On a recent episode of "The Don Lemon Show," former CNN host Don Lemon sat in silence as comedian D.L. Hughley launched a verbal attack on the late Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA.
Kirk was tragically assassinated while addressing a student audience at Utah Valley University (UVU) on the topic of mass shootings. His final words were directed at a member of the crowd, questioning whether "gang violence" was being classified as mass shootings.
Hughley, appearing on Lemons YouTube show, controversially claimed that Kirk's death did not constitute an assassination, as he was not a political figure, and went on to describe him in disparaging terms.
Hughley expressed his conflicted feelings, stating, "[T]he thing that makes me the angriest about this is I always swore that I would never cede my humanity to anybody or any other situation. But thats getting more and more difficult to do because I certainly dont believe a young man, 31 years old, should have lost his life."
He continued, "But Charlie Kirk was a horrible human being. He said horribly incendiary things the very last words he spoke were basically putting the onus of gun violence on gangs, which is synonymous with black people. The very way he died was lying about black people with his last breath."
According to the Daily Caller, Hughley further remarked, "I just think the best thing I can say is that I hope he believed what he was saying. I hope he believed that lives being lost were worth it so the Second Amendment could persevere I hope he believed all the rhetoric he espoused because if not, that was certainly an empty, vacant way to live and certainly a horrible way to die."
The discourse surrounding Kirk's assassination extended to other media outlets. On "Katy Tur Reports," then-MSNBC political analyst Matthew Dowd suggested that Kirk's divisive rhetoric may have contributed to his untimely death.
Dowd commented, "[H]es been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups. And I always go back to: hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions."
Following these remarks, MSNBC terminated Dowd's position, labeling his comments as "inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable," and issued an apology. Dowd also expressed regret in a Bluesky post.
The reaction to Kirk's assassination was mixed, with some individuals expressing joy over his death, despite the personal tragedy it left behinda widow and two young children. SiriusXM's Stephen A. Smith, on "The Stephen A. Smith Show," vehemently criticized those who celebrated the assassination. "I dont care what his political beliefs were! I dont care what he felt! I care about the fact that a man was gunned down in front of two of his children who are 5 years of age or less," Smith declared.
"That hes dead at the age of 31. That his wife is a widow. That his children are fatherless because his ideas and his beliefs differed from somebody else, apparently." He continued, "And then Im going online and Im seeing people celebrating it! Shame! Shame on you!"
The assassination of Charlie Kirk has sparked a heated debate over the impact of rhetoric and the boundaries of political discourse. While some have used the tragedy to critique Kirk's views, others have emphasized the human cost of such violence, highlighting the need for a more respectful and civil dialogue in the public sphere.
Login