“Death penalties should be public, should be quick, it should be televised. I think at a certain age, its an initiation…What age should you start to see public executions?” Kirk asked.
Kirk, along with his co-hosts Jack Posobiec, Tyler Bowyer and Blake Neff, continued to discuss at what age should children watch the public executions, with one co-host pointing out as young as 12 years old.
The foot note on that page links to this interview from 2019. The only comment in the interview about the death penalty is. “I don’t agree with the president on the death penalty, I don’t agree with him on marijuana, I don’t agree with him on Saudi Arabia, there are things I don’t agree with, but that doesn’t mean I should be less enthused about what he’s doing to revitalize the country.” Trump is, and was at the time, very much pro-death penalty.
However, there is no detail at all or follow up question clarifying this. I can’t find any other source suggesting that Kirk used to be anti-death penalty. Either this was a misstatement in this interview or he has completely reversed his position since giving it.
It’s not something he is saying facetiously. You can see the clip here.
Edit to add, I did find another source. This tweet from 2017 states, “Death penalty is more expensive than life in prison. Far too often we kill the wrong person. Conservatives should oppose the death penalty.” I gather he has since changed his mind.