Podcast host Joe Rogan declared on Tuesday that the United States is sliding toward civil war, pointing to the assassination of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk in September and the online jubilation that followed as proof the nation has reached a dangerous new level of political hatred.
Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience with co-host Brian Redban, Rogan placed the country at a “seven” on a hypothetical 10-point scale to civil war—up from what he previously thought was a “four or five.”
“Charlie Kirk gets shot and people are celebrating like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You want people to die that you disagree with?’” Rogan said. “Like, 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 a five. I thought we were like four. Four or five.”
The 29-year-old Kirk was killed by a lone gunman during a TPUSA student event at the University of Arizona on September 14. The shooter, identified as 24-year-old left-wing activist Marcus Hale, opened fire from a rooftop overlooking the outdoor rally, striking Kirk in the head and chest before being killed by campus police. Video of the incident spread rapidly online.
🚨NEW: Joe Rogan says *CELEBRATION* of Charlie Kirk Assassination shows US well on way to "CIVIL WAR"🚨
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) November 11, 2025
"You want people to die that you disagree with?"
"Where are we right now on the scale of 1 to civil war? ... I thought we were ... 4 or 5. But after the Charlie Kirk thing,… pic.twitter.com/IEsrK35ivE
Rogan cited:
- The 2024 attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania rally.
- Multiple arson attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers.
- Riots outside the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
- Physical assaults on conservative campus speakers documented by TPUSA since 2023.
“This isn’t just disagreement anymore,” Rogan told Redban. “This is people cheering when the other side gets murdered in broad daylight. That’s not politics—that’s bloodlust.”
He argued the Kirk killing marks a turning point because it was the first high-profile political assassination of a major conservative figure since the 1960s, and the first to be met with widespread public celebration rather than universal condemnation.
Rogan urged listeners to recognize the pattern: “Every time one side does something crazy, the other side does something crazier to ‘balance it out.’ That’s how you get to ten.”