Vice President JD Vance is likely to cause traffic delays and flight restrictions as he visits Austin today. Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Gage Skidmore
On Tuesday, Austin’s police presence increased, some of its streets were shut down and flights there were restricted.
All in anticipation of Vice President JD Vance arriving for an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience.
CBS Austin caught footage of the heavy police presence outside of Rogan’s studio ahead of the visit. Air Force Two touched down in Austin Tuesday morning, according to the Austin-American Statesman.
Vance had originally been scheduled to be on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.
The veep was set to speak at the House Republican Conference as Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, seeks to restart House business after repeated Republican clashes over the SAVE America Act.
However, Vance canceled the appearance citing a “scheduling conflict,” CBS Austin reports. Instead, he’s paying a visit to the studio of the nation’s most-listened-to podcast.
After the sudden change of plans, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a last-minute flight restriction. The notice limited flights in a seven-mile radius of Austin-Bergstrom Airport due to “VIP Movement.” The temporary restriction stands from 11:45 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The podcast appearance occurs at a strategic juncture for Vance as he attempts to distance himself from President Donald Trump’s war with Iran — a conflict Rogan has loudly criticized.
“We might’ve fucked it up by going to Iran. I mean, this war is not something anybody that’s conservative wanted. Most people don’t want it, except supporters of Israel,” Rogan said last Wednesday on an episode of his podcast.
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U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee of Houston said the reported pause was not enough: “A temporary training won’t solve a deeply ingrained problem.”
Cowtown ranked as No. 6 on this year’s list as SA dropped from 12th to 14th.
Flights are restricted for most of the day Tuesday at the Texas capital so the vice president can be on the Joe Rogan Experience.