Trump, Vance, Newsom react to Charlie Kirk shooting
Reactions from politicians poured in after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot at Utah Valley University.
Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel are speaking out to condemn the killing of Charlie Kirk.
Colbert opened the Sept. 10 episode of “The Late Show” with a somber message delivered from his desk after Kirk, the conservative activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed at an event at Utah Valley University earlier in the day. A manhunt for the shooter remains underway.
The comedian explained the shooting took place after that evening’s episode of “The Late Show,” which tapes in the afternoon, had already been written.
“Our condolences go out to his family and all of his loved ones,” Colbert said.
“I’m 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.”
Colbert continued, “I pray with all my heart that this is the aberrant action of a madman and not a sign of things to come. And now, ladies and gentlemen, the show that we had prepared for you.”
Kimmel did not speak about the shooting on the Sept. 10 episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” which opened with a monologue about President Donald Trump, but he posted about it on Instagram earlier in the day.
“Instead of the angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human?” Kimmel 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.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox described the killing as a “political assassination,” and in an address from the Oval Office, Trump said he was “filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination” of Kirk.
“It’s long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible,” Trump said.
In an X post on Sept. 10, actor Chris Pratt said he was “praying for Charlie Kirk right now, for his wife and young children, for our country,” adding, “We need God’s grace. God help us.”
In the wake of Kirk’s death, Comedy Central pulled a rerun of an episode of “South Park” that parodied the conservative activist and originally aired on Aug. 6.
Contributing: Meredith G. White, Arizona Republic