DONKEY: Charlamagne Gives Donkey Of The Day To Gun Violence In America

Summary

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Podcast Summary

Podcast: The Breakfast Club
Episode: DONKEY: Charlamagne Gives Donkey Of The Day To Gun Violence In America
Date: September 11, 2025
Hosts: DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne Tha God

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Overview

In this impactful episode, Charlamagne Tha God dedicates his signature "Donkey of the Day" segment to gun violence in America, calling out gun lobbyists, the gun industry, and politicians who continually block common sense gun reform. Through a passionate critique, he highlights the tragic toll of gun violence, the pervasive influence of the gun industry, and the stark consequences of prioritizing Second Amendment rights over public safety. The episode is framed by recent tragedies, including mass shootings and the high-profile murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, serving as a catalyst for discussing America’s entrenched relationship with guns.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Ever-Present Crisis of Gun Violence ([02:19]–[03:50])

• Charlamagne laments America’s ongoing "state of emergency" concerning gun violence, noting that the threat is more internal now than ever before.
• He references the 24th anniversary of 9/11, drawing parallels between international terrorism and the continual, homegrown threat of gun violence.
• Statistic Spotlight: Between 2014-2023, Colorado alone experienced 77 mass shootings, with 103 killed and 299 injured ([03:31]).
• As of 2025, there have been 356 mass shootings in America with 6,888 since January 1, 2013—"and zero, I repeat, zero days since our last mass shooting" ([04:32]).

2. The Power of the Gun Industry & the Myth of “Gun Control” ([04:45]–[06:22])

• Charlamagne openly admits his support for the Second Amendment but criticizes the lack of "common sense gun control."
• Key Quote: "The term gun control is an oxymoron... America doesn’t control guns. Guns control America." ([05:32])
• He paints the gun industry—especially its lobbying arms like the NRA—as untouchable, enjoying more protection and influence than almost any other entity.

3. The American Paradox: Rights vs. Reality ([06:23]–[07:50])

• Argues the Second Amendment is treated “like one of the Ten Commandments,” with guns afforded more protection than vulnerable populations.
• Key Quote: "In America, historically, guns have had more rights than women, immigrants, the LGBTQ and Black people combined." ([06:50])
• He asserts that since "people have no self-control," gun control is necessary to compensate for human fallibility.

4. Extremism and the Political Spiraling of Gun Violence ([07:51]–[09:06])

• Shares an article from Everytown about the link between lax gun laws and extremist violence.
• Cites the recent murder of Charlie Kirk as an example where political violence and easy access to firearms intersect.
• The tragedy is instantly politicized from both sides, highlighting deep societal and partisan divides.

5. Freedom of Speech Has a Price—So Does the Second Amendment ([09:07]–[10:24])

• Charlamagne quotes Kirk, who said, "I think it’s worth to have a cost of unfortunately some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational." ([09:14])
• Reflects on the cost-benefit mindset behind this stance. He questions, "Is it worth it when one of those casualties is you or someone you love to protect the rights given to us by the Constitution?" ([10:24])
• Emphasizes that even if Kirk had a gun, it likely wouldn't have saved him, reinforcing the need for gun reform, not just more guns.

6. The Call for Change ([10:25]–[12:07])

• Concludes that the real solution lies in "common sense gun reform that keeps the guns out of the nut jobs’ hands who want to exercise their right to bear arms to kill those of us who want to exercise our freedom of speech." ([11:32])
• Gives the “biggest hee-haw” (Donkey of the Day) to gun lobbyists, industry, and uncooperative politicians, indicting them for perpetuating a broken system.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Charlamagne Tha God [05:32]: "Gun control in America because America doesn’t control guns. Guns control America."
• Charlamagne Tha God [06:50]: "In America, historically, guns have had more rights than women, immigrants, the LGBTQ and Black people combined."
• Charlie Kirk (clip) [09:15]: "I think it's worth to have a cost of unfortunately some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights."
• Charlamagne Tha God [10:24]: "Is it worth it when one of those casualties is you or someone you love to protect the rights given to us by the Constitution?"
• Charlamagne Tha God [11:32]: "...common sense gun reform that keeps the guns out of the nut jobs’ hands who want to exercise their right to bear arms to kill those of us who want to exercise our freedom of speech."

