<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-rules-on-charlie-kirk-assassination-trial-death-penalty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Erika Kirk</a> says the advice she received from second lady Usha Vance the day after her husband, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated continues to guide her as she navigates her grief nearly a year later.
Kirk opened up about the past year in a New York Times essay <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/07/opinion/erika-kirk-grief-faith.html">published</a> Monday, reflecting on the pain of losing her husband while raising their two young children and learning how to move forward without him.
In the immediate aftermath of Charlie’s death, Kirk said she told Vance, the wife of Vice President JD Vance, that she did not know how she was going to get through it. The second lady took her hand and offered an analogy that Kirk says has been “seared” into her heart.
“You know when you’re on an airplane with your kids, and you’re going to land in 15 minutes, but the kids are going crazy, screaming, throwing things, and then the plane lands, and the kids relax, and everything is fine again?” Vance told her. “That’s how it will be. Just get through the next 15 minutes.”
Kirk previously shared the exchange publicly during Charlie’s memorial service last year, when she described Vance as a “precious woman” and said the words were “exactly what I needed to hear.”
In the year since Charlie’s assassination, Kirk said the meaning of that advice has changed.
“At first, I needed to survive the next 15 minutes. Over time, I’ve realized that Charlie would want me to live them,” she wrote.
Kirk described the waves of grief that have continued to hit during birthdays, holidays, and ordinary moments around the home she once shared with her husband. But she said she has learned that grief and joy can exist at the same time.
“I can miss him with every part of me and still laugh with our children,” Kirk wrote. “I can have a broken heart and still experience joy.”
“If you are living through grief, I won’t tell you what to feel or that tomorrow will be better than today,” she wrote. “I will tell you what a dear friend told me: Just get through the next 15 minutes.”
“One day, maybe when you least expect it,” Kirk continued, “you’ll start to see that those 15 minutes hold more than just grief. The grief is there, always, but so is the beautiful gift of life.”
Kirk was thrust into the leadership of Turning Point USA immediately after her husband&#8217;s death, when the board appointed her CEO and chair. She has since worked to carry on the organization and Charlie&#8217;s legacy while raising their two children.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-rules-on-charlie-kirk-assassination-trial-death-penalty">Judge Rules On Charlie Kirk Assassination Trial, Death Penalty</a>

Erika and Charlie Kirk

The Advice Usha Vance Gave Erika Kirk After Charlie’s Death Still Guides Her A Year Later

The Advice Usha Vance Gave Erika Kirk After Charlie’s Death Still Guides Her a Year Later

