Joe Rogan rips vaccine passports as moving US ‘closer to dictatorship’
Podcast king Joe Rogan slammed so-called COVID-19 vaccine passports, which provide proof of vaccination, saying they would bring the US “one step closer to dictatorship.”
The 53-year-old UFC announcer singled out CNN host Don Lemon for “openly” talking about a future where only the vaccinated have the freedom to “do what they want” and go “wherever the f–k you wanna go.”
Rogan said only “dumb” people would accept such restrictive rules, especially when the US became the “greatest superpower the world has ever known” through the first “experiment in self-government that actually worked.”
“And how did it do that? It did it through freedom,” he told listeners on Friday’s episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” with Donald Trump Jr. among those who have shared a clip seen 3.7 times by Monday.
“Because when you give people freedom, you let them do whatever the f–k they want to do, they actually find ways to succeed and grow and thrive,” Rogan said.
“But as soon as you put the boots to them, as soon as you tell them, ‘You have to do this, or you can’t do that. You have to listen to me’ — now you have a mini dictator,” he insisted.
“You have one step away from a king. One step closer. You’re moving one step closer to dictatorship. That’s what the f— is happening,” groaned the podcaster, who previously admitted he was “not a respected source of information.”
“That’s what’s gonna happen with a vaccine passport. That’s what gonna happen if they close borders,” he continued, suggesting a day when “You can’t enter New York City unless you have your papers.”
It would create a country where officials tell citizens, “You can’t do what you want to do unless you do what I want you to do,” he predicted.
He said he found it “terrifying” that some “smart people are applauding” such restrictions.
He also predicted that officials would then not “give that power up” and force people to start carrying papers.
“As soon as you give politicians power — any kind of power that didn’t exist previously — historically they don’t relinquish that power. They find new reasons to use it,” he warned.
He also called it “hilarious” that “people shouldn’t be skeptical or nervous” about COVID vaccines now that it is clear “not only can you get it, but you can spread it” even once inoculated.
“All you hear is, ‘Take this vaccine that doesn’t even prevent you from getting the disease’ or you can’t go … wherever the f–k you wanna go. It really is madness,” he said.
However, severe COVID-19 breakthrough infections are extremely low among those fully vaccinated, CDC data shows.
Donald Trump Jr. was one of many who shared clips of the tirade, with the one shared by the first son seen more than 3.7 million times by Monday morning.
“Joe Rogan gets it,” Trump Jr. tweeted.
Rogan’s views on coronavirus vaccines previously landed him in hot water in April when he told listeners that young, healthy people don’t “need to worry about” getting the shots.
“I’m not a doctor, I’m a f–cking moron,” Rogan later said of the huge backlash his comments caused.
“I’m not a respected source of information, even for me … But I at least try to be honest about what I’m saying.”
