigan, on Friday. Trump recorded the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast earlier Friday and postponed his appearance in Michigan by three hours.

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In one of the longest interviews he has conducted as a candidate, former President Donald Trump's three-hour interview with podcaster Joe Rogan on Friday offered an expanded version of the convoluted and sometimes factual rally speeches Trump has given of late.

Trump, who kept thousands of rally attendees in Traverse City, Michigan, waiting three hours longer Friday night because of his extra time with Rogan, attacked Vice President Harris in interviews as someone who “couldn't put two sentences together” and praised his own oratorical skills regularly whirl through several different topics in a short period of time.

“I like to give a long one — the weave,” Trump said on “The Joe Rogan Experience.” “But when you do the weaving, and you have to be very smart to do the weaving, when you do the weaving, look at this, just in this one thing we're talking about small pieces.”

“I have to bring it home,” Rogan interjects.

“No, no, it depends on the right people,” Trump continued. “The wrong people can’t get home and end up in the wilderness, right?”

Similar to his campaign speeches, Trump's conversation with Rogan touched on a wide range of topics with little context, such as an episode of “The View” he appeared on during his first campaign and on “The Apprentice,” UFOs, dead whales and a historical detour about Abraham Lincoln.

“Lincoln had one, I don’t know. I've never read this, I've heard it from people in the White House who really understand what was going on in the whole life of the White House,” he said. “But Lincoln was whining about having, as the golfers would say, a phobia about (Confederate General) Robert E. Lee. He said, 'I can't beat Robert,' because Robert E. Lee won many battles in a row.”

He also repeated, and ran with, several anecdotes and arguments that were central to his presidential campaign and also featured in his campaign speech, such as calling for the corporate tax rate to be reduced to 15% and the imposition of strict tariffs on foreign vehicles imported into the country continued making false statements and claim fraud cost him the 2020 election.

“I won by equal – I lost by equal – I didn't lose, but they say I lost, Joe,” Trump said, repeating the lie that he won this election. He didn't.

Along the way, Trump also appeared to advocate eliminating income taxes and relying solely on tariffs to fund the government. However, before detailing what he meant and how that would work, he turned to the discussion about billionaire Elon Musk and explained how Musk supported him during the election, joking that Rogan was not a Harris supporter but rather a ” “Khabib person,” referring to famous UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov.

“Your tissue is getting wider,” Rogan exclaimed.

In the final days of his third presidential bid, Trump has become increasingly erratic in his public appearances and increasingly dark in his rhetoric. On Rogan's podcast, Trump reiterated his view that there is an “enemy within” that is worse for the country than enemies like North Korea. Trump had also previously considered using the military against domestic enemies.

“In my opinion we have a bigger problem with the enemy from within, and it drives them crazy when I use that term,” he said. “But we have an enemy within. We have people who are really bad, people who I really believe want to make this country a failure.”

He also said he really doesn't believe in polls “too much” before revealing his latest numbers and baselessly claiming there was widespread voter fraud.

Former President Donald Trump broadcasts a personal message on the Jumbotron informing attendees that he would be three hours late to a campaign rally in Traverse City, Michigan, on Friday.

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When Trump finally made it to Michigan, he looked and sounded visibly tired. He repeated some of the same themes and anecdotes from the Rogan interview hours earlier, but with much less energy and cohesion.

He took the stage to WWE wrestler The Undertaker's theme music and stood silently on stage as the menacing song played before apologizing for the delay.

“Here's what you wanted to do: We were so involved with each other and I thought you wouldn't mind because we're trying to win,” he said.

He then mentioned poll numbers and early voter turnout and falsely claimed that he was leading in all seven swing states before attacking Harris for holding a campaign rally in Texas with global star Beyoncé.

“Do you know where she is tonight? She’s at parties,” he said. “So Israel is attacking, we have a war going on and she’s outside celebrating. At least we’re working to make America great again, that’s what we do.”