Theo Von, a comedian and podcaster who interviewed President Trump last year, has publicly rebuked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for using a clip of him without permission.
In the DHS video, a brief clip of Von saying “Heard you got deported, dude — bye” is inserted into footage depicting immigration enforcement actions, along with captions touting the agency’s numbers: “2 million in 250 days,” “1,600,000 self-deported, 400,000 deportations.”
The montage then transitions to Trump saying, “They simply stopped coming. They’re not coming anymore,” before ending with the word “Bye” over a black screen.
On X, Von, 45, reshared the clip with the caption: “Yooo DHS i didnt approve to be used in this. I know you know my address so send a check. And please take this down and please keep me out of your ‘banger’ deportation videos.”
Von continued, “When it comes to immigration my thoughts and heart are alot more nuanced than this video allows. Bye!”
Von hosts This Past Weekend, the fourth-largest podcast on Spotify in the U.S., and has attracted politicians, including Senator Bernie Sanders and Vice President JD Vance. About five million people listen to Von’s podcasts each month, and he’s particularly influential among young men and Trump voters.
Vance appeared on Von’s podcast again in June, where he defended Trump against billionaire Elon Musk’s claim that he appeared in the Epstein files.
“First of all, absolutely not,” Vance told Von. “Donald Trump didn’t do anything wrong with Jeffrey Epstein. Whatever the Democrats and the media says about him, that’s totally B.S.”
Trump recently revealed that he went on Von’s podcast last year after his teenage son, Barron, recommended it during his campaign.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
Try for free
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
“Barron, said, ‘Dad, you got to do an interview’ with somebody I hadn’t heard of, but my son knew very well,” Trump said, during a speech in May.
“This is before the election. You know, we won in a landslide, in case you hadn’t known, but he said, ‘Dad, you got to do an interview with a guy named Theo Von,’” Trump added. “I said, ‘Who the hell is Theo Von?’ He said, ‘Dad, he’s such a big guy. You got to do an interview.’ So he knew all the names.”
New York Times pop music critic Jon Caramanica watched over 60 hours of Von’s podcast and saw various standup sets in an attempt to answer the question: “Is Theo Von podcasting from the right or the left?”
“Von’s comedy — and increasingly, his political worldview — boils down to a crucial framework: You’re either one of them, or one of us,” Caramanica wrote. “How far he goes, however, may hinge on making sure both sides continue to claim him as their own.”
