Jay Leno calls Charlie Kirk’s killing ‘death of free speech', says it was not a random shooting
WASHINGTON, DC: As online speculation grows over the motive behind Charlie Kirk’s shocking killing, Jay Leno didn’t hold back. He called the incident the “death of free speech” and expressed deep frustration over the loss of a prominent conservative voice.
Kirk, who regularly hosted fiery debates on college campuses, took the stage at Utah Valley University on September 10 to discuss gang violence before he was fatally shot in the neck.
Read on to see how Leno reacted to Kirk’s killing and why he believes it strikes at the heart of free expression. Kirk often championed right-wing beliefs, including gun rights, anti-abortion stances, and Christian nationalism.
Jay Leno says Charlie Kirk’s death marks ‘end of free speech’
Jay Leno called into Tim Conway Jr’s radio show on September 10, the same day Charlie Kirk was killed.
Leno began, "It's not just it's not a random shooting. I mean it's a death of free speech. I think that you are so illiterate and so stupid you can't answer verbally and you have to shoot somebody with a gun to quote win the argument."
While reflecting on his school days, Leno recalled that political debates were once spirited and respectful. He said, "You know, when I was in school, Lively debate was unbelievable to have the SDS, the students of Democratic Society debate somebody else. I can remember when James Baldwin debated William F Buckley at Oxford University. It was just fascinating to here are two guys both way smarder than I am, and I understood both their point of view."
He continued with a sharp criticism of the culture of violence in political discourse. “It's just fascinating. I mean, it's just I mean, school shooting. I don't understand those at all across those are so stupid. But this is a political assassination of a man I didn't necessarily agree with, but I certainly enjoyed listening to because oh I didn't know that."
He emphasized, "Okay, and I don't have to agree on everything. I mean, we're in a point in this country where if you don't agree with. everybody and everything, you take out a gun and you shoot them, and especially on a college campus."
Jay Leno laments the loss of Charlie Kirk
Jay Leno said the last time a shooting affected him this deeply was in 1970, when the National Guard opened fire on unarmed students protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State University, killing four. “That's the last time something like this happened. It got me,” he said.
Leno reflected on how voices like Charlie Kirk’s, whether you agree with them or not, serve a purpose in public discourse. “Yeah, And a lot of times when you watch somebody like Charlie Kirk, it might enforce your own beliefs more or maybe it might change your mind,” he said. “But at least it gets you thinking he's just thinking about what's going on, you know, I mean, it's really it's such an unbelievable right."
When asked about the possibility of young people being inspired to follow in Kirk’s footsteps, Leno responded, “Again, I'm not defending or knocking anything that he says. It's just he's a guy that's way more intelligent than me. They could out debate me, and I could say of him, all right, okay, you win. You I still think you're wrong, you know.”
Leno lamented the loss of civil discourse. “The idea that we can't do that anymore. The idea is have to take out the gun and shoot the other guy because you lost a stupid argument. And from what I understand about this man, he was not a bully. He was not someone who berated people. I mean, he just made it a point and it was interesting. You know, I enjoy listening to the other side because that's how I get smarter."
He concluded by recalling, "When I was a kid, the most shocking crime was Richard Speck killing eight nurses. That that that was a shooge stars for ten years. And then he just got crazy and crimes got worse, and you."
