Podcaster Joe Rogan sharply criticized the actions of President Donald Trump's immigration agents during one of his recent episodes, but it wasn't enough to save him from the backlash that ensued.
Rogan said during a recent episode of his popular podcast that videos of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent killing 37-year-old Renee Good last week were "ugly to watch." His comments come at a time when ICE and Customs and Border Patrol face increased scrutiny as videos of agents harassing and assaulting protesters and legal observers continue to pile up.
"It just looked horrific to me," Rogan said.
"Are we really going to be the Gestapo? Where's your papers? Is that what we've come to?" he added.
Political analysts and observers didn't mince words in their replies to Rogan, some of whom said Rogan bears some responsibility because he used his platform to boost Trump's 2024 campaign.
"Rogan endorsed Trump. This is on him," economist Tony Annett posted on X.
"Donald Trump openly campaigned on this when Rogan endorsed him," political writer Nick Field posted on X.
Other analysts observed that Rogan appeared to be providing his tens of millions of listeners a good argument not to support the actions of Trump's immigration forces.
"As I've argued, Joe Rogan isn't a right-winger," Zaid Jilani posted on X. "He's America's most important swing voter. Anyone who wants to be successful in national politics should court him."
"I understand that people have different good faith viewings of the video," Connor Friedersdorf, staff writer for The Atlantic, posted on X. "Hopefully, Joe Rogan having the majority's viewing will help persuade those with the officer-acted-unobjectionably viewing of the fact that even some of their sometime allies earnestly disagree."
"It’s scary to live in a world where Joe Rogan and Dan Bilzerian are making sense," political analyst Ally Sammarco posted on X.