Late Night Host Calls for ‘Dignity And Compassion’ From Trump in Wake of Charlie Kirk Killing — Slams ‘Gun Violence Plague’
Late Night host Seth Meyers called for “dignity and compassion” from leaders — beginning with President Donald Trump — and stricter gun violence laws in a commentary on the shooting of late activist Charlie Kirk.
The political and media world were stunned when news broke Wednesday afternoon that Kirk had been shot during an event at Utah Valley University by a gunman. Hours later, news broke that Kirk died from the injuries he sustained in that shooting.
Trump has reacted by repeatedly attacking the “left” over the shooting.
On Thursday night’s edition of NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers, the host opened his show by somberly addressing the shooting, denouncing political violence and pointedly calling for dignity and compassion that “must start from the top”:
Good evening, everybody. I’m Seth Meyers. This is Late Night. We hope you’re all doing well.
We want to start off tonight by saying that, as I’m sure you’ve heard by now, conservative activist Charlie Kirk was murdered yesterday at a college event in Utah.
We’re horrified by this grotesque tragedy, and our condolences go out to his family and loved ones. It should never be a matter of political ideology to mourn and to extend our fullest and deepest empathy to those who are suffering.
Political violence is abhorrent and anathema to the highest ideals of this country. It corrodes us and threatens the very foundations of our democracy. The great promise of our democratic experiment is that we can engage with one another and resolve our differences through dialogue, not violence.
We must hold true to that promise and strive toward it with our fullest effort, even when it feels furthest away. I would be remiss… If I did not also mention that several students were shot and injured in a school in Colorado yesterday, just two weeks after a horrific school shooting in Minnesota that killed two children and injured 21 more.
There have already been over 300 mass shootings and 47 school shootings this year alone. We’ve said this many times on this program and we’ll say it again, gun violence is a plague in this country. We desperately need reasonable gun safety laws to stop this epidemic of tragedy and pain.
No matter the identity or ideology of these perpetrators, one thing is always constant, the guns.
We must make it possible for children to go to school and for everyone to engage in public debate without the threat of gun violence looming over them.
Three months ago, Minnesota Democratic lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were murdered in their home in what officials described as a politically motivated assassination.
Just last month, a man was sentenced to 80 years in prison for orchestrating a politically motivated shooting spree against Democratic lawmakers in New Mexico.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and his family were the targets of an attempted assassination in April.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, was violently attacked in their home three years ago.
One person was killed and dozens were injured in a white supremacist terror attack in Charlottesville in 2017.
A violent mob stormed the Capitol and attack police officers on January 6, 2021.
And there were not one but two assassination attempts against Donald Trump.
Sadly, I could go on. This rising tide of political violence will only lead to a darker and more dangerous place, and it must end.
In a moment like this, it is the responsibility of all public figures to marshal their dignity and compassion and lead us to a calmer, more rational place.
This effort cannot be one-sided, and it most start at the top.
A Dartmouth study last year found that the vast majority of Americans across the political spectrum reject and abhor political violence. They are waiting for their leaders to join them.
Thank you everyone for listening. And now, if you do not mind, we are going to get to our show.
Watch above via NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers.
