Joe Rogan mourns Charlie Kirk’s death, praises his campus debates

Podcast host Joe Rogan praised slain TPUSA co-founder Charlie Kirk, arguing he deserves credit for trying to protect Americans’ ability to have an open debate. 

“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.”

He added that Kirk “wasn’t even particularly rude. He tried to be pretty reasonable with people.”

“Everything I saw seemed reasonable,” Sheen replied.

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Kirk, the founder of one of the most influential political organizations in the country, was shot while holding an event on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. He later died, leaving the country reeling from another act of horrific political violence.

The suspect remains at large. Authorities said they recovered a high-powered bolt-action rifle and obtained clear video of the shooter, who reportedly jumped from a building and ran off campus into a nearby neighborhood.

Rogan, who still touts himself as a liberal at heart, was aghast at Kirk’s death. He suggested Kirk was “murdered for having a different opinion from somebody else, different ideology from somebody else.”

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A wreath laid by mourners outside the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria Sept. 11, 2025, after the fatal shooting of U.S. youth activist and influencer Charlie Kirk. (Philll Magakoe/AFP via Getty Images)

“He was a very intelligent guy,” Rogan said. “Whether you agree with him or don’t, and there’s a lot of stuff that I didn’t agree with him on. That’s fine. You’re allowed to disagree with people without celebrating the fact they got shot.”

Rogan offered his vision of how political opponents should actually interact in American life.

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This split image shows Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk speaking moments before his assassination and a still from cellphone video showing a dark-clad figure on a rooftop nearby. (@Doug_Zimmer1/X, Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)

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“Well, what you’re supposed to do with a guy like that, if you’re opposing him is debate him, right?” Rogan said. “Have a conversation where your argument is more compelling than his. That’s what people should be celebrating — discourse. You know, we used to do that.”