ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel had a perverted sense of outrage on Monday as he claimed that “the MAGA gang” is “desperately trying” to characterize Charlie Kirk’s killer as not one of them. He also alleged that President Trump is mourning Kirk’s death like a 4-year old who has lost a pet goldfish.
Kimmel huffed, “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
Perhaps that is because there is a portion of the left that is trying to claim that Kirk’s killer was someone who thought Kirk was not right-wing enough or that his motive doesn’t matter. Later in his monologue, Kimmel would call Utah Gov. Spencer Cox a “rare voice of sanity” for his handling of the situation, but Cox has repeatedly stated that the alleged shooter is a leftist.
However, Kimmel rolled right along, “In between the finger pointing there was grieving. On Friday, the White House flew the flags at half-staff, which got some criticism. But on a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this.”
In a clip, a reporter asked Trump, “My condolences on the loss of your friend, Charlie Kirk. May I ask, sir, personally, how are you holding up over the last day and a half, sir?”
Trump responded, “I think very good. And by the way, right there you see all the trucks. They just started the construction of the new ballroom for the White House, which is something they've been trying to get, as you know, for about 150 years. And it's going to be a beauty.”
Kimmel mocked that answer, “Yes. He's at the fourth stage of grief: construction. Demolition, construction. This is not how an adult grieves the murder of somebody he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, okay?”
It is never a good idea to tell someone how to grieve. Maybe Trump’s construction plans are a helpful distraction for him. Maybe Kimmel should spend more time condemning the people in his Bluesky replies for their reaction to the crime.
Here is a transcript for the September 15 show:
ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!
9/15/2025
11:37 PM ET
JIMMY KIMMEL: We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.
In between the finger pointing there was grieving. On Friday, the White House flew the flags at half-staff, which got some criticism. But on a human level, you can see how hard the president is taking this.
REPORTER: My condolences on the loss of your friend, Charlie Kirk. May I ask, sir, personally, how are you holding up over the last day and a half, sir?
DONALD TRUMP: I think very good. And by the way, right there you see all the trucks. They just started the construction of the new ballroom for the White House, which is something they've been trying to get, as you know, for about 150 years. And it's going to be a beauty.
KIMMEL: Yes. He's at the fourth stage of grief: construction. Demolition, construction. This is not how an adult grieves the murder of somebody he called a friend. This is how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish, okay?
