Tucker Carlson warned in a special episode of his show on Tuesday that “civil disobedience” could erupt should the Trump administration and other “bad actors” use Charlie Kirk’s death as a means to attack free speech.
Why It Matters
Kirk, 31, co-founder and executive director of the national conservative organization Turning Point USA, was fatally shot September 10 during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Immediately following his death, President Donald Trump ordered flags to be at half-staff, and in the days since, some conservatives have openly called for stricter free-speech barriers, including on college campuses.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said and later defended the Department of Justice’s intent to crack down on “hate speech” nationwide, saying threats of violence are federal crimes under the U.S. Constitution. Bondi’s remarks have been met with vitriol from people on both sides of the political aisle, with many quoting Kirk’s own words and sentiments regarding the sanctity of free speech.
What To Know
Carlson opened Wednesday’s episode of The Tucker Carlson Show, a tribute to Kirk called “America After Charlie Kirk,” featuring conservative and liberal guests, including Megyn Kelly and Cenk Uygur, with a near 35-minute introduction about the former conservative commentator’s legacy and how free speech is essentially more vital than ever.
“Consider what it means if you don’t respect free speech, which is another way of saying free conscience—the right of other people to make up their own minds about the basic questions of what is right or wrong, and to express their views on those issues,” Carlson said.
“If you don’t respect the right of other people to do that, and if you take steps to prevent them from doing that, what are you really saying? You’re saying, “I don’t think you have a soul. You’re a meat puppet I can control. I think you’re an animal, maybe a sub-animal. You’re a slave.'”
Carlson then invoked Bondi into the argument, referencing her recent remarks on free speech and so-called hate speech in the wake of Kirk’s murder.
Kirk would not have objected to anything more than Bondi’s words of purported defense of free speech, Carlson said, adding that perhaps she “didn’t think it through and was not attempting to desecrate the memory of the person she was purporting to celebrate.
“You hope Charlie Kirk’s death won’t be used by a group we now call bad actors to create a society that was the opposite of the one he worked to build,” Carlson said. “You hope that! You hope a year from now, the turmoil we’re seeing in the aftermath of his murder won’t be leveraged to bring hate speech laws to this country.
“And trust me…if that does happen, there is never a more justified moment for civil disobedience than that—ever, and there never will be. Because if they can tell you what to say, they’re telling you what to think, there is nothing they can’t do to you because they don’t consider you human. They don’t believe you have a soul.”
Jimmy Kimmel Suspension
On Wednesday, ABC announced it had suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely following backlash over comments host Jimmy Kimmel made about Kirk.
“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said on air.
Following Kirk’s death, Kimmel called the murder “senseless,” and the longtime talk show host had also issued a message of love to Kirk’s family in an Instagram post.
Kimmel’s suspension came hours after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr publicly criticized Kimmel’s remarks and suggested regulatory consequences. The move also coincides with Nexstar Media Group’s pending $6.2 billion merger with Tegna, which is subject to FCC approval—raising questions about whether corporate and regulatory pressures influenced the network’s response.
In the aftermath of the Kirk shooting, some conservatives have praised the firing of individuals from their respective jobs after making comments online that were deemed in poor taste.
Other conservatives have lauded Kirk and advocated for statues to be erected in his honor.
What People Are Saying
Ryan McCormick, managing partner at New York-based Goldman McCormick public relations, told Newsweek: “The abrupt termination of Jimmy Kimmel’s show seems perplexing considering how valuable it had been to ABC. According to TVREV, it ranked as the network’s 10th best ad earner, delivering 11.8 billion national TV ad impressions.
“For something like this to happen, it would likely seem that the legal implications of Kimmel’s controversial statements must either be substantial, the reputational fallout from Kimmel’s recent comments was too severe to contain, or ABC had been planning to do this all along but was waiting for the right moment. From a PR perspective, it seems the die was cast for this day to come when Kimmel made his program politically polarizing (permanently narrowing the audience size).”
New York trial attorney Nicole Brenecki told Newsweek: “If a network parts ways with a host because of something they said, it’s typically a business or contractual decision, not a First Amendment violation. The U.S. Constitution protects individuals from government censorship, but private companies have their own standards and are generally free to make programming choices—even if those choices spark public debate about free expression.”
What Happens Next
One week after Kirk’s shooting and death, tensions remain high and conversation continues surrounding free speech and political violence.