On Thursday night, Jimmy Kimmel kicked off Jimmy Kimmel Live! with a sharp monologue addressing the ever-worsening political divide in America, particularly in relation to the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk earlier this week.
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“We’re still trying to wrap our heads around the senseless murder of popular podcaster and conservative activist Charlie Kirk yesterday, whose death has amplified our anger and our differences,” Kimmel said.
He didn’t stop there. He pointed out how the responses to Kirk’s death have been extreme and divisive. “I’ve seen a lot of extraordinarily vile responses to this from both sides of the political spectrum,” Kimmel continued. He also mentioned the school shooting in Colorado that occurred on the very same day as Kirk’s death, as an example of rising violence across the country.
“With all these terrible things happening, you’d think our president would at least try to bring us together. But he didn’t,” Kimmel added.
Every President’s Message of Unity—Except Trump’s
Kimmel then highlighted an important observation: every U.S. president, past and present, has responded to national tragedies with a message of unity. However, Kimmel pointed out, “President Trump did not.”
Instead, Trump chose to blame Democrats. Kimmel reminded the audience of Trump’s controversial rhetoric:
- He once told a crowd that “maybe the Second Amendment people should do something about Hillary Clinton.”
- He suggested he “wouldn’t mind if someone shot through the fake news media.”
- He incited a mob at the U.S. Capitol and later said Liz Cheney “should face nine barrels shooting at her” for supporting his opponent.
Kimmel concluded, “The man who unleashed a mob on the Capitol blames the radical left for their rhetoric.”
By contrasting the unifying messages from every president before him with Trump’s divisive statements, Kimmel underscored the dangerous consequences of a leadership style that fuels division.
