What he’s saying: “Thank you for joining us here in Los Angeles the second largest city in a bitterly divided nation where, like the rest of the country, we’re still trying to wrap our heads around the senseless murder of the popular podcaster and conservative activist Charlie Kirk yesterday, whose death has amplified our anger, our differences,” Kimmel said on his show last week.
- “I’ve seen a lot of extraordinarily vile responses to this from both sides of the political spectrum. Some people are are cheering this, which is something I won’t ever understand,” he said in the opening monologue.
- “We had another school shooting yesterday in Colorado, the 100th one of the year. And with all these terrible things happening, you would think that our president will at least make an attempt to bring us together. But he didn’t,” Kimmel continued.
- “President Obama did. President Biden did. Presidents Bush and Clinton did. President Trump did not. Instead, he blamed Democrats for their rhetoric,” he said, shifting his monologue to attack Trump for his past behavior on matters such as the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Of note: Kimmel noted that the U.S. had “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, but in between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”
- He added: “This is not how an adult grieves the murder of someone he calls a friend. This is how a four-year-old mourns a gold fish.”
Go deeper: ABC pulls Jimmy Kimmel after Charlie Kirk comments
Jimmy Kimmel in Beverly Hills, California, in May. Photo: Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation
ABC is pulling Jimmy Kimmel after a wave of criticism over the late night host’s recent comments in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing.
Why it matters: Kimmel is among the most high-profile people to face professional consequences for criticizing the conservative activist killed last week.
White House, Trump cheer ABC over Kimmel suspension: “Jimmy is a sick freak!”
President Trump departs the White House on Sept. 11 en route to New York City. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
President Trump celebrated ABC’s decision Wednesday to pull Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show, calling it “great news for America.”
Why it matters: Trump joins other conservatives in celebrating and advocating for Kirk critics to face professional consequences.
