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Podcaster Joe Rogan blamed TikTok and social media culture for widespread conspiracy thinking on Wednesday after discussing how many Americans believe at least one assassination attempt against President Donald Trump was staged.
“This is TikTok. It’s f—ing ruined,” Rogan said during “The Joe Rogan Experience” while reacting to survey data showing many Americans either believe at least one attempt was staged or are unsure whether the attempts were authentic. “Rotting their f—ing brains out from inside their heads.”
“Meanwhile, you go on Chinese TikTok, it’s all like traditional dance and martial arts, science projects,” Rogan said. “It shuts down for kids after 10 p.m.”
After Rogan read the survey findings, his guest, comedian Brendan Schaub, responded, “And that’s the problem.”
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Joe Rogan and Brendan Schaub discussed why some Americans believe the assassination attempts against President Donald Trump were staged. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
According to The Washington Post, “Roughly 1 in 3 Democratic respondents said they believed the [White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting] event was staged, compared with about 1 in 8 Republicans, according to a survey published Monday by NewsGuard, a company that rates the reliability of online news outlets. Respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 were also more likely than older people to think the incident was staged, according to the report.”
Rogan and Schaub spent several minutes discussing conspiracy theories surrounding the multiple assassination attempts against Trump, including the July 2024 shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Rogan argued people who believe the Butler shooting was staged do not understand firearms.
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Rogan argued TikTok’s algorithm prioritizes harmful and sensational content instead of educational material. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
“The people that thought that the Butler, Pennsylvania one was staged don’t know anything about guns,” Rogan said. “I don’t know anybody who knows anything about guns that thinks that the president would let some guy nick his ear with a bullet.”
Rogan pointed to the death of firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was killed during the Butler rally shooting while attending the event.
“That guy got shot by a bullet that was intended for Trump,” Rogan said. “And then there’s a photo of a bullet whizzing by his face. Anybody that thinks that that staged is out of their f—ing mind.”
For the 2024 attempt, the Post explained, “Regarding the Butler assassination attempt, 24 percent of respondents said they believed it was staged. Forty-two percent of Democratic respondents said they thought the shooting was staged, compared with 7 percent of Republicans.”
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Rogan was shocked by polling showing some Americans believe at least one of the assassination attempts against President Trump were staged. (Getty Images/Rebecca Droke)
The pair also referenced another assassination attempt connected to the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.
Schaub questioned why anyone would believe an individual would destroy his own life to participate in a fake attack.
“They think that’s fake,” Schaub said. “It’s like, hold on. So, you think this guy, who’s a teacher, educated, clearly kind of had his s— together, threw away his life?”
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The podcasters also discussed Thomas Matthew Crooks, the gunman who attempted to assassinate Trump in Butler, with Rogan questioning the lack of publicly available information about him after the shooting.
“That one was weird as f—,” Rogan said. “That guy’s house was professionally scrubbed. He didn’t even have silverware there. He had no online activity. He had no social media.”