assassination

charlie kirk

erika kirk

turning point usa

usha vance

The trial of Lindsay Clancy, who has <a href="https://apnews.com/article/7c8ad75860dd849796af2d4a367bf7b7">admitted killing her three young children</a> but argues that severe mental illness left her not criminally responsible, has gripped the nation. Unlike the O.J. Simpson trial a generation ago, today’s trial watchers have the internet to seek out information and express their opinions. What is perplexing to many is the growing number of women who express support, not for the three precious souls whose lives Clancy ended, but for Clancy herself. Columnist Caitlin Flanagan <a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/caitlin-flanagan-lindsay-clancy-mental-illness">writes, </a>“What began as admirable compassion for a woman has turned into something strange: an almost exultant, fan-like celebration of Lindsay Clancy.”
Something strange indeed. Yet the Clancy fan club — complete with online support groups and <a href="https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/08/20/hundreds-rally-plymouth-courthouse-support-lindsay-clancy-postpartum">crowds who show up outside the courthouse</a> dressed in pink to cheer her on — is not the only recent cohort of crazy. Luigi Mangione, the 28-year-old man who <a href="https://www.kcrg.com/2026/08/17/luigi-mangiones-state-murder-trial-postponed-indefinitely-amid-double-jeopardy-fight/">admitted in federal court</a> that he shot and killed UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson, has a growing legion of supporters. There is even a website where fans can learn how to send Luigi letters and read his statements. This, for a self-confessed killer who left a wife without a husband and two young boys without a father. And, of course, conspiracy theorists, egged on by Candace Owens’s rapid-fire theories, have tried to make alleged Charlie Kirk killer <a href="https://apnews.com/article/a70241ea50824c0b7ea5b53b9ed1c5f1">Tyler Robinson</a> a cult hero.
Then, on August 31, a woman armed with two knives randomly attacked two people in Times Square, killing Bank of America employee Erin Piacenti as she stood at a food cart. Piacenti, 32, was a young mother who had recently returned from maternity leave. Inexplicably, online ghouls celebrated her death for the crime of working for a bank. One Hollywood director even <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/filmmaker-cheers-death-bank-america-executive-luigi-mangione-meme">marked</a> the occasion with a Luigi meme.
High-profile murderers have always attracted prurient interest and fringe groupies. The Manson Family was <a href="https://people.com/charles-manson-followers-manson-family-what-to-know-12059893">linked to at least nine murders</a>, and Charles Manson maintained a small but rabid following. But today, a few cultural forces have brought us to the point where accused and admitted killers alike are lauded as heroes.
First, we live in an age of expressive individualism, a term popularized by sociologist Robert Bellah and his coauthors. It describes the belief that every person has an authentic self within and that the purpose of life is to discover and express that self. Identity, then, is not received from family, religion, tradition, or a moral order outside us. It is found by looking inward. Authenticity becomes a virtue. So the “real” Lindsay Clancy, according to her fans, is not the woman who strangled her children in a barbaric and torturous way, but the loving and caring mother underneath the act. And the blame falls not on Clancy but on the institutions that were supposed to protect her: her family, the pharmaceutical industry, and a society that demanded too much of her. There is no doubt that Clancy suffered severe mental anguish. But according to her fans, that anguish means she is not morally culpable for what she did.
There’s also this sort of gnostic desire to find “the real story” behind the story. Even though the evidence against Tyler Robinson appears substantial, and he has been ordered to stand trial, podcasters such as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/07/11/conspiracy-theories-about-charlie-kirks-death-are-still-raging-infuriating-friends/">Owens</a> feed the suspicion that the obvious story is a cover story. Robinson is, of course, entitled to the presumption of innocence. But conspiracy thrives when trust in human institutions is low. It provides a sort of comfort, an explanation for the evil of the age. No amount of contrary evidence can pierce the personal truths people choose to believe when those “truths” shape their preferred narratives. Convinced that Israel or a global cabal is really behind Kirk’s death, the believer turns Robinson into a sympathetic pawn, even a victim.
Tribalism, fueled by an oppressor-versus-oppressed view of justice, helps excuse violence when the killer — or alleged killer — is assigned to the right class. For Luigi, the cold-blooded shooting of a husband and father becomes righteous because he was taking on the healthcare industry, which his fans regard as the summation of all social evil. For Clancy’s fans, she is not morally culpable because the system — the mental-health industry, pharmaceutical companies, and her marriage — contains the real villains. If an act is committed by someone in the oppressed class against someone in the oppressor class, it becomes understandable, even justified. This is how a slain mother such as Piacenti moves from victim to villain when people discover that she worked for Bank of America, an unforgivable choice. The actual victims no longer have names. Their humanity is subsumed beneath the entity they supposedly represent. 
Expressive individualism and moral relativism, combined with the daily algorithmic churn that catechizes Americans into narrow tribes, blind people to the moral questions at the heart of these crimes. Empathy — the good instinct to see ourselves in others — becomes twisted and warped beyond the Golden Rule. The compassionate act of imagining someone’s plight turns into justifying that person’s decisions, regardless of his or her morality. <a href="https://www.wbur.org/news/2026/08/20/hundreds-rally-plymouth-courthouse-support-lindsay-clancy-postpartum">“Any one of us could be sitting in her chair,”</a> the Clancy supporters say. “I am Luigi,” his rabid fans declare, as if this killer stands for them in an epic social struggle. And conspiracists imagine they too could be Robinson, set up by a dark global cabal as a pawn in a larger war.
The swirling cross currents, amplified in our digital age, emerge as the loss of a moral consensus — rooted in America’s Judeo-Christian heritage — has left many people without fixed standards of good and evil. Relying on the inner self and sorted by society into our clans, we make truth relative and justice preferential.
The right response is both to recoil and resist. The horror we feel about the death of the innocent and those who cheer it reflects a rightly shaped moral conscience. We should refuse to accept the upside-down morality that turns victims into villains and the accused into heroes. Cora, Dawson, Callan, Brian Thompson, Charlie Kirk, and Erin Piacenti were not symbols of oppressive systems or supporting characters in somebody else’s grievance. They were human beings made in the image of God. Luigi Mangione, Lindsay Clancy, Tyler Robinson, and Pamela Cisneros are morally culpable for the acts they allegedly committed, and the state should hold them accountable. 
What’s more, we must point ourselves and others away from the online tribal circles that nurture our baser instincts and toward the true, the good, and the beautiful. The Christian story tells us both that evil is real and that it will not win. Light, the gospel of John declares, has come into the world, and the darkness has not overcome it. Instead of belonging built around grievance, spectacle, and death, the church offers community built around shared faith and the possibility of redemption. It causes us to see ourselves and our narratives not as central, but as part of a larger and eternal story.
***
Daniel Darling is the director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Seminary, a columnist for World, and the author of several books, including his latest, “In Defense of Christian Patriotism.”
This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

