How the Right Is Reacting to Charlie Kirk’s Death

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Charlie Kirk, one of the most influential media figures on the right, was shot dead^[2] at an event in Utah on Wednesday afternoon, sending a shockwave through American politics. Graphic videos of the shooting, which happened in front of hundreds of people, began circulating soon after.

The 31-year-old was the founder of Turning Point USA, an organization that pushed the conservative youth movement toward embracing MAGA, culture war issues, and views that were once on the fringe of conservative politics. Through his podcast, media appearances, and numerous speaking tours, he has spread^[3] misinformation^[4] about the 2020 election and the pandemic; urged women^[5] to abandon their careers and stay at home with children; and fanned fears that LGBTQ+ rights would endanger children^[6] and erode society. At the time of the shooting, according to recordings from the event, he was discussing^[7] the false right-wing belief that many mass shooters are transgender.

Politicians on both the right and the left were quick to express horror at the violence.

President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!” He followed this with a pronouncement that he was ordering flags to be lowered to half-staff.

On X, before the death was confirmed, Vice President J.D. Vance wrote^[8]: “Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father.”

Donald Trump Jr., sharing his father’s post, wrote^[9]: “I love you brother. You gave so many people the courage to speak up and we will not ever be silenced.” Sen. Ted Cruz^[10] said he was praying for Kirk, with whom Cruz said he’d been friends “since he was a teenager.”

“Charlie Kirk is a great man and a great fighter for the cause,” wrote^[12] the conservative media figure Matt Walsh. Even Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu^[13]—Kirk, a Christian, was a supporter of Israel—said he was praying.

Meanwhile, Democratic politicians as varied as former Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Chuck Schumer, New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, California Gov. Gavin Newsom^[14], former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi^[15] wrote on social media that the attack was “vile,” “shocking,” and “horrifying.” “Never thought I’d say a prayer for Charlie Kirk. But here goes,” former Sen. Al Franken wrote^[16]. “Political violence has no place in this country.”

While the shooter’s identity and political beliefs remained unknown in the hours after the shooting, that didn’t stop many on the right from framing Kirk’s killing as an indictment of the left.

“No more mercy for leftists,” wrote the Malaysian MAGA influencer Ian Miles Cheong. “They want you dead. They truly want to kill you and desecrate your body and erase your memory.”

“THIS IS WAR,” wrote^[17] Chaya Raichik, the person behind the Libs of TikTok account.

“The Left is the party of murder,” Elon Musk wrote^[18].

“The Left wants us dead,” wrote^[19] C.J. Pearson, a Gen Z conservative influencer. “This is not hyperbole. This is now the ONLY logical conclusion that any sane human being can reach after a repeated pattern of demonstrated behavior and violence.”

Because there was no immediate explanation for what had happened, many commentators, unable to make conclusions about the shooter, were forced to vent about the left’s response to Kirk’s killing. Some proclaimed that liberals were celebrating Kirk’s death. Others lashed^[20] out^[21] instead about MSNBC’s commentary, for having described him as a “divisive figure.” “This is perhaps the most disgusting response to a political act of violence I’ve seen on cable TV, ever,” one commentator wrote^[22]. In another MSNBC segment, one pundit remarked that “hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions,” comments that drew^[23] outrage^[24] on the right.

The media personality Mike Cernovich called for^[29] massive investigations and congressional hearings into the funders of leftism. The former congressional candidate Blake Masters agreed: “Left-wing violence is out of control, and it’s not random,” he wrote. “Either we destroy the NGO/donor patronage network that enables and foments it, or it will destroy us.”

Others went further. “The last time the radical Left orchestrated a wave of violence and terror, J. Edgar Hoover shut it all down within a few years,” wrote^[30] the conservative activist Christopher Rufo. “It is time, within the confines of the law, to infiltrate, disrupt, arrest, and incarcerate all of those who are responsible for this chaos.”

Scott Presler, the conservative organizer, wondered^[31] aloud: “How do you coexist with people that want to murder you?” In response, the anti-transgender activist Riley Gaines responded^[32]: “And they’ll kill you in the name of ‘tolerance.’”

“The rubicon has been crossed,” wrote^[33] Dana Loesch, the former spokesperson for the National Rifle Association.

“This will be a turning point,” the conservative writer Megan Basham wrote. “It has to be.”^[34]

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