Topline
Joe Rogan, the country’s most popular podcaster, said in a new episode Wednesday he believes Alex Pretti should not have been shot and killed by federal agents, but suggested there is “more nuance,” saying the altercation was chaotic and federal agents acted in a high stress situation.
“Regardless of how you feel, I don’t believe that guy should have been shot,” Rogan said on his show Wednesday, referring to Alex Pretti. (Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
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Key Facts
Rogan, in conversation with conservative podcaster Andrew Wilson, said, “Regardless of how you feel, I don’t believe that guy should have been shot,” referring to Pretti, who was shot and killed Saturday by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis.
Rogan said he did not want to make excuses for Pretti’s killing, but said there is “more nuance” to the situation, saying Border Patrol agents and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are “being harassed” by people who are “calling for violence,” which Rogan said made the officers on “red alert.”
The podcaster also questioned why Pretti attempted to get between an agent and a woman during the altercation while concealed carrying, saying that is a “giant no… You do not engage with law enforcement when you’re armed.”
Rogan dismissed critics who have referred to Pretti’s killing as an “execution”—which some Democratic lawmakers have said—instead calling it an “extremely unfortunate case of what happens during chaos.”
Rogan, who has increasingly broken with Trump in recent months after endorsing his 2024 campaign, refrained from explicitly criticizing the president or the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday’s episode.
Tangent
Rogan also suggested protests against ICE in Minnesota are not organic and are a distraction from the ongoing alleged fraud scandal that prompted Gov. Tim Walz to end his reelection bid. “Why riots in the place where there’s an ungodly amount of fraud that has been discovered?” Rogan said. “Everybody forgets about the fraud. Now all anybody cares about is ICE and fascists and Nazis.” Rogan claimed Signal chats FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency has obtained suggest the protests are not organic. Patel said earlier this week the FBI is investigating chats that Minnesota protesters allegedly used to track federal agents’ movements.
How Has Rogan Recently Broken With Trump?
Rogan, who interviewed Trump in 2024 and backed his presidential campaign, has increasingly criticized the president throughout his second term, particularly over his handling of the Epstein files release and immigration raids. In an episode earlier this month, Rogan criticized the killing of Renée Good by an ICE agent and the Trump administration’s defense of the incident. Rogan said it is “very ugly to watch someone shoot a U.S. citizen, especially a woman, in the face,” stating it “seemed like she was turning the car away” and was not trying to hit the agent, after the Trump administration claimed she was weaponizing her vehicle to run over him. In an episode last week, Rogan suggested the Trump administration has used ICE raids to distract from the Epstein files, most of which still have not been released despite the Justice Department missing a December deadline. Rogan questioned the Justice Department: “I mean, they said they released them, but, what did they release?” His guest, comedian Ehsan Ahmad, suggested ICE raids and the killing of Good were to distract from the files, prompting Rogan to whisper into the mic: “I think some of that’s on purpose.” Rogan has also been critical of intervention in Venezuela, calling it a “terrible idea” in a December episode. In July, Rogan called Trump’s immigration policies “crazy” and an “overcorrection.” “They’re kicking students out that write articles they don’t like,” Rogan said, calling it “f—ing crazy.”
Key Background
Rogan’s podcast, “The Joe Rogan Experience,” has been Spotify’s most-listened to podcast for six years in a row. Rogan is often linked to the “manosphere,” an informal group of podcasters that appeal to young conservative men, alongside hosts like Theo Von and Andrew Schulz. Some of these manosphere podcasters interviewed or supported Trump in 2024, but have since pulled back. Von, who interviewed Trump, slammed DHS in September for using a clip of him in a video posted to social media without his permission, calling his views on immigration more complex than a quick sound bite. Von has also criticized the administration’s handling of the Epstein files, while Schulz said in July he voted “for none of this,” citing government spending and foreign intervention.
Further Reading
Rogan Suggests Trump’s Using ICE Raids To Distract From Epstein Files (Forbes)