Tucker Carlson delivered a sharp rebuke of the Trump administration Wednesday, accusing Attorney General Pam Bondi of weaponizing the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk to erode First Amendment protections.
In the latest episode of The Tucker Carlson Show, the former Fox News host said Kirk — a close personal friend — would be “heartbroken” to see his name invoked in efforts to restrict so-called hate speech.
“Charlie was a free speech champion. He died believing Americans have the right to say what they believe — even if it’s ugly. And I pray that’s his legacy,” Carlson, 56, said.
The comments were a direct response to Bondi’s Monday appearance on The Katie Miller Podcast, in which the Attorney General vowed to “target” individuals spreading hate speech in the wake of Kirk’s September 10 killing.
“There’s free speech, and then there’s hate speech,” Bondi said. “And there is no place — especially now, especially after what happened to Charlie — for hate speech in our society.”
Carlson took issue with that distinction.
“The implication that hate speech is a crime — there’s no sentence Charlie Kirk would’ve objected to more than that,” Carlson said. “You’ve got to think the Attorney General didn’t think that through and was not attempting to desecrate the memory of the person she was purporting to celebrate. You hope that.”
Kirk, 31, was shot and killed during a public event in Dallas last week. The alleged shooter, a 23-year-old student, reportedly cited Kirk’s “rhetoric” as a motive. The killing has since reignited political debates over speech, extremism, and accountability online.
But Carlson warned that grief and fear should not be manipulated into policy.
“You hope that Charlie’s death won’t be used by a group we now call ‘bad actors’ to create a society that was the opposite of the one he hoped to build,” Carlson said.
Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and host of The Charlie Kirk Show, frequently criticized efforts to criminalize offensive speech. In 2024, he tweeted:
“Hate speech does not exist legally in America. There’s ugly speech. There’s gross speech. There’s evil speech. And ALL of it is protected by the First Amendment.”
Carlson went further, suggesting that Bondi’s comments echoed the very ideology that led to Kirk’s murder.
“That thinking that she just articulated on camera is exactly what got us to a place where some horrifying percentage of young people think it’s okay to shoot people you disagree with,” he said.
The White House did not comment directly on Carlson’s accusations, but on Tuesday President Trump praised Bondi’s performance, telling reporters, “Pam has done an unbelievable job, and everyone agrees with that.” The Department of Justice has not responded to media requests for clarification on Bondi’s remarks.
Carlson’s podcast, which has gained a massive audience since his departure from Fox News in 2023, has become a leading voice for populist conservatives and libertarians skeptical of state power. His criticism of the administration has added to a growing chorus across the political spectrum alarmed by government efforts to monitor speech.
Just hours after Carlson’s episode aired, ABC announced it had “indefinitely” pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! from its late-night lineup. The move followed a threat from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to revoke the network’s broadcast license over Kimmel’s controversial remarks about Kirk’s death. President Trump celebrated the decision on Truth Social, calling it “Great news for America.”
Carlson warned that such developments point to a dangerous trend.
“There are a lot of people who’d like to codify their own beliefs by punishing those under the U.S. code who disagree with them,” he said. “Any attempt to do that is a denial of the humanity of American citizens and cannot be allowed under any circumstances. That’s got to be the red line. When they can do that, what can’t they do?”
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr
