Good Morning Britain has sparked outrage after a guest compared Charlie Kirk to a former Ku Klux Klan leader just hours after the activist was killed.
The Turning Point USA founder, 31, was speaking to 6,000 people at Utah Valley University when he was fatally shot in the neck on Wednesday.
As a manhunt for the shooter enters its second day, tributes have poured in for the Conservative activist and father-of-two, including from President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Discussing Mr Kirk’s death on ITV’s morning programme with presenters Kate Garraway and Ed Balls were former Conservative MP Michael Gove and author Nels Abbey.
Mr Gove, who is now editor-in-chief of The Spectator, described Mr Kirk as “a sort of Cicero for the TikTok age”, a reference to the ancient Roman philosopher.
"He was someone who deliberately set out to debate on campuses across the country in order to spread the MAGA (Make America Great Again) message, the Trump gospel,” Mr Gove said.
Part I of my full (and properly contextualised) thoughts on Charlie Kirk from today's @gmb.
— Nels Abbey (@nelsabbey) September 11, 2025
Charlie Kirk's murder was a despicable crime. Charlie Kirk was indeed "a David Duke for the TikTok age", an unashamed, presentable and politically popular racist. Not a conservative. pic.twitter.com/JaCJ9Ebqt1
"He was an evangelical Christian, a convinced Conservative, and actually a very attractive speaker who had been very successful in convincing younger voters to vote for Trump."
But Mr Abbey, the founder of cultural forum Uppity, responded: “I believe he was a David Duke for the TikTok age.”
Mr Duke is a neo-Nazi and former grand wizard of the KKK — a white supremacist group in the United States responsible for the deaths of civil rights leaders and intimidation against minorities.
Asked about the comparison between Mr Kirk and Mr Duke, Mr Abbey said: "This is by no means trying to justify his murder. Political violence is wrong at home; it's wrong abroad. Political violence must be condemned, as must the propagandising for political violence and the dehumanisation of people.
"Charlie Kirk was somebody who... I shiver, particularly for Conservatives when he's described as Conservative, because he wasn't. He was quite clearly and comfortably a supremacist."
He added: "The very sort of people he helped dehumanise over the years... the exact same thing that he sort of helped to legitimise for them has happened to him.
"It's sad, it's wrong, but there's a moral lesson in here too, which is to recognise your own vulnerability, be more empathetic, don't propagandise for people's murder. It could happen to you."
However, viewers were outraged with Mr Abbey’s comments, with one posting on X, formerly known as Twitter: "Shameful, considering it is less than 24 hours since the event.”
A second user echoed: "Your comments on GMB lacked empathy. You used the platform to vilify Charlie Kirk.”
A third account commented.: "Disgusted by Nels this morning — hosts should have stepped in — his tone and comparisons were abhorrent."
A fourth follower stated: "Nels didn't look good that bud. Dislike someone all you like, but he just gave a different viewpoint to students.
“He left a wife and young family, and for what 'talking/debating'?
“You need to look at yourself."
And a fifth weighed in: "GMB Allowing Nels Abbey airtime to smear Charlie Kirk as some kind of KKK leader and claim it’s 'his own fault' is an absolute disgrace. It’s vile, slanderous, and deeply disrespectful.”