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Timeline of Important Segments

• [02:19] – Opening of Donkey of the Day; situational context and statistics
• [04:45] – Discussion on gun industry power and legislative resistance
• [06:23] – Analysis of the paradoxical prioritization of gun rights
• [07:51] – Examination of extremism and the murder of a media personality (Charlie Kirk)
• [09:07] – Charlie Kirk quote and critique of "acceptable casualties"
• [10:24] – Rebuttal: Is the cost worth it if it’s you or loved ones?
• [11:32] – Conclusion and direct call for common sense reform

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Tone & Style

Charlamagne’s delivery is passionate, urgent, and at times biting, blending socio-political analysis with sharp, memorable sound bites. He balances his respect for constitutional rights with fierce criticism of America’s inability—or unwillingness—to prioritize public safety over profits and politics. The segment is framed as a wake-up call to listeners and lawmakers alike, punctuated by direct questions, compelling analogies, and a personal sense of vulnerability as both a Black man and a media figure in today’s America.

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Transcript

[Hunter]

This is an I Heart Podcast.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Hello.

[Danielle Fishel]

It's Danielle Fishel Ryder Strong and Will Friedle from Pod Meats World. Does friendly have a taste? If it does, it's probably like hello's peppermint flavored anti plaque and whitening toothpaste. Brush away plaque, show tartar who's boss and remove surface stains to naturally whiten. Hello's thoughtful and flavor forward products make brushing your teeth feel like a confetti filled bathroom dance party. So say hello to hello with the always cruelty free never tested on animals toothpaste that's made to spread smiles. Visit helloproducts.com and let hello add some everyday yay into your life.

[Comedian (Wisecrack host)]

I just normally do straight stand up, but this is a bit different.

[True Crime Producer (Wisecrack promo)]

What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? A new podcast called Wisecrack where a comedian finds himself at the center of a chilling true crime story.

[Comedian (Wisecrack host)]

Does anyone know what show they've come to see? It's a story. It's about the scariest night of my life.

[True Crime Producer (Wisecrack promo)]

This is Wisecrack available now. Listen to Wisecrack on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

In the 1980s, modeling wasn't just a dream, it was a battlefield.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It's a freaking war zone. These people are animals.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

The Model wars podcast peels back the glossy cover and reveals a high stakes game where survival meant more than beauty. Hosted by me, Vanessa Grigoriadis, this is the untold story of an industry built on ruthless ambition. Listen to Model wars on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Hunter]

I'm Hunter, host of Hunting for Answers on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Join me every weekday as I share bite sized stories of missing and murdered black women and girls in America. Stories like Erica Hunt, a young mother vanished without a trace after a family gathering on 4th of July weekend, 2016. No goodbyes, no clues, just gone. Listen to Hunting for Answers every weekday on the Black Effect Podcast Network. IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts made it.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

This is AmeriCool. There is no question that there are.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Problems in this country between police and community.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yes, you are a donkey.

[Guest or Co-host (Breakfast Club)]

The latest on that police killing of a black man.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Now to new developments in the deadly spa shooting rampage.

[Guest or Co-host (Breakfast Club)]

And yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

And so we are in a state of emergency. Okay. White supremacist violence is and always has been the number one threat to our Society. But I'm also very proud that my wife is white. Man to the Breakfast Club, bitches. All right, Charlene, please tell me, why.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Was I your donkey of the day?

