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Joe Rogan blasted CNN on Wednesday for downplaying two suspects who allegedly hurled explosive devices into a protest as if they were initially having a perfectly normal day.
CNN is facing widespread backlash from a variety of sources over a now-deleted Tuesday post on X about a violent confrontation outside of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s mansion. The suspects, 18-year-old Emir Balat of Langhorne and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kayumi of Newtown, traveled from Bucks County to Manhattan on Saturday, when police said they ignited and hurled explosive devices into a protest crowd outside Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s residence.
“Two Pennsylvania teenagers crossed into New York City Saturday morning for what could’ve been a normal day enjoying the city during abnormally warm weather,” the post read. “But in less than an hour, their lives would drastically change as the pair would be arrested for throwing homemade bombs during an anti-Muslim protest outside of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home. Here’s what we know so far.”
Rogan was glad he screenshotted the “f—— ridiculous” tweet from CNN that was taken down, noting, “The internet never forgets.”
Joe Rogan announces the fight during the UFC 290 event at T-Mobile Arena on July 8, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
“You see their headline, you’re like, ‘What? What kind of story are you painting here?’ Like this is such a crazy way to frame a guy showed up with bombs and was hurling them at people,” Rogan said. “It sounded like it was just a regular day. Just regular day for this fella. And then things just went a little sideways somewhere along the way.”
He mocked CNN’s framing, as if it were “just regular fellas from PA! From Philly! Two Philly boys had a couple of cheesesteaks and then got on the train.”
He took particular umbrage at the mentioning of “’abnormally warm weather,’” asking, “Why the f— would you even say that? Could have been a normal day if they weren’t going there to commit terrorism.”
Podcaster Francis Foster, one of his two guests that day, joked that it reminded him of how teens would write in his creative writing class, starting stories with, “’It was like a normal day – ‘”
Emir Balat flees after throwing a homemade explosive device towards police as NYPD Chief Aaron Edwards and Sgt. Luis Navarro take action during a protest in front of Gracie Mansion, New York mayor Zohran Mamdani’s official residence, in New York on March 7, 2026. (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images)
Rogan was eager to know who wrote the tweet, rhetorically asking if they were trying to downplay terrorism.
“Are you trying to soften that?” he said. “It seems like you’re trying to soften it.”
Podcaster Konstantin Kisin, his other guest, argued that multiple news outlets have disingenuously framed the story to make it sound like the protesters were the ones who had thrown the bomb outside of Mamdani’s mansion, and not that the protesters were the ones who were attacked by counter-protesters.
“No one officially said that’s what happened. But the way they did the story and the headline, you would have got that impression,” Kisin said, claiming this reveals politically-based actors are just trying to frame their teams “in the correct light.”
Rogan went on to read CNN’s follow-up post apologizing for the tweet, which read, “A post regarding the two individuals arrested for throwing homemade bombs outside of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s home failed to reflect the gravity of the incident thereby breaching the editorial standards we require for all our reporting. It has therefore been deleted.”
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Rogan was alternatively amused and outraged by CNN’s tweet, saying it seemed as if the news organization were downplaying terrorism. (Carmen Mandato/Zuffa LLC)
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“But see how skillful this is, Joe. This is gaslighting again,” Kisin responded.
They then proceeded to read Kisin’s response to the tweet on X, which read, “It didn’t fail to reflect the gravity of the situation. It failed to accurately communicate who was responsible, who the intended victims were and where the blame for the attempted terrorist attack lay. In other words you didn’t accidentally downplay the seriousness of it, you deliberately misrepresented what happened to conceal the truth from the public.”
Fox News Digital reached out to CNN for comment and did not receive immediate reply.