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Why America Now Worships Its Cold-Blooded Killers

lindsay clancy

luigi mangione

opinion

true crime culture

tyler robinson

Weekend Plans is our exclusive lifestyle feature where we highlight the real off-duty routines of the most exciting people in culture. 
This weekend, former comedian and political commentator Dave Rubin spends time with The Daily Wire just before going off the grid for a month. A former co-host of the left-wing news show “The Young Turks,” the New York Times-bestselling author and entrepreneur “left the left” to launch his podcast “<a href="https://www.daverubin.com/">The Rubin Report</a>” (along with his award-winning tequila brand <a href="https://drinkcopal.com/">Copal 22</a>). He shares his tricks to aging well and staying young at heart, and he offers a playful jab at Daily Wire host Michael Knowles. Here’s why everything he touches turns to gold.
***
Properly fit and tan for life in Miami, Dave Rubin reaches for a pair of reading glasses, telling me, “I just turned 50 this year and I can’t see anything, out of nowhere.” They say you should never meet your heroes, but if Dave had anything to do with honing your critical thinking chops (and having fun doing it), rest assured that he’s just as cool in real life as he is on his show. 
“I am the gateway drug,” he says with a smile. I don’t have the exact stats, but he’s probably converted more people to conservatism — and Florida — than most of his peers.
A good friend introduced me to “The Rubin Report” when Dave was still living in Los Angeles. I was too. His sparkling take on dark stuff such as lockdowns and BLM felt like manna from heaven. He’d spent years in entertainment working as a comedian and commentator (maybe you saw him on tour with Jordan Peterson), effortlessly infusing the cultural current with common sense.
These days, Dave’s living free in the Sunshine State. “I don&#8217;t miss anything about LA,” he says. “The only thing that would even remotely pop into my mind at this point is … Boa Steakhouse on Sunset. Actually it&#8217;s not as great as it used to be.” 
He moved to the City of Angels back in 2013 when it was thriving, and he eventually built the house of his dreams in Sherman Oaks. But after a year of battling “COVID craziness,” he called time of death on the SoCal experiment on which he built his successful career. “There&#8217;s just no magic to it anymore … There’s very little hope.” 
In the great state of Florida, Dave says, “I can fight for something as opposed to relentlessly fighting against something that seemingly is always getting worse.”
Rise and really shine
“I wake up at about 7 o&#8217;clock. I keep my Oura Ring on so I know how much I slept,” Dave tells me. A little later, if he’s not swamped with news hits and show prep, he catches a few extra winks. “One of my great pleasures is a 20-minute nap. I find it to be the best thing mentally and physically, and to stay sharp.”
Dave’s other little helper comes in the form of a mug. “I drink a lot of coffee, probably too much,” he admits. “I usually have two to three coffees before the show — one when I wake up, one if I&#8217;m working out — and then I often have coffee in the mug during the show.” Until now, I assumed it was tequila. He laughs, “Well, it depends on the day.”
The kids are alright
Family life revolves around keeping up with Dave and his husband David Janet’s two young boys. But it’s a bonus that Dave gets to play with the same toys he loved back in the day. “The kids are really into Transformers, and I was obsessed with Transformers when I was a kid,” Dave shares. “Now they know more of the names of the characters than I do. I still get down on the floor and get into that crazy imaginative world … It&#8217;s just absolutely incredible.”
To keep those growing minds fired up, screen time is limited. “We do a little bit of ‘Bluey,’” he admits. “I&#8217;m not gonna say I&#8217;ve never shown them a little bit of my old ‘Transformers,’ and a little bit of ‘Spider-Man.’” Screen time is every parent’s challenge with young kids. “I know parents just want a little peace and quiet,” Dave admits. He doesn’t judge anyone else. “I just think once you open that Pandora&#8217;s box, you can never close it.”
Right now it’s soccer practice for the boys if they’re not splashing around in the pool, but Dave has high hopes for their future in sports. “Obviously I want to angle them to basketball, but it&#8217;s Miami — we&#8217;re doing soccer at the moment. One thing at a time.”
Cocktails with conservatives
It was only a matter of time before Dave turned his happy-hour ritual into a portfolio asset. And just a year into its existence, his 100% blue agave tequila brand Copal 22 has won every competition it’s entered. 
“I try not to talk too much smack about Clase Azul because that&#8217;s what got me into tequila,” he says, talking some smack about the additives from the brand with the bell-top. “Everyone thinks that tequila is having shots of Jose Cuervo and jumping in a pool in college … We&#8217;ve just made something much more elegant and exquisite with Copal.”
Of course, tequila’s a bit of an outlier in the whiskey-soaked landscape of conservative media. Dave, you’ve got a tight five. Go.
