The tragic shooting death of Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA CEO and co-founder, was a terrible loss for his family, friends, and supporters. It never should have happened. However, there is a lot of noise, victimhood, and finger-pointing taking place. The left is being blamed without evidence. And honestly, anything the Trump administration does "uncover" about the suspect or motive needs to be scrutinized.
House Speaker Mike Johnson wants "to turn down the volume" on political rhetoric and violence. I agree! But he should start at the top with Donald Trump, who has posted violent videos of Joe Biden being bashed in the head by one of the president's golf balls. That's one example of many. And then there's Charlie Kirk, and others, like a Trump-endorsed candidate, who said last year that "folks need killing."
Charlie Kirk.
Charlie Kirk, the man who denounced empathy lived up to that by not showing empathy for Nancy Pelosi's husband after he was attacked by a hammer-wielding Trump fan, leaving Paul Pelosi with a skull fracture. Kirk, in response, called on his viewers to bail out the attacker.
This country is saturated with guns. School shootings are now a regular occurrence. In response to gun violence, Kirk said deaths are “unfortunately worth it” to preserve the Second Amendment. “Having an armed citizenry comes with a price,” he once told his followers days after a horrific mass shooting.
Kirk loathed the trans community. He was not only transphobic, saying trans individuals need "brain treatment," but he was also homophobic, a racist, a misogynist, and spread Covid-19 disinformation. He called masks and vaccine mandates “medical apartheid." Kirk promoted the "great replacement" conspiracy theory, suggested mass incarceration to solve the housing crisis, and quoted scripture about homosexuality as an “abomination” deserving death.
We're not done.
Kirk, who the right wants to put on a pedestal following his death, called Martin Luther King Jr. a “myth” and said the Civil Rights Act was a “huge mistake.” Kirk, who was publicly shot, said, “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 suggested that Michelle Obama and other prominent Black women involved in affirmative action debates "lacked the brain processing power" to understand specific policies. He said Mrs. Obama and other prominent Black women "Had to go steal a white person's slot." He blamed "Black culture" following an FAA outage that left over 8,500 flights canceled or delayed. And who can forget what he said about Black pilots? He said, “If I see a Black pilot, I’m gonna be like, ’Boy, I hope he’s qualified.’”
On immigrants who don't speak English, he said, in late August, “And I really try to have some Christ-like compassion, I do. But then I ask the interpreter, ‘How long have they been here?’ ‘Oh, they've been here for 30 years,’ and they don't speak any English? Yeah, I'm sorry. That's an immediate symbol you have not assimilated to the United States of America.” Jesus, though, likely did not speak English. Jesus primarily spoke Aramaic.
Meanwhile, Republicans are blaming the left as if violence has never been perpetrated on Democrats. Minnesota Senator John Hoffman and State Representative Melissa Hortman, along with their spouses, were shot by a man dressed as a police officer in body armor who showed up at their homes in June. Donald Trump didn't even bother to call Gov. Tim Walz, saying it would be a "waste of time." Kirk tried to blame Tim Walz for the assassinations.
Kirk leaves behind a legacy of division and victimhood. Flying flags around the country at half mast won't polish the vitriol and hatred of the man who trafficked in cultural fear. We've covered Charlie Kirk for years here at CrooksAndLiars. We don't celebrate his death. He leaves behind two young children and a wife. Our hearts go out to them. But as for the billionaire-funded multimillionaire Charlie Kirk, he taught others to look down on the less fortunate, the downtrodden, immigrants, women, people of color, the LGBTQ community, and anyone who is not a cis white male.
Since Trump took office, the volume of political violent rhetoric has peaked.
What will Kirk do if he meets God and she's transgender? That would be so awkward.
