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Podcaster Shawn Ryan supported Trump's victory — now he says that “nothing I voted for happened”

Ryan: “Every fucking time I have a politician, whether it's fucking Trump or some fucking congressman, they all fucking lie"

Written by Torri Lonergan

Research contributions from Pete Tsipis & Ben Van Bloem

Published

In 2024, Shawn Ryan supported Donald Trump’s presidential run, but in the past year, the podcaster and veteran has grown increasingly critical of the president. Ryan has criticized Trump’s foreign policy decisions, his foreign and domestic economic agenda, and his immigration policies. 

Ryan has been particularly focused on the Epstein scandal and Trump’s mishandling of the files, a dissatisfaction he shares with others in right-wing media. Ryan’s frustration with Trump’s refusal to release the Epstein files has led him to publicly question if boosting Trump during the election was a mistake, saying, “At the time it felt great. … Was that a good thing?”

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  • Ryan’s support for Trump has waned

    • Shawn Ryan supported Trump’s re-election, telling Trump in August 2024, “I’m behind you.” On election day, Ryan posted, “Praying our national gender reveal is a boy.” [Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 8/26/24, Twitter/X, 11/6/24]
    • At the beginning of Trump’s second term, Ryan reiterated his support, saying, “Things really seem to be turning around, I think, way faster than anybody ever imagined.” Ryan also applauded several of Trump’s early actions, including shutting down the CBP One app and nominating Kash Patel as FBI director. [Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 2/10/25, Twitter/X, 1/20/25, 1/30/25]
    • By November, Ryan seemed far less enthusiastic, telling his audience: “Nothing I voted for happened." In December, Ryan expressed regret about interviewing Trump during his campaign, saying, “I fell into this shit in the last presidential election of giving people a fucking platform. ... Every fucking time I have a politician, whether it's fucking Trump or some fucking congressman, they all fucking lie." [Media Matters, 11/24/25; Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 12/4/25]

  • Ryan lashed out over Trump’s handling of the Epstein files: “Just fucking release it”

    • After discussing his disappointment over Trump's handling of the Epstein files Ryan questioned if contributing to Trump’s election was the right decision. In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Ryan noted, “We had a big influence in the last election. ... At the time, it felt great. Did it — was that a good thing? Now we got a guy who's, Oh, America first, all this other fucking bullshit. And everybody is screaming, Release these fucking files.” Ryan mocked Trump for downplaying the Epstein files, saying, “It's a hoax. It's a hoax. It's a national security threat. They're fake. This is like, what the fuck man? The American people are fucking screaming at you. Screaming that they want this shit released.” [Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 11/24/25]
    • Ryan claimed that a lot of Trump’s supporters are “frustrated” with the handling of the Epstein files, warning that Trump “is potentially destroying his entire base by just dismissing it and closing the case.” Ryan continued, “It sucks because you wanna take people for their word and time and time again, you know, we're seeing that word broken, and it's made me rethink how I choose my leaders. ... I am extremely frustrated with what's going on.” [Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 7/14/25]
    • Ryan said the Trump administration “botched this so bad that unless it aligns with the wildest conspiracy theory out there, nobody's gonna fucking believe it.” Ryan pleaded, “Why haven't you just released it? Just release it. Just fucking release it." He also criticized Trump for questioning those who are still talking about the Epstein files, saying, “Yes, we are still talking about Jeffrey Epstein, 'cause you ran half your fucking campaign off getting these files released. Of course, we're still talking about Jeffrey Epstein.” Ryan warned, “I think it'll jeopardize the next election for the Republicans. … I think the Republican Party will pay dearly for how this has been handled.” [Media Matters, 10/28/25]
    • Ryan accused the Trump administration of trying to distract people with Russiagate, saying, “We're diving into Russiagate when the entire American population, both the right and the left, are screaming, Release the Epstein files. But let's concentrate on this." Later in the episode, Ryan said, “The only politicians that I really trust is Eli Crane out of Arizona and Tim Burchett out of Knoxville,” notably leaving Trump off the list. [Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 8/21/25; 8/21/25]
    • Ryan demanded the Trump administration follow through on their campaign promise, “Release the fucking files. Release them. Just like you said you were going to. Be transparent. That's what everybody wants." The Shawn Ryan Show posted this clip on social media alongside footage of Trump and Epstein talking. [Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 9/4/25; Twitter/X, 9/4/25]
    • Accounts for both Ryan and The Shawn Ryan Show made posts criticizing Attorney General Pam Bondi for saying the Epstein list was on her desk and then later claiming there is no list. In one post, Ryan said, “That aged well…” in response to the Fox News interview when Bondi said the Epstein files were sitting on her desk. [Twitter/X, 7/7/25, 7/7/25]

  • Ryan distanced himself from Trump’s mass deportations and questioned the deployment of the National Guard

