Duvi Honig is founder & CEO of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce
Freedom of speech is one of America’s greatest pillars — but like every right, it has limits when it becomes weaponized to harm, incite, or manipulate. Tucker Carlson, once hailed by some as a fearless commentator, has now crossed a line so dangerous that it cannot be ignored. His speech at Charlie Kirk’s memorial was not just inappropriate; it was an outright abuse of platform, a distortion of truth, and a reckless provocation with echoes of history’s darkest chapters.
Charlie Kirk built his life and movement on a philosophy of openness — keeping the door wide enough for dialogue, even with those he disagreed with and that’s why he chose to keep Tucker a friend. That commitment to keeping conversation alive is part of what made Charlie respected by friends and foes alike. His tragic assassination was an attack not only on him as a person but on the very ideals of unity and dialogue that he represented.
And yet, in one of the most solemn moments of national reflection — at a memorial attended by the President and Vice President of the United States, watched by millions across the country — Tucker Carlson twisted that platform to push his own narrative of division. While Charlie’s widow displayed remarkable grace by forgiving her husband’s assassin, Carlson seized the microphone to turn a message of healing into one of blame. Through coded rhetoric and manipulative framing, he implied that Jews were somehow at fault — an insinuation as old as the blood libels that scarred centuries of Jewish history.
This was not courage. This was not commentary. This was calculated incitement.
Carlson has long flirted with testing the boundaries of what he can get away with under the shield of “free speech.” But this was something else — a dangerous trial balloon, broadcast to millions, to see if he could inject antisemitism and scapegoating into the mainstream without consequence. By delivering it at a memorial for a man who stood for unity, he not only disrespected Charlie’s legacy, but he normalized hate in a setting meant for healing.
The fact that Carlson walked off that stage to applause, appearing shoulder-to-shoulder with the President and Vice President, only compounded the danger. The optics framed him as their equal, his message as their message. And that is the tragedy: his words were amplified as if they carried the same legitimacy as the leaders of our nation.
We must be clear-eyed about what this means. Tucker Carlson is not simply chasing ratings. He is laying the groundwork for a broader campaign of division, one that thrives on scapegoating Jews and Israel. History teaches us where such unchecked rhetoric leads. Today it is Jews in his crosshairs. Tomorrow, it may be the President himself. This is not speculation — it is a pattern, one that Carlson is refining with every provocation.
Enough is enough. This cannot be allowed to pass without consequence. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, should be the first to speak out and set the record straight. Carlson’s abuse of platform cannot be left unchallenged. If it is, the damage will spread — emboldening others to cloak hate in the language of “free speech” while eroding the very democracy that free speech is meant to protect.
Charlie Kirk believed in dialogue. He believed in keeping doors open. But dialogue cannot survive if it is poisoned by lies. Unity cannot survive if it is hijacked by hate. Carlson’s memorial speech was not only a betrayal of Charlie’s memory — it was a betrayal of America’s most sacred values.
Free speech is meant to build bridges, not burn them. Carlson’s speech burned bridges, lit matches, and left the nation more divided and endangered. The line has been crossed. The question is — who will stand up and say so?