Tucker Carlson, the conservative media personality and former Fox News host, seemed to break ranks with key members of President Donald Trump’s inner circle this week over the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s shooting.
In a special episode of “The Tucker Carlson” show streaming on Carlson’s website, he discussed his friendship with Kirk, a 31-year-old right-wing activist who was shot dead last Wednesday in front of a crowd of people in Utah. He said that Kirk was an ardent defender of free speech not only based on the Bill of Rights but based on his Christianity.
“He understood that's a right that comes from God bestowed on all of us at birth,” said Carlson. “And he felt his job, his duty, was not simply to protect it, but to live it, to show people what that looks like.”
Carlson, who has generally strongly supported Trump, contrasted that sentiment with a statement Attorney General Pam Bondi posted Tuesday.
“Hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment,” said Bondi in a statement posted to X. “It’s a crime. For far too long, we’ve watched the radical left normalize threats, call for assassinations, and cheer on political violence. That era is over.”
She also made other claims about types of speech considered federal crimes.
“That was an absolutely ridiculous comment she made today,” said Megyn Kelly, a guest who joined Carlson for his discussion of Kirk. “I mean, it was absolutely foolhardy. I – there’s just no way she doesn’t know what she said is legally unsound.”
“Not to pile on the attorney general, who’s a very nice person, but that thinking that she just articulated on camera there is exactly what got us to a place where some huge and horrifying percentage of young people think it’s okay to shoot people you disagree with, to kill Nazis for saying things they don’t like,” Carlson added. He previously criticized Bondi for her handling of the Jeffrey Epstein documents and case.
Regarding whether the president himself agrees with Bondi on hate speech, Kelly said: “I think Trump will see that there’s so much resistance to this on the right, that he won’t let her do that. He won’t let her push for it, and he won’t let the Republicans do it. I just have to think Trump reads his base better than she does.”
Still, Trump has gone after media companies. Paramount paid $16 million this year to settle a lawsuit the president brought against them and Trump also recently sued the New York Times for $15 billion over “defamation and libel.”
Bondi also isn’t the only member of the Trump administration to call for a crackdown on hate speech in the wake of Kirk’s murder. Vice President JD Vance – also a friend of Kirk’s – said this when he hosted a recent episode of Kirk’s podcast: “When you see someone celebrating Charlie’s murder, call them out in hell, call their employer. We don’t believe in political violence, but we do believe in civility and there is no civility in the celebration of political assassination”
In a Wednesday X post, the vice president said this: “To my friends on the political Right: I understand the feeling that people are putting words into Charlie Kirk’s mouth. At some level, I agree and share your frustration. Try to remember: a lot of people loved Charlie. It is natural for them to debate his views and his legacy. In fact, I think Charlie would welcome that. But for now, let's celebrate our friend, remember his impact, and save the debate for after his funeral.”
Outside of the Trump administration, ABC recently announced that it would suspend “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” over the host’s comments following Kirk’s death. During Kimmel’s Monday monologue, he said Republicans were “desperately trying to characterize” Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old charged in Kirk’s murder, as “anything other than one of them.”
“Nexstar strongly objects to recent comments made by Mr. Kimmel concerning the killing of Charlie Kirk and will replace the show with other programming in its ABC-affiliated markets,” said the media company.
Paramount’s decision to cancel “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” earlier this year was also rumored to be politically motivated. However, the company said the move was a financial decision.
After many years at Fox, Carlson and the network parted ways around two years ago, and some reports indicated that text messages Carlson sent might have played a role in the breakup. Carlson’s attorneys accused Fox of fraud and breach of contract.
“When Charlie Kirk is shot in the throat with a 30 out six on camera, I doubt very many young Americans want to see something like that or actually applaud the death of a man, a father, a husband,” said Carlson. “But they’ve been told for their entire lives in schools, exactly what Pam Bondi just told them: ‘Well, there’s free speech, but then there’s also hate speech and woe to those who engage in it because it’s a crime.’ That’s a lie. And it’s a lie that denies the humanity of the people you’re telling it about.”