Late-Night Hosts React to Charlie Kirk's Death, Condemn Political & Gun Violence

On Wednesday afternoon, Kirk -- an often controversial conservative political activist and strong supporter of President Donald Trump -- had been speaking at a student Q&A at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, when he was shot and killed by a sniper from a nearby building. He was 31.

On Friday, 22-year-old Utah man Tyler Robinson was identified as Kirk's alleged shooter.

The evening before Robinson's arrest, however, Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, and Seth Meyers addressed Kirk's assassination, condemning the political violence, criticizing Trump for blaming the "radical left," and calling for gun safety laws, and ultimately, unity.

During his monologue on Thursday, Jimmy Kimmel slammed those celebrating Kirk's death, while also calling out Trump for blaming the "rhetoric" from the "radical left" for Kirk's murder -- rather than attempting to unite the country following the tragedy.

"His death has amplified our anger, our differences," he said. "And I've seen a lot of extraordinarily vile responses to this from both sides of the political spectrum. Some people are cheering this, which is something I won't ever understand. We had another school shooting yesterday in Colorado, the hundredth one of the year."

"With all of these terrible things happening, you would think that our president would at least make an attempt to bring us together. But he didn't," Kimmel went on. "President Obama did. President Biden did. Presidents Bush and Clinton did. President Trump did not."

"Instead, he blamed Democrats for their rhetoric. The man who told a crowd of supporters that maybe the Second Amendment people should do something about Hillary Clinton," he explained. "The man who said he wouldn't mind if someone shot through the fake news media. The man who unleashed a mob on the Capitol, and said Liz Cheney should face nine barrels shooting at her for supporting his opponent, blames the radical left for their rhetoric. And then the man who on Sept. 11, 2001, bragged that his building was now the tallest building in New York, which wasn't even true."

As most of the late-night shows were filmed too early to react to the news on Wednesday, Kimmel also shared his initial reaction following Kirk's death on his social media, writing, "Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?" he wrote. "On behalf of my family, we send love to the Kirks and to all the children, parents and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence."

Stephen Colbert was the first of the late-night hosts to address the shooting on his talk show, creating a special message that he attached to the start of his show on Wednesday night, per Variety, which was otherwise recorded before Kirk's death.

"Good evening, everybody. After our scripts for tonight’s show were finished, we learned that Charlie Kirk, a prominent right-wing activist, was killed at a speaking engagement in Utah," Colbert said from behind his desk. "Our condolences go out to his family and all of his loved ones."

"I am old enough to personally remember the political violence of the 1960s, and I hope it is obvious to everyone in America that political violence does not solve any of our political differences. Political violence only leads to more political violence. And I pray with all my heart that this is the aberrant action of a madman and not a sign of things to come," Colbert added, before continuing with the previously recorded show.

He further addressed Kirk's assassination on Thursday night's episode of The Late Show.

"However you feel about his politics, he was a young father of two small children and an American who has the constitutional right to express his opinion in safety," Colbert said. "It should go without saying that violence is never the answer to political disagreement. But I think these days, it should be said as often as possible."

"In such troubling moments, I'm grateful to any leader who, instead of dividing us, points to our common humanity," he continued, before showing Speaker Mike Johnson's message bringing the "temperature down," with the congressman calling on anyone with a platform to condemn political violence.

Noting that he agreed with Johnson's "sentiment," Colbert added, "We should be able to settle our disagreements civilly. In the end, as Americans, we are all brothers and sisters."

Seth Meyers began his show on Thursday with a passionate monologue, in which he -- like the other late-night hosts -- condemned political violence, while also calling for gun safety laws in the country.

"We are horrified by this grotesque tragedy, and our condolences go out to his family and loved ones," he said. "It should never be a matter of political ideology to mourn and to extend our fullest and deepest empathy to those who are suffering."

"Political violence is abhorrent and anathema to the highest ideals of this country," Meyers went on. "It corrodes us and threatens the very foundations of our democracy. The great promise of our democratic experiment is that we can engage with one another and resolve our differences through dialogue, not violence. We must hold true to that promise and strive toward it with our fullest effort even when it feels furthest away."

The late-night host noted that he would be "remiss" if he didn't mention the other recent "horrific" school shootings.

On Wednesday, a teenager opened fire at Evergreen High School in Colorado, leaving two in critical condition, and one -- the shooter -- dead. Meyers also referred to last month's tragic Annunciation Catholic School church shooting in Minnesota, which took the lives of two children, and left 21 other people injured.

"There have been over 300 mass shootings and 47 school shootings this year alone," he said. "We've said this many times on this program, and we'll say it again: gun violence is a plague in this country. We desperately need reasonable gun safety laws to stop this epidemic of tragedy and pain. No matter the identity or ideology of these perpetrators, one thing is always constant: the guns. We must make it possible for children to go to school and for everyone to engage in public debate without the threat of gun violence looming over them."

Meyers went on to highlight other tragic acts of political violence in recent years, including the October 2022 attack on Representative Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi, as well as the assassination of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband in June 2024, the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, the July 2024 attempted assassination of then-presidential candidate Trump, and more.

"This rising tide of political violence will only lead to a darker and more dangerous place, and it must end," he said, before calling on public figures to encourage bipartisan unity.

The Daily Show's Michael Kosta shared his thoughts on Kirk's assassination on Thursday's show. Similar to Kimmel, Kosta slammed Trump for placing blame on the left.

"This is as good a time as any to say that political violence is never acceptable and should be condemned," Kosta said. "And thankfully, many political leaders think the same. All four living past presidents issued messages of unity and tolerance."

"It was comforting to see our living past presidents, and Joe Biden, attempting to lower the country’s temperature yesterday," he continued. "But none of those people are running this place right now. That would be Trump who wasted no time blaming the 'rhetoric' of the 'radical left,' despite the fact that nothing was known about the perpetrator or his motives."

However, Kosta went on to note that he wasn't surprised by Trump's messaging, saying, "Let’s be real: did we expect anything different? This is what this guy does. The last time Trump delivered a thoughtful message was apparently when he sent a birthday card to Jeffrey Epstein."

Kosta also criticized other political figures from across the spectrum, who, like Trump, are calling out the other side for its "rhetoric."

"Here we go again -- 'It's Democrats' rhetoric.' 'No, it's Republicans' rhetoric," he said. "Has anyone considered that the problem of political violence in America might not just be the rhetoric, but instead something extraordinarily complex? The problem might be a toxic mix of our gun laws, lack of mental health, collapsed social connection, probably a bunch of other things I hadn't even thought of yet. I'm sure Labubus are somewhere in there to blame."

"I guess I just don't think rhetoric is the root cause of this thing," he added. "Political violence isn't going to go away if the people on the other side say exactly the right words from now on."