Vice President JD Vance slammed Jimmy Kimmel’s “non-apology” on Thursday, saying the late-night host’s return to television without a genuine apology is simply “encouraging more violence” against conservatives.
Speaking on “The Ingraham Angle,” Vance rejected Kimmel’s monologue after the comedian returned from a brief suspension for jokes about Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
“He tries to say that he told a joke. He didn’t tell a joke. He was actually accusing right-wing America, conservative America, of killing Charlie Kirk,” Vance said. “We now know that is false. Charlie Kirk was murdered by a left-wing assassin who was radicalized by some of the rhetoric that we see coming from the far-Left.”
Kimmel’s show was pulled from ABC last week after he criticized the “MAGA gang” for trying to characterize Kirk’s shooter as “anything other than one of them” to score “political points.”
The comments sparked outrage from conservatives and drew a warning from Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr about potential regulatory action.
In his return monologue, Kimmel said he never intended to “make light of the murder of a young man” or “blame any specific group” for the actions of “a deeply disturbed individual.” He praised Erika Kirk’s decision to forgive her husband’s killer at his memorial service.
But Vance dismissed the monologue and is demanding Kimmel apologize to “Erika Kirk and the people he slandered.”
“When you accuse the people who’ve been holding prayer vigils, who have been praying about Charlie Kirk, you accuse them of killing Charlie Kirk, when we know it was a left-wing assassin, you’re actually apologizing for his murder, you’re encouraging more of that violence to happen,” Vance said.
Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged with aggravated murder in Kirk’s death. Investigators say Robinson told his liberal transgender partner he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”
“If we’re going to stop this crazy strain of left-wing violence, we have to be honest about what it is,” Vance said. “The honest truth is that Charlie Kirk was not killed by a MAGA American. He was not killed by a Republican. He was killed by a left-wing radical.”
Utah Governor Spencer Cox said Robinson as becoming “more political in recent years” and said investigators found evidence he was involved in “deep, dark internet” and “Reddit culture” that may have contributed to his leftist radicalization.
Robinson’s family confirmed that he had split from their more conservative views in recent years.
Kimmel’s return generated significant attention, with his Tuesday monologue drawing more than 21 million views on YouTube and averaging 6.2 million television viewers. However, local stations owned by Nexstar Media and Sinclair continue to preempt the show despite Disney resuming production.
Kirk was murdered on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Robinson, alleging the attack was politically motivated.