Jay Leno Calls Charlie Kirk Shooting 'Death of Free Speech' in America

The former Tonight Show host called into Los Angeles' The Tim Conway Jr. Show, as covered by Mediaite, within hours of the shooting this past Wednesday, in remarks that are just now circulating across national media, calling it "the death of free speech."

Leno blasted the shooting he later described as a "political assassination," saying, "I mean, it's the death of free speech, to think that you are so illiterate and so stupid you can't answer verbally, and you have to shoot somebody with a gun to win the argument."

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.

Emphasizing that this was not a "random" shooting event, the comedy icon went on to note that he used to enjoy being involved in debates with people he didn't necessarily agree with back when he was in college in the 1970s. Kirk was at the first stop of his "American Comeback Tour" where he invited college students to debate with him at a "Prove Me Wrong" table.

It was a continuation of a tradition Leno remembered fondly, civil debate, but one that he says is clearly no longer part of the fabric of the nation, and America is worse for it. In fact, while he said he didn't necessarily see eye to eye with Kirk, he did see value in hearing him out.

"This is a political assassination of a man who I didn’t necessarily agree with, but I certainly enjoyed listening to, because, 'Oh, I didn't know that, okay--'" Leno shared. "And I didn't have to agree on everything."

"I mean, we’re at a point in this country where, if you don’t agree with everybody on everything," he continued, "you take out a gun and you shoot them?"

On the latest episode of his own late-night show Real Time, Bill Maher also weighed in on the lack of civility when it comes to expressing differences in America, calling it "a very ugly week in America," as the Kirk shooting has public figures, social media, and political pundits actually talking about "civil war" as if it's a real possibility.

He brought up, as an example, the U.S. Representative from Colorado Lauren Boebert standing up and calling for a silent prayer for Kirk before interrupting it herself. "She started screaming, ‘No! Silent prayers get silent results.’ As if praying out loud gets big results," Maher said. "Then the Democrats started screaming at her that there was a school shooting in her state. I tell you, so far, the civil war is not very civil."

He then called out President Donald Trump offering no words of unity after the shooting. When asked what he would do to bring the country together, Maher shared, "He said, ‘I know this is going to get me in trouble, but I could care less.’ He’s a different kind of cat. His message is, ‘Let the healing stop.'"

The quote came during a Fox & Friends appearance where the president was asked about extremism on both the left and the right by co-host Ainsley Earhardt, who asked him, "How do we fix this country? How do we come back together?"

"I'll tell you something that's going to get me in trouble, but I couldn't care less," Trump said. "The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don't want to see crime. They don't want to see crime. Worried about the border. They're saying, We don't want these people coming in. We don't want you burning our shopping centers. We don't want you shooting our people in the middle of the street."

"The radicals on the left are the problem," he continued. "and they're vicious and they're horrible and they're politically savvy, although they want men in women's sports, they want transgender for everyone, they want open borders."

Trump was among many Republicans and conservatives who blamed the "radical left" for Kirk's shooting before a suspect was identified. They've also called for swift retaliation against anyone who may have made light of Kirk's death, or celebrated it, which was a sentiment Maher did agree with.

"He was shot under a banner that said, ‘Prove me wrong,’ because he was a debater, and too many people think that the way to do that -- to prove you wrong -- is to just eliminate you from talking altogether," Maher said in an echo of Leno's sentiments.

"So the people who mocked his death or justified it, I think you’re gross. I have no use for you," Maher continued, before adding of those who would further escalate things, "The people who are saying now we’re at war, I’ve no use for you."

"The governor of the state [where Kirk was shot] said, ‘Social media is a cancer,’ which I think is true because when you read some of the comments from people, they really are in such a bubble that they don’t understand that it’s happening on both sides," he argued.

"And I think the only way this starts to get better is if both sides admit, ‘OK, let’s not have this debate about who started it. Let’s not debate about who’s worse because, plainly, both sides do it now.’ And the right has done it too. A lot."

Following the shooting, fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel posted on his Instagram, "Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human? 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."

Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert condemned the shooting in a special video appended to the start of his Wednesday broadcast, offering condolences to Kirk's family and loved ones. He then shared his memories of the political violence of the 1960s, arguing, "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."

See what all the late-night hosts had to say in length about the death of Charlie Kirk on their Thursday shows below: