The hosts of ABC’s daytime talk show The View expressed shock and sorrow after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at a campus in Utah, calling the killing a devastating attack on free expression.
Whoopi Goldberg opened the episode by offering condolences to Kirk’s family and described the attack as “beyond devastating,” asking whether the right to speak without fear remains a fundamental part of American life. “Isn’t a fundamental part of being an American that we are able to express our opinions to each other without fear, without this kind of horror happening?” she said, adding that political violence has appeared more frequently in recent years and is not limited to one side of the political spectrum.
Alyssa Farah Griffin, the panel’s Republican co-host, said she was particularly affected because she had come to know Kirk over the years and credited him with encouraging young conservatives to speak up on campuses. Griffin called him “an incredibly influential young activist on the right” and warned that his death could chill public expression across the political spectrum. “Regardless of your politics, we have got to get to a place in this country where we see people we disagree with not as our enemies but as fellow Americans with different viewpoints that we are willing to engage,” she said.
Sunny Hostin condemned political violence and pointed to Kirk’s family, saying she was “heartbroken” knowing he left behind a wife and two young children. “I cannot believe that someone would kill another person because they were speaking their beliefs,” Hostin said, adding that the First Amendment exists to protect such speech.
Joy Behar, who has lived through the high-profile assassinations of the 1960s, placed the killing in a broader historical context and urged hope. “We lived through all that. It was a turbulent time,” she said, referencing the murders of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. “I’d like to be positive about it. I think we did get out of it. The country survived it. We got better. I think we will again. We’re having a traumatic period right now.”
Goldberg closed the segment by emphasizing the importance of preserving free speech and democratic debate. “This is not the way we do it,” she said. “And I hope that young Republicans never forget that they have a voice. We all have voices. We should never, ever be afraid.”
Kirk, 31, founded Turning Point USA, an organization that promotes conservative politics on college campuses. The killing, described by hosts and other commentators as an assassination, has intensified discussion about political violence and safety at public events. The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET on ABC.