Podcast host Joe Rogan spoke out about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, saying the 31-year-old should be remembered for trying to protect open debate in America.
“There’s going to be a lot of people celebrating this,” Rogan told guest Charlie Sheen. “It’s so scary. It’s so dangerous too, to celebrate or to in any way encourage this kind of behavior from human beings. … He’s not a violent guy. He was talking to people on college campuses.”
Rogan noted that Kirk “wasn’t even particularly rude. He tried to be pretty reasonable with people.” Sheen agreed, replying, “Everything I saw seemed reasonable.”
Kirk, who co-founded Turning Point USA, was shot while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem. He later died, leaving behind his wife and two young children. Authorities said the suspect fled after abandoning a high-powered bolt-action rifle. Investigators have clear video of the shooter but have not yet made an arrest.
Rogan, who still describes himself as liberal, said the killing was especially troubling because Kirk appeared to be “murdered for having a different opinion from somebody else, different ideology from somebody else.”
“He was a very intelligent guy,” Rogan said. “Whether you agree with him or don’t — and there’s a lot I didn’t agree with him on — that’s fine. You’re allowed to disagree with people without celebrating the fact they got shot.”
He added that political opponents should embrace debate, not violence. “What you’re supposed to do with a guy like that, if you’re opposing him, is debate him,” Rogan said. “Have a conversation where your argument is more compelling than his. That’s what people should be celebrating — discourse. We used to do that.”