Joe Rogan criticized his former associate Donald Trump again, encouraging a liberal Texas lawmaker to consider a presidential run, arguing the nation requires someone who is genuinely virtuous.

The renowned podcaster showered praise on Democratic Texas state Representative James Talarico on his program this past Friday, advocating for the 36-year-old to introduce a fresh wave of leadership.

Talarico, once an educator, entered the Texas state legislature in 2018 at the youthful age of 28. He frequently garners millions of views on Instagram for clips where he delivers speeches and has previously claimed there are ‘six genders’.

He is known as a devoutly religious lawmaker who rails against the rise of ‘Christian Nationalism’ on the right, a topic that earned Rogan’s seal of approval this week. 

After being told by Rogan to seek the White House, Talarico brushed off the remark. 

‘Can I actually push back on that?’ he responded. 

‘We were talking about how politics has become a religion. This is one of the ways it does. People put all their faith in a politician.’ 

Talarico name checked Trump and former Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders as examples, saying that while he ‘likes Bernie… some people treat him as if he’s a messianic figure.’ 

Rogan’s shot at Trump is the latest in a string of breaks from the president following his endorsement of him last year. 

This week, he slammed Trump’s bungled handling of the ‘Epstein files’, saying it appeared the White House was lying to the American people because ‘they’ve got videotape and all of a sudden they don’t.’ 

He has also used his massive podcast platform to criticize Trump for some ICE raids on illegal immigrants without criminal records and has described his feud with Canada as ‘stupid’ in recent episodes.  

Talarico – an aspiring preacher who is in seminary school – said on Rogan’s show this week that the ‘problem’ with modern politics comes from voters seeing politicians as deities, and argued that those in office are far from perfect. 

After the state rep. cited Bernie Sanders as an example, Rogan countered that he ‘is one of the only ones that has been remarkably consistent his entire career.’ 

‘I know, but he’s still a flawed human being, right? Just like we all are,’ Talarico responded. 

‘The change is going to come from your listeners, not from me. I can be a part of that.’  

The high-profile interview comes as Talarico is seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party, and is said to be mulling an underdog bid for the US Senate. 

Rogan, a former liberal who endorsed Trump in the presidential campaign, asked Talarico why he is a Democrat on the show. 

‘My mother saw Texas Democrats who fought for the little guy, for working people, people who were forgotten and left behind,’ Talarico responded, saying that the party has lost its way in recent times. 

‘That was the classic Democratic Party.’ 

After slamming Trump with an apparent insult at how America needs a president who is ‘actually a good person’, Rogan also hit out at the Republican Party. 

He singled out Republicans who have introduced strict abortion policies in recent years, which he described as ‘very creepy.’ 

Talarico has raised eyebrows with some past remarks, including in 2021 when he argued in the Texas statehouse that there are ‘six genders.’ 

‘The point is that biologically speaking, scientifically speaking, sex is a spectrum, and oftentimes can be very ambiguous,’ he said at the time, per the New York Post.  

Immediately following his interview with Rogan, Talarico told Politico that he went on the show of the influential podcaster to turn him back to the liberal side, despite his endorsement of Trump last year. 

‘He speaks for a lot of people who don’t feel like they belong in either political party, and are rightly suspicious of a corrupt political system,’ Talarico said. 

He said he was surprised to be invited by Rogan onto the show, which came after the podcaster saw one of his viral social media videos where he explained his opposition to posting the Ten Commandments in public schools. 

‘When we got the email invitation, I originally thought it was a phishing scam,’ he said. 

‘But we called them and realized it was legit, and it was a surprise — just given that I’m a state rep. — to get invited on such a big national platform. He said he had seen some of my videos and wanted to talk. So we jumped at the opportunity.’ 

Asked about Rogan’s turn towards conservatism, he added: ‘After sitting with him for two and a half hours, I have a clearer understanding of where he’s coming from on a lot of this stuff. 

‘I just got the overwhelming impression that Joe Rogan is not loyal to either political party, and is deeply skeptical of our political system as a whole. I think that skepticism also applies to Donald Trump, just like it did to Joe Biden last year.’