Trump Praises Starlink During Joe Rogan Podcast

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28, 2024 - Former President Donald Trump is unlikely to assign a limited role to satellite broadband if elected next Tuesday.

Trump indicated he would support using federal dollars to connect the unserved via low Earth orbit satellites like Elon Musk's Starlink.

“[Elon’s Starlink] saved so many lives,” said Trump on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. “I went down to North Carolina [and] Georgia, they had no communication [infrastructure].

In early October, Musk flew in free Starlink terminals to locations in North Carolina affected most by hurricanes Milton and Helene. Starlink is offering temporary free service until the end of the year for those affected.

The Joe Rogan Experience is hosted by Joe Rogan, a self-described libertarian leaning podcaster, comedian and former television host.

The podcast is streamed to more than 14 million listeners daily from Tuesday to Friday every week.

Trump also suggested that the Biden administration’s $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program had problems.

“They haven't hooked up one person yet,” said Trump, referencing President Biden’s efforts to connect every American to reliable high speed internet. “They spent $42 billion, they could have gotten Starlinks to everybody with that kind of money.”

The Harris campaign noted that she will not appear on The Joe Rogan Experience, despite speculation to the contrary.