Joe Rogan reflected on the days and months after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and how there was a rare sense of unity among people.
The podcaster got into the discussion on the latest episode of The Joe Rogan Experience with his guest, former CIA operative Mike Baker. The pair had been talking about the political divide in the U.S., which they described as "narratives" that people ascribe to.
"The problem with narratives is that there's no one in the middle and, if you're not on one side, you're a traitor; you're an enemy," Rogan said, to which Baker added, "there's no way I don't think to walk that dog back, right?"
Baker added: "We had that moment after the assassination attempt and, like we talked about earlier, we got to be more civil," referring to the shooting of former President Donald Trump a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July. On July 13, Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at Trump from a nearby rooftop, grazing the Republican's ear. The 20-year-old injured two attendees of the rally and killed another.
Rogan described the mood after the assassination attempt as "like a mini 9/11," suggesting that there was civility across the political aisle and in society.
"You remember after 9/11? Everybody was so nice to each other for, like, weeks," Rogan added. He spoke about how he had come to New York City to film the reality show Fear Factor, which he hosted after the September 11 terrorist attacks and "everybody was so nice."
"The firemen were treated like f****** heroes. Firemen got laid more than any other time... Cops, EMT guys, They all got mad respect. And everybody was a lot more peaceful and civil.
"It was kind of cool," he said, adding he felt it across the country, but both men agreed they wished it didn't take a huge tragedy to bring people together in that way.
On September 11, 2001, 19 operatives from terrorist group Al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airliners and flew them into the Twin Towers at New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon. One of the planes, which was believed to be headed for the White House or U.S. Capitol, went down in Pennsylvania after passengers fought the hijackers.
Al-Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden, orchestrated the attacks, which killed a total of 2,977 people, including passengers on the planes, civilians and first responders.
Baker is a regular guest on Rogan's podcast, but in January of this year, the pair got into hot water over what some deemed as antisemitic comments.
They had been discussing whom billionaire George Soros chooses to donate his money to, focusing on his history of supporting progressive and liberal political causes.
"That's what's scary. It seems like he funds corrosion," Rogan said. "It's like he wants the cities to fall apart. He wants crime to flourish. It's almost like he's an evil person in a Batman movie."
Jewish writer and activist Elad Nehorai criticized the conversation on social media.
"11 million people listen to this podcast. 11 million people hearing and absorbing antisemitic tropes," Nehorai wrote on then-Twitter, now X.
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