    • Discussing immigration, Ryan claimed that he is “not that far-right,” and advocated for a pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants, raising economic concerns related to mass deportations. Ryan said, “While I do lean conservative, I am not that far-right,” and noted that industries like construction, agriculture, and restaurants have been impacted by Trump’s deportation agenda because the people who are targeted “fill those jobs.” The host also called for a pathway to legal status and said, “What pisses me off is, like, I do think that we need these people in this country, and I do think that the economy is gonna face some consequences. I think it already probably is." He noted that his studio was built by an immigrant who has “achieved the American dream. He’s an extremely hard worker. He does great work.” [Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 7/14/25; 7/14/25; 7/14/25]
    • Ryan worried about rising costs due to mass deportation and asked border czar Tom Homan if there could be a pathway to legal status for people in the workforce. Ryan said, “I'm sure because of the mass deportations that the, you know, the prices are gonna rise.” He explained, “There's such a big sector of the economy that relies on cheap labor, illegal immigration. Home builders, commercial builders, landscaping, just about all the blue collar jobs in that sector seem to be illegal immigrants.” Ryan asked Tom Homan, “Do you think there should be any type of program to fast track people that are just here to work, keeps business flowing, keeps prices a little bit less than what they would be. I mean, is there any type of program where construction types can get their workforce legalized?” [Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 5/15/25]
    • Ryan said the anti-deportations “riots” in Los Angeles were “probably overembellished,” and said “it’s a real concern” if by sending in the National Guard, “we're skirting the line of martial law here.” Ryan continued, “We're treading a thin line here between martial law and states' rights. … They're testing boundaries. How far is this gonna go? Where else are they gonna go? And I personally think it's a real concern.” The Shawn Ryan Show tweeted this clip with the caption: “Gavin Newsom Debunks Overhyped LA Riots.” [Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 7/14/25; 7/14/25; Twitter/X, 7/14/25]
    • Ryan said, “Everybody's got fear of, you know, government overreach. And rightly so, correct? So, I mean, is this skirting the line of martial law?" Ryan continued, “I'm worried about martial law, government overreach. … If I put myself in that situation, and I live in Chicago, and I'm like, I don't really, like, I don't wanna go through National Guard checkpoints and I don't wanna see National Guard everywhere.” [Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 9/25/25]

  • Ryan raised concerns about Trump’s economic policies – including the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill,’ tariffs, and DOGE cuts

    • Ryan encouraged his listeners to call their senators to oppose a provision in Trump's ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ that would sell off public land. When the provision was removed, Ryan took credit, insinuating that the provision was removed because he posted a preview of a podcast interview he did with a rancher. Ryan said, “In the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill,’ there was a clause that was going to sell public land. ... They were trying to sell that out from under us, and we brought on Braxton, who is a rancher, to tell us what's going on. And we didn't even release the episode. We just released the preview and that got pulled out of the bill that night.” [Twitter/X, 6/27/25, 6/27/25, 6/28/25; Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 8/14/25]
    • After a guest explained that the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ would add to the deficit, Ryan asked, “We have a bill that just went up to get us $4 trillion deeper in? ... Does anybody look at this shit that's on the inside?” Ryan also critiqued Trump’s Big Beautiful bill in a post on X, saying, “Another couple trillion added to the national debt in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act? My grandkids piggy banks are already filing for bankruptcy and they aren't even born yet.” [Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 6/16/25; Twitter/X, 7/1/25]
    • Ryan raised concerns with Trump’s tariffs, fearing they might negatively impact inflation. After Trump announced his plan to implement tariffs, Ryan admitted, “I'm worried the prices are gonna go up on everything.” [Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 4/10/25; 9/22/25]
    • Ryan said that although he likes DOGE because “the fat needs to be trimmed,” he is still concerned about the impact of cutting government jobs. Ryan asked, “When you look at the hundreds of thousands of jobs that are going to get cut from government positions. ... Is that gonna affect us?" [Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 4/14/25]
    • After DOGE targeted USAID, Ryan said that “while they are rogue, they do play an important role," arguing that the U.S. needs to “be involved in" foreign affairs. Ryan agreed with criticism of USAID’s controversial spending, but said, “It is important that we are involved, when we need to be, in media, in politics, in these companies.” Ryan asked, “How do we effectively do that now that USAID's pretty much shut down?" [Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 2/12/25; 2/12/25]

  • Ryan questioned Trump’s approach to foreign policy: “How close are we to World War III?"

    • Ryan criticized Trump for failing to end Russia’s war on Ukraine, complaining, “Trump told me on my show when I interviewed him that he would have that war wrapped up before he ever even took office. That just obviously did not happen.” [Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 7/14/25]
    • Ahead of the Trump administration’s strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, Ryan tweeted, “I’ve fought in enough fake wars. I think I’ll sit this one out.” Ryan complained, “Trump ran his campaign, we're not gonna get into any more forever wars, and that seems to be kicking the hornet's nest in my book.”  [Twitter/X, 6/17/25; Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 7/21/25]
    • Ryan also tweeted, “Apparently Iran wants to kill us. Heard that one before, probably the beginning of another narrative to drive us back into war.” [Twitter/X, 6/11/25]
    • After the United States bombed Iran, Ryan questioned, “Should we have bombed Iran?" He noted, “I thought it was interesting that not one of our 18 intelligence agencies said that Iran had enriched uranium at those facilities. And then Israel, Mossad comes along and says, Oh, no. It's in there. And just like that,” the United States bombed Iran. [Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 7/14/25]
    • Ryan asked, “How close are we to World War III?" Discussing various foreign involvements, Ryan said, “I'm like, oh shit. Like, we're not just messing with Iran right now. We're also messing with China, with Russia, with India, with all these other players, you know, that are also nuclear powers.” [Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 7/21/25]
    • Ryan criticized Trump for hosting Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa — who he referred to as “the Syrian terrorist” — at the White House, saying, “They hosted somebody that's fucking cutting our heads off at the White House.” [Vigilance Elite, The Shawn Ryan Show, 12/4/25]