Comedian Theo Von, who once used his podcast to elevate Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 election, is the latest MAGA bro to break ranks with the president.
After the Trump administration used his image in a deportation video in September, Von says he has been on high alert regarding his safety—especially after far-right influencer Charlie Kirk was assassinated.
“I just can’t believe they did that with you, where they just put it in there as if, like, you were endorsing that,” podcast host Joe Rogan said in a conversation with Von Wednesday.
Comedian Theo Von attends President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
“It was just a scary time,” Von replied.
Soon after the release of the bad edit, Von revealed that he became reclusive in his home out of fear that someone would attack him. Even some White House officials reportedly acknowledged that he was in danger, with one unidentified source calling Von to offer protection.
“I woke up the next morning to a text from a high government official saying, ‘Hey, if you need some extra security in your neighborhood or some extra police cars on patrol, let me know,’” Von said in October. “And I’m like, ‘What? What are you talking about? Extra security?'”
Von broke ties with the Trump administration in September when the “hype deportation video” was released.
“Heard you got deported, dude,” Von said in the video. “Bye.”
But Von, whose father is a Nicaraguan immigrant, said to Rogan that he immediately sought out lawyers to help get the video taken down. But by that time, the clip had already amassed a significant number of views.
Rogan, who has also shifted away from Trump since his second term began, recalled the moment he saw the video himself.
Podcast host Joe Rogan
“Oh my god, what the fuck are they doing?” he said. “That’s not how you envision the government. The government made a hype video?”
Agreeing, Von said that everything coming out of the White House “has turned into the WWE.”
“None of it’s real,” he said.
But Von isn’t the only celebrity to demand the Trump administration take down a video using their likeness. Earlier this month, singer Olivia Rodrigo slammed the White House for using her song in an anti-immigration video.
"Don’t ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda,” she wrote in response.
Other artists like MGMT and Jay-Z have made similar demands. And these artists, like Von, are just a small fraction of the voices speaking out against the Trump administration's inhumane mass deportations.
For months, ICE agents have infiltrated cities like Los Angeles and Chicago as they raided places like schools and Home Depot parking lots, arresting pregnant women and grandparents.
And now, as more atrocities come to light, the Trump administration is losing the little public-facing support it has left.