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Donkey of the day for Thursday, September 11th goes to the gun lobbyists, the gun industry, and all the politicians who refuse to pass common sense gun reform in this country. Today is 9 11, the 24 year anniversary of 9 11. And over two decades later, America is still in a state of emergency, okay? We are still having constant terrorist attacks, but the attacks are more frequently coming from within. Okay? It's like we keep repeating ourselves and things seem to be getting progressively worse. For example, yesterday, three teenagers are in critical condition after a mass shooting at a Colorado high school. Now, I was born in 1978, so I'm old enough to remember the mass shooting that happened in Denver back in 2012 at the Aurora Theater. That's when James Holmes threw tear gas in the theater and started shooting in the audience. 12 people killed, 70 injured, 58 of them due to gunfire. You would think a situation like that would lead to some type of massive change in America, but no. I did some research and by research I googled and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment website said in a 10 year period from 2014, 2023, Colorado experienced 77 mass shootings in which 103 people were killed and 299 were injured. Guns. Okay? I was on mass shootingtracker.com. yes, that is an actual website. Mass shootingtracker.com and in 2025 this year it has been 356 mass shootings in America, 6,888 mass shootings since January 1, 2013, and zero, I repeat, zero since our last mass shooting. Zero days. Now I am 2A all day. I believe in the right to bear arms, but I also believe in common sense gun control. But I thought to myself yesterday, the term gun control is an oxymoron, okay? When you think of a gun, you have to know the gun industry, right? You got to think about the gun industry when you think of guns. And that's one of the most powerful industries in America. It's protected by the Constitution. Uh, the gun lobbyists, especially the nra, they have significant influence over politicians and guns are worshiped like religion in this country. So no matter what the tragedy, okay, no matter how much blood is spilled, no control will ever be placed on guns as long as those campaign contributions keep coming in. Keep coming in. Okay? And we, you, we use the word control, right? Gun control. Control is something this country will never have. Okay? Gun control will never happen in this country. Especially when lobbyists, the nra, are wr the rules, okay? You put gun and control together, it sounds good on paper, but in reality, it's like saying organized chaos are honest politician, okay? These politicians won't even be honest with you on why they can't even create legislation to ever get to a point where we have common sense gun reform. But it's never happening in America, people. No, no, no. It is a complete oxymoron to say gun control, okay? Gun control in America because America doesn't control guns. Guns control America, all right? We treat the Second Amendment like it's one of the Ten Commandments, okay? In America, historically, guns have had more rights than women, immigrants, the LGBTQ and black people combined. Okay? And the reason we need gun control is because people clearly have no self control. I agree with anyone who says guns don't kill people. People with guns kill people. And since those people don't have any discipline or any self control, that's why we need gun control, okay? Common sense gun reform that can protect us all. And every time there is a mass shooting or a tragic shooting, we should absolutely blame the gun lobbyists in the gun industry. I was reading a great article that was published last year. It was on a website called Everytown for Gun Safety. And the headline was how the Gun Lobbyists in the Gun Industry Fanned the Flames of Extremist Ideology. And it spoke to how in recent years, political extremism and extremist violence in the United States have risen at an alarming rate. Okay? Many extremists see guns as the most effective tools for their violent aims. And lax gun laws in the US Often able these extremists to access firearms. We saw that play out yesterday when we witnessed the murder of right wing political activist Charlie Kirk. Okay? He was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University. Of course, immediately people start politicizing his death. The right is blaming the left, saying their rhetoric about the right is what led to this. The right is blaming the left, saying their rhetoric is what led to this. And we don't even have the person who did this in custody. We don't know what this person's issue is or was with Charlie Kirk. Everybody is just assuming this is political violence, and it quite possibly is, matter of fact, I'm sure it is. But you know what else it is? Gun violence. Okay? These nut jobs who don't believe in freedom of speech clearly believe in their right to bear arms. And because of the Lax gun laws in America. They are able to get firearms to carry out these violent acts. Now let the record show. When I heard what happened to Charlie Kirk yesterday, I immediately felt fear. Okay, I was afraid. I'm a black man in America. I think about getting shot every day. But guess what? Every American should think about getting shot every day when you are out and about in a public place simply because it's been zero days since the mass shooting happened in this country. But my personal fear was also because I'm a media personality, I don't want to live in a country where media personalities are being shot and killed for their opinions or what they believe. But I also know that as much as we like to point to the first Amendment and say we all have freedom of speech, we are not free from the consequences of said speech. That's why mindfulness of what we say is very important. Because there is a cost to everything that comes out of our mouth. And unfortunately we don't get to set the price. And I must say Charlie Kirk understood the price of our freedoms more than most. I was watching this clip of him go viral yesterday. Can we play it?

