Tucker Carlson, the conservative podcaster and former Fox News host, has accused the Trump administration of using Charlie Kirk’s death as a way to erode First Amendment rights — a warning that has also been raised by many on the left.
Carlson described Kirk as a “free speech champion” and said he feared that his assassination could be exploited as “leverage” to push hate speech laws in the United States, especially as the administration signals tougher action against critics of the Turning Point USA founder. Kirk’s murder has already ignited a divisive national debate on free speech.
“You hope that 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,” Carlson said Wednesday during a tribute episode of The Tucker Carlson Show. “And trust me, if it is, 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.”
While Carlson didn’t directly criticize President Donald Trump in his opening monologue, he singled out Attorney General Pam Bondi for remarks she made earlier in the week that sparked outrage across the political spectrum. Bondi had declared that the Justice Department “will absolutely target you, go after you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.”
Carlson argued that Kirk himself would have “objected” to Bondi’s statement, which she later attempted to clarify. “This is the Attorney General of the United States, the chief law enforcement officer of the United States, telling you that there is this other category… called hate speech,” Carlson said. “And of course, the implication is that’s a crime. There’s no sentence that Charlie Kirk would have objected to more than that.”
The administration has continued to escalate its response. Several members of Trump’s cabinet have pledged action against anyone mocking or celebrating Kirk’s assassination. Vice President J.D. Vance urged supporters to “call them out, and hell, call their employer.” The State Department announced efforts to track foreign nationals who are “praising, rationalizing, or making light” of Kirk’s death, while aides to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that military personnel could face criminal consequences if they joked about the activist’s killing.
At the same time, late-night television has become the latest battlefield. ABC announced Wednesday that Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show was being suspended “indefinitely” after remarks he made earlier in the week about the controversy. “We had 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 with everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said.
President Trump wasted no time celebrating the network’s decision. “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,” he wrote on Truth Social.
