Joe Rogan has strongly condemned Palantir, the tech company that streamlines U.S. citizen data for the federal government, after it called for a military draft. During his Thursday episode of the "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast, Rogan expressed his opposition with a barrage of expletives, labeling the idea as "crazy."
Rogan's Reaction
"These motherfuckers are talking about drafting people," Rogan said. "I just don't understand why anybody would want to support that. That sounds crazy. Especially after this Iran war, where everybody's like, 'Why the fuck are we in Iran?' And if you signed up for that, that sounds nuts. Is that real?"
Palantir Technologies, which develops systems used by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Israel Defense Forces, released a 22-point manifesto on social media last month. The document summarizes CEO Alex Karp's 2025 book, "The Technological Republic." One of its earliest points states: "National service should be a universal duty. We should, as a society, seriously consider moving away from an all-volunteer force and only fight the next war if everyone shares in the risk and the cost."
Rogan's Criticism of the Manifesto
Rogan, who endorsed President Donald Trump in the 2024 election but has since frequently criticized him over deportation tactics, immigration raids, and the Iran conflict, expressed shock at the manifesto. "Why the fuck would a tech company be saying that we need to move towards a universal national military service?" Rogan asked. "How about fuck you? How about fuck you, you go? 'Cause you know none of these tech dorks that are running these companies, they're not doing it."
The American Civil Liberties Union has recently warned about Palantir's integration into the U.S. domestic security apparatus, which includes risk-assessment technologies for predictive policing. Rogan remained focused on the draft call. "Throwing meat into the machine, throwing people's children into these unnecessary wars," he said. "Fuck you … It's scary that they would, like, how about let's figure out how to use your technology so there's no more wars? Wouldn't that be a better goal?"
Historical Context
Rogan continued: "Instead of getting kids to fucking learn how to go shoot people they don't know because someone tells you to? And how many of these— out of all the wars we've been in since World War II, is it zero that made sense? I think it's zero." While the U.S. military draft is not currently active and no one has been drafted since 1973, a measure in the annual defense policy bill passed by Congress last year will automatically register eligible men for the draft pool starting in December.
Rogan has yet to fully break with Trump but stated, "I don't think there's one war that we've been in since World War II that makes any fucking sense at all. And they're like, 'The solution is: We need more people to be forced into it.'"
