Vice President JD Vance is throwing down the gauntlet against late-night host Jimmy Kimmel in a fiery clash over the tragic assassination of conservative figure Charlie Kirk.
Fox News reported that Vance is accusing Kimmel of slandering conservatives with remarks blaming them for Kirk’s murder, despite evidence pointing to a left-wing radical as the culprit, while Kimmel’s show faced a brief suspension and ongoing backlash upon his return to the airwaves.
The controversy ignited on September 15, 2025, when Kimmel took to his late-night platform to criticize the Republican response to Kirk’s assassination, pointing fingers at what he called the "MAGA gang" for politicizing the tragedy.
Fast forward to last Wednesday, and Kimmel’s show was yanked off the air amid a storm of criticism from conservatives who found his comments not just tasteless, but outright accusatory.
After a brief suspension, Kimmel returned to the screen on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, delivering a monologue that has since racked up over 21 million views on YouTube by Thursday evening.
That same monologue averaged 6.2 million viewers, per The New York Times, proving that controversy still sells, even if it’s at the expense of decency—or so Vance might argue.
At the heart of Vance’s outrage is the identity of Kirk’s alleged killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who surrendered to police and faces charges including aggravated murder and felony firearm discharge causing serious injury.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox shared that a family member of Robinson told investigators the young man had grown increasingly political and harbored a deep dislike for Kirk’s views, painting a picture of ideological motive.
Cox also noted a darker undercurrent, saying, "Clearly there was a lot of gaming going on — friends that have confirmed that there was kind of that deep, dark internet, the Reddit culture, and these other dark places of the internet where this person was going deep."
Adding fuel to the fire, Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has warned that Kimmel’s show could face regulatory consequences due to the conservative uproar over his remarks.
Meanwhile, Kimmel’s program continues to be preempted by major players like Nexstar Media and Sinclair, which own ABC-affiliated stations, signaling that the backlash isn’t just hot air—it’s hitting where it hurts.
Vance, speaking on "The Ingraham Angle" on Thursday, September 25, 2025, didn’t mince words, declaring, "He [Kimmel] tries to say that he told a joke. He didn't tell a joke."
Continuing his critique, Vance argued, "He was actually accusing right-wing America, conservative America, of killing Charlie Kirk. We now know that is false."
Let’s unpack that—Vance is spotlighting a dangerous narrative twist, where conservatives mourning Kirk with prayer vigils are painted as villains, while the alleged perpetrator’s left-leaning radicalization gets a pass in Kimmel’s monologue. Isn’t it time for accountability over cheap laughs?
The stakes couldn’t be higher, as Vance and others call for honesty about the roots of such violence, urging a hard look at rhetoric that might fan the flames of division rather than douse them. If late-night TV is going to play pundit, it better get its facts straight—or at least offer a sincere mea culpa.
