Joe Rogan warned that the public reaction to Charlie Kirk’s assassination shows the country is sliding toward something far more dangerous, and his blunt podcast remarks have sparked a wider debate about political violence, social media, and what passes for acceptable outrage in America today.
On his popular podcast Rogan laid out his alarm in plain language and he did not soft-pedal the stakes. He was talking with Brian Redban when he broke down how shocking it was to see people celebrating a killing, and he pushed listeners to consider how close the country really is to widespread breakdown. The timing felt urgent, and his tone was one of frank disbelief at what many took as permission to revel in violence.
‘After the Charlie Kirk thing, I’m like, oh, we might be like seven. This might be like step seven on the way to a bona fide civil war.’
“Charlie Kirk gets shot and people are celebrating! Like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You want people to die that you disagree with?” Rogan asked, forcing listeners to confront a moral low point. He asked plain questions about where the nation sits on the slide toward chaos, not as a thought experiment but as a real measurement of civic health. The shock was less about partisan disagreement and more about the normalization of cheering for murder.
“Where are we right now on the scale of one to civil war? Where are we? Are we at seven? Because I thought we were at five. I thought we were like four, four or five,” he said, and then he doubled down on the scale to make the danger visual. “But after the Charlie Kirk thing, I’m like, oh, we might be like seven. This might be like step seven on the way to a bona fide civil war,” Rogan added, repeating the line to underline the gravity he sees. Those were not idle metaphors; they were a warning to anyone who still believes discourse can be restored without accountability.
The killing happened during one of Kirk’s campus events at Utah Valley University, and it was a savage act that left a nation stunned. Most people reacted with horror and sorrow, as citizens across the political spectrum recognized a violent attack on a public figure. But a visible minority openly celebrated, and that response is what prompted a vocal backlash that went beyond normal partisan rancor.
“Like regular people celebrating somebody getting murdered in front of their wife and kid on television, in front of the whole world? As soon as you celebrate that, like, man, you’re in dark territory,” Rogan continued, calling out a moral collapse. “And if the worst thing you could say about that guy is that he said some things I disagree with, and you’re celebrating that he got shot in the neck in front of the world?” he added, pressing the point that disagreement does not translate to endorsement of violence.
“Whoa, and you work at an insurance company? This is nuts. And you thought it was OK to say that on Instagram? This is nuts! Like what are you guys on?” The incredulity was sharp because the behavior seemed to come from ordinary people who should know better, not fringe actors hiding in the dark. That ordinary-people angle is part of why the reaction hit so many as a sign the social fabric is fraying.
A clip of Rogan’s comments was posted , where they went viral.
Amid the fallout, Erika Kirk has taken up the mantle of the director of Turning Point USA, the organization that her late husband founded, stepping into a role that blends grief with a political mission. That leadership decision ensures the movement he built will continue to shape young conservatives and keep the conversation alive on campuses and in public life. The debate now is not just about outrage but about restoring norms that reject violence as political expression.
Public figures on all sides should read Rogan’s blunt observations as a wake-up call; if celebrations of murder become acceptable, we lose more than one political argument. The question going forward is whether institutions, platforms, and communities will choose accountability and decency or let the most extreme voices set the tone. For anyone who cares about order and free speech, Rogan’s warning deserves a hard look and a quick response.
https://x.com/joeroganhq/status/1988720835205689667
