Conservative leaders and right-wing media figures are facing condemnation after turning the assassination of activist Charlie Kirk into a rallying cry against Democrats, echoing President Donald Trump’s baseless claim that “the radical left” was responsible.
Kirk, 31, founder of Turning Point USA and a close Trump ally, was shot in the neck by a sniper’s bullet during a debate at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday. He was taken to a hospital but died soon afterward.
Kirk leaves behind a wife and two young children. The shooter remains at large; two people detained in the immediate aftermath were released without charges. The manhunt continues and the FBI has not yet named a suspect.
From the Oval Office, Trump delivered a nationally televised address.
“This is a dark moment for America,” he said. He praised Kirk as a “martyr for truth” and accused “the radical left” of comparing conservatives to “Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals.” Trump said that rhetoric was “directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today and it must stop right now.”
Trump promised to pursue “each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity,” extending blame to groups he claimed “fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials and everyone else who brings order to our country.”
On Fox News, Jesse Watters told viewers, “They are at war with us,” while Greg Gutfeld urged conservatives to treat Kirk’s death as a call to action against Democrats. Commentators on Threads blasted the rush to judgment.
Watters’ full quote read: “They are at war with us, whether we want to accept it or not. And what are we going to do about it? Charlie would want us to put as much pressure on these people as possible….. This is unacceptable, and it has to stop. And it has to stop now. And everybody’s accountable. And we’re watching what they’re saying on television and who’s saying what. The politicians, the media, and all these rats out there. This can never happen again. It ends now…. This is a turning point.”
That was enough for some viewers to demand Murdoch (owner of Fox Corporation) to bench Watters.
“This is spectacularly dangerous rhetoric,” Peter Twinklage began on X. “the Murdochs need to bench Watters immediately. vowing to “avenge” Kirk’s horrific assassination instead of calling for calm is beyond irresponsible. the country is a tinderbox and this lunatic is juggling dynamite and matches.”
Other Fox hosts also grabbed the attention of viewers. “Fox News anchor Greg Gutfield is using Charlie Kirk’s death to incite a war on democrats. Far right ideologies like this that are put on the mainstream media are the main driving force of political violence,” one user wrote.
Far-right talk show host Mark Levin added to the rhetoric, telling his audience, “They know that this is a double-edged sword… They tried to kill our president twice. They killed Charlie Kirk. They assassinated Charlie Kirk. Are you kidding me? The way you put an end to this is to put an end to it.”
Predictably, Elon Musk escalated the tension on his platform, declaring, “The Left is the party of murder.” Responding to posts accusing Democrats of fueling violence, he wrote: “If they won’t leave us in peace, then our choice is fight or die.” He also endorsed unverified claims that George Soros, Bill Gates, and Reid Hoffman were funding left-wing terrorism, replying “Exactly” to posts targeting them.
Musk accused users of rival platform Bluesky of celebrating Kirk’s death, saying, “They are celebrating cold-blooded murder,” and agreed with posts blaming Democratic rhetoric for creating a climate of hysteria. His remarks prompted immediate pushback, with some pointing out that mass shootings in the U.S. have often been carried out by right-wing attackers.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had interviewed Kirk on his podcast earlier this year, condemned the killing.
“The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form,” he wrote. Other Democrats targeted in past attacks, including Gabby Giffords and Nancy Pelosi, also issued statements of sorrow.
Meanwhile, Trump-aligned media figures carried the theme of retaliation. On his “WarRoom” podcast, Steve Bannon said Kirk “gave his life on the political battlefield.” MAGA commentator Jack Posobiec added, “There’s never going to be another Charlie Kirk. But, you know what else? There’s never going to be another assassin to take out someone like the way they did because what comes next will be swift, quick, and it will be retribution.”
“We’re not going to back off an inch,” Bannon said. “If you’re gonna back off, then this is not for you.”
Kirk’s assassination comes just months after Democratic state legislator Melissa Hortman was shot and killed in what authorities said was a politically motivated attack by a far-right extremist, raising alarm that partisan violence is accelerating.
On X, Musk’s rage-posting spree included his initial hope that Kirk might survive (“The shot looked real bad, but I sure hope Charlie makes it somehow”), but quickly turned into a torrent of endorsements of violent rhetoric. He told one follower to “ostracize” a co-worker who allegedly cheered Kirk’s death, and answered “Yes” to another post declaring Kirk was killed “purely because some people didn’t like what he had to say.”
Kirk and Musk had publicly praised one another in the past, with Kirk lauding Musk’s purchase of Twitter and his brief stint in Trump’s administration. After the killing, X’s government affairs account issued an official statement: “No one should ever be killed for exercising the fundamental rights that form the bedrock of our democracy… We will continue to stand against violence and censorship, ensuring this platform amplifies truth and open dialogue for everyone.”
The blowback over Kirk’s death has widened the country’s political rift. While Democrats condemned the assassination and called for de-escalation, MAGA figures and Musk pushed the idea of retribution, framing the killing as part of a broader war.
