Bill Maher on Friday urged people to stop comparing President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler, saying such rhetoric risks making political violence easier to justify in the wake of the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, 31, was shot and killed Wednesday while speaking at a campus event at Utah Valley University. He was struck in the neck, taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. Police identified 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the suspect and said he was taken into custody Friday. Authorities said investigators recovered a bolt-action rifle and ammunition casings near the campus.
Speaking on HBO’s Real Time, Maher referenced recent confrontations surrounding Trump, including an appearance in Washington, D.C., where protesters chanted, "Trump is the Hitler of our time." "This s--- has to stop too," Maher said. "He's not Hitler, okay, an insult to everybody in the Holocaust to begin with. Second of all, calling somebody Hitler makes it a lot easier to justify things like assassinations. Let's put a s---load of that away, shall we?"
Earlier in the episode, Maher discussed details investigators released about the shooting, including inscriptions found on bullet casings. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said at a news conference that one used casing and three unused casings recovered with the rifle contained messages such as "Hey fascist, catch!" and the phrase "Bella Ciao," a reference to an anti-fascist song tied historically to resistance against Mussolini.
Maher said the inscriptions represented a concerning escalation. "It's a new wrinkle now, the assassins are writing on the bullets… it's not the first time," he said, adding that extreme rhetoric on any side of the political spectrum can stoke violence.
Investigators described the scene at Utah Valley University as chaotic in the immediate aftermath. Police have said the suspect was taken into custody without publicized resistance and that the investigation remains active. Officials have provided limited details about motive beyond the inscriptions on the casings and said federal authorities are assisting local investigators.
Lawmakers and commentators from across the political spectrum have linked heated rhetoric to a broader climate of political violence, saying violent words can precede violent actions. Maher’s remarks followed similar public calls for restraint, with some officials urging de-escalation and others warning against drawing causal conclusions before the investigation concludes.
Kirk, who founded the conservative student organization Turning Point USA, was a prominent supporter of conservative causes and a frequent political commentator. Authorities said they will release more information as the investigation proceeds and that charges related to the shooting are under consideration pending further review.
The case has prompted renewed debate about the tone of political discourse in the United States, with calls for restraint from public figures and questions about how protest language and online rhetoric intersect with real-world violence. Officials emphasized that the factual record is evolving and asked the public to await further details from investigators.