[Guest or Co-host (Breakfast Club)]

You will never live in a society when you have an armed citizenry and you won't have a single gun death. That is nonsense. It's dribble. But I am, I, I think it's, I think it's worth it. I think it's worth to have a cost of unfortunately some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the second amendment to protect are other God given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Now he's absolutely right. Because of the way the Constitution is structured. Because we have no common sense gun laws in this country. These high gun deaths will happen every single year. It is a consequence of the right to bear arms. Just like we don't get to determine the consequences of our free speech, we also don't get to determine the consequences of everyone having the right to bear arms in this country. I just wonder when people say things like Charlie Kirk said, play the, play the clip again. Right?

[Guest or Co-host (Breakfast Club)]

You will never live in a society when you have an armed citizenry and you won't have a single gun death. That is nonsense. It's dribble. But I am, I, I think it's, I think it's worth it. I think it's worth to have a cost of unfortunately some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the second amendment to protect our other God given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

I just wonder when people say things like that, do they think they may be one of those deaths? Is it worth it when one of those casualties is you or someone you love to protect the rights given to us by the Constitution? If they believe they too could be one of those deaths and they're cool with that, I respect it. So I guess you honor Charlie Kirk by buying more guns based on that logic. Yeah, but I don't know about y'. All. That sounds kind of ridiculous to me. See, even if Charlie Kirk had a gun yesterday, it wouldn't have protected him. When somebody got the drop on you, they got you. Only thing that could have saved Charlie Kirk yesterday was keeping guns out of the hands of violent extremists like the person who killed him. And the only way to do that is with common sense gun reform. I believe we can find a way to protect our second amendment rights while also having some type of common sense gun reform that keeps the guns out of the nut jobs hands who want to exercise their right to bear arms to kill. Those of us who want to exercise our freedom of speech, please give the gun lobbyists, the gun industry, and politicians who refuse to create common sense gun reform the biggest he haw. All right. Well, thank you for that. Donkey of the Day. That was really. That was tight. Donkey of the Day is sponsored by renowned personal injury attorney Michael the Bull Laminsoft. Don't be a donkey when you need a fighter on your side. If you're ever injured, go to Michael the Bull dot com. That's Michael the Bull dot com. And when you mess with the bull, you get the horns.

[Danielle Fishel]

Hold up.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Every day I wake up. Wake your ass up. The Breakfast Club.

[Guest or Co-host (Breakfast Club)]

You all finished or y' all done?

[Comedian (Wisecrack host)]

I just normally do straight stand up, but this is a bit different.

[True Crime Producer (Wisecrack promo)]

What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? Answer a new podcast called Wisecrack, where a comedian finds himself at the center of a chilling true crime story.

[Comedian (Wisecrack host)]

Does anyone know what show they've come to see? It's a story. It's about the scariest night of my life.

[True Crime Producer (Wisecrack promo)]

This is Wisecrack, available now. Listen to Wisecrack on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

In the 1980s, modeling wasn't just a dream, it was a battlefield.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

It's a freaking war zone. These people are animals.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

The Model wars podcast peels back the glossy cover and reveals a high stakes game where survival meant more than beauty. Hosted by me, Vanessa Griforiades, this is the untold story of an industry built on ruthless ambition. Listen to Model wars on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Hunter]

I'm Hunter, host of Hunting for Answers on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Join me every weekday as I share bite sized stories of missing and murdered black women and girls in America. Stories like Erica Hunt, a young mother vanished without a trace after a family gathering on 4th of July weekend, 2016. No goodbyes, no clues, just gone. Listen to Hunting for Answers every weekday on the Black Effect Podcast Network, iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Hi, my name is Enya Umandzor.

[Drew Phillips]

And I'm Drew Phillips and we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated adhd.

[Vanessa Grigoriadis]

Oh my God, perfect.

[Drew Phillips]

And want to hear people with mental illness psychobabble.

[Charlamagne Tha God]

Yes, yes.

[Drew Phillips]

Then Emergency Intercom's the podcast for you. Open your free iHeartradio app, search emergency Intercom and listen now.

[Hunter]

This is an iHeart podcast.