Stephen Colbert Says Political Violence Only Leads to More Political Violence

 

Photo: CBS/YouTube

Stephen Colbert was the only late-night-show host to address the death of Turning Point USA founder and right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk on his September 10 broadcast. The CBS Late Show host opened the episode with a seated aside ahead of the pretaped monologue. He first specifies that the news broke “after the scripts were finished that afternoon,” which may explain why the other late-night shows opted against any day-of statements. After sending condolences to Kirk’s family and loved ones, Colbert explained that he “personally remembers” the political violence of the 1960s. “I hope it is obvious to everyone in America that political violence does not solve any political differences,” he said. “Political violence only leads to more political violence.” Colbert added that he is “praying with all his heart” that Kirk’s assassination is “the abhorrent action of a madman” and not a sign of things to come.

The Jimmys Fallon and Kimmel, along with Seth Meyers, instead focused the opening of their respective shows on President Donald Trump’s eventful dinner out in Washington, D.C., and continued speculation around the Jeffrey Epstein birthday book (coincidentally enough, both Kimmel and Fallon’s monologues featured cutaway jokes in which Trump’s signed dinner receipt featured the drawing from the Epstein book). Colbert’s monologue that followed hit similar beats, but the long shadow of his opening aside hung over the punch lines. Kimmel put out a statement on his personal Instagram before his show aired last night, sending love to “all the children, parents, and innocents who fall victim to senseless gun violence.”

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 The Late Show is so far the only late-night show to address Kirk’s death. 

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