About
You Killed the Moderate, Now You Get the Radical is a catchphrase[1] used in a series of memes[2] showing someone who was canceled[3] or killed under the portion of the phrase, “You killed the moderate,” and a more radical replacement for the person under the phrase, “Now you get the radical.” The meme first appeared on X / Twitter[4] in mid-September 2025, following the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk[5], in which Kirk is portrayed as the moderate. It was popularized later that month after late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off air for his comments on Kirk[6], with Kimmel being labeled the moderate. As the meme spread, it became increasingly ironic[7].
Origin
On September 14th, 2025, X user @TonyMichaelX posted a meme showing an image of Turning Point USA[8] founder Charlie Kirk on the top, captioned, “You killed the moderate.” On the lower half of the meme is an image of American Nazi[9] Party founder George Lincoln Rockwell, captioned, “Now you get the radical.” The meme, which was posted four days after Kirk’s assassination, gained over 1,000 likes in a week and is the earliest known example of the format.
Spread
The catchphrase[10] and format spread over the following days in mid-September 2025.
On September 14th, 2025, Threads user @theheatherashley made a post calling out the original version of the meme for featuring Rockwell, a neo-Nazi, garnering over 740 likes in a week.
On September 19th, X user @AlfredAlfer77, an account purportedly run by controversial animator and white nationalist Emily Youcis[11], posted a photo of herself in her “Pistachio Girl[12]” era next to an edit depicting her as a Nazi under the caption, garnering over 1,900 likes in three days.
Later that day, X user @jarvis_best quoted @AlfredAlfer77’s post with a photo of late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel next to a photo of fellow host Jimmy Fallon doing a silly dance, using the same caption, garnering over 90,000 likes in three days.
On September 20th, 2025, X user @BasedIllinoisan posted a version of the meme using images of former Presidents JFK[13] and Lyndon B. Johnson, garnering over 3,800 likes in two days.
On September 21st, Instagram[14] user bidenspeechwriter reposted the Jimmy Fallon version of the meme, garnering over 1,100 likes in under 24 hours.
Various Examples
Search Interest
External References
References
- ^ catchphrase (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ memes (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ canceled (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ Twitter (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off air for his comments on Kirk (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ ironic (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ Turning Point USA (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ Nazi (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ catchphrase (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ Emily Youcis (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ Pistachio Girl (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ JFK (knowyourmeme.com)
- ^ Instagram (knowyourmeme.com)