“All my conservative friends — such as Michael Knowles and many others who I like a lot — they all drink whiskey and bourbon because they think that&#8217;s what men drink,” Dave jokes. “A man drinks it, and he has a cigar, and that means he&#8217;s a man, and he&#8217;s never put his arm around another man. But, they don&#8217;t really like it. They&#8217;re only drinking it to prove that they&#8217;re straight. Meanwhile, if you give them a little bit of tequila, they won&#8217;t become gay, but they will enjoy it a little bit more.”
So how does Dave knock one back? “Just pour it over one rock and swirl it for about 30 seconds,” he says. “If you want a little more flavor, or to feel like you&#8217;re drinking more of a cocktail, you could add a tiny splash of watermelon juice — or literally a piece of fruit. Mangoes are particularly good down here in Florida.” 
Touching grass
Dave is 10 years into his annual digital detox. Pressing pause on filming and going phone-free, he avoids the news for the entire month of August. He says the tradition has always kept him sane in the commentator space. But this time around, it’s particularly important. 
“I am going to disappear and not pay attention to anything, and not be infected by this endless algorithmic lunacy,” he confirms.
“This year, I think because of Charlie [Kirk’s] assassination, and then watching people that are my contemporaries — and some of whom were my friends — go completely insane, just how awful some of the nastiness has been on the Right when we should be so united against the crazy commies coming on the Left … It&#8217;s been a grating year in a way that I never really felt before,” Dave says. “I don&#8217;t think any of us realized how much of a dam Charlie was for craziness.”
“When I first did Off the Grid, I think [Ben Shapiro] might have been the first guy that brought me back. I was talking to him about it, and he goes, ‘Dave, you know, you really don&#8217;t need a whole month. The Jews have something called Shabbat once a week, you can try that first. This is a little extreme.’”
The rest of the year, Dave honors the Jewish day of rest with his family, a little challah, and some wine. He goes lighter on the devices, adding, “I&#8217;m not doing it 100% perfectly.”
Only getting better with time
Dave’s clearly Benjamin Button-ing with each passing year, but he’s vague on the anti-aging details. “I got my girl in Miami Beach. She does some kind of laser twice a year. I don’t know what it is … I feel like some burning on my face, and a lot of creams and stuff, and there&#8217;s some heat.”
“I run around a lot, and I eat right, and I don&#8217;t really eat sugar, and I eat a lot of red meat,” he says. He recently switched from tomahawks to filets to maybe lose a pound or two. “I don&#8217;t drink a ton, actually, but I exercise every day. And I&#8217;m also chasing two 3-year-olds around here. That&#8217;ll keep you young.”
He used to hit the basketball court for nine hours a week in the Florida heat, burning 1,500 calories during each three-hour session. But he’s nursing an injury at the moment. “I crushed my shoulder playing basketball, so I&#8217;m in the middle of physical therapy,” he says. Along with the sun and camaraderie, these workouts soothe his mind. “I&#8217;ve missed it more mentally in a weird way than physically. It&#8217;s the only time that I stopped thinking about all of this lunacy that we&#8217;re talking about.” 
No matter what, he finds a way to get moving. “Taking a walk in the morning is probably the most important thing,” he says. His dog Clyde is happy to accompany him. “Sometimes it&#8217;s humid as hell here and the mosquitoes are out. It&#8217;s not the most pleasant thing in the summer, but I think just moving a little bit in the morning is vitally important.”
Advice from the pod guy next door
Dave talks a lot about his experience touring with Jordan Peterson, watching others transform through his teachings as well as himself. He calls his own insight “Jordan Peterson-esque.” 
“Figure out what your adventure is in life and go do it,” Dave says. “It might mean that you want to put all your energy in your career, it might mean you want to put all your energy into your family, it might mean you split those two things.”
Whatever it is, he suggests lighting a flare to mark your path. “Always put something on the horizon,” he explains. “You always have to have things to look forward to. A lot of people that I know that are lost or confused, it&#8217;s because they&#8217;re not looking forward to anything. They just wake up … job&#8217;s not great, you&#8217;re just doing it over and over and over, and then you just kind of slowly disintegrate.”
“If you&#8217;re doing something that you love, or at least angling towards it, then you have things that you&#8217;re looking forward to in the future.”
You may want to reserve a court time for Dave’s next venture. “I really, really want an indoor basketball court, and I&#8217;m gonna get it one day,” he assures me. “I don&#8217;t know how I&#8217;m gonna do it, and it&#8217;s gonna be a hell of a thing to get property down here in this area that you can afford.” The challenge doesn’t sway him. 
“Do something worthwhile,” he says, “and people will find you.”

Upstream_Rubin 2

Weekend Plans With Dave Rubin, The ‘Gateway Drug’ To Conservatism

dave rubin

florida

lifestyle

the rubin report

weekend plans

Finally, some good news on the family front.
A growing share of the American people, led by Republicans, believe it is very important that a couple is married when they have a child together.
According to new <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/713234/americans-likely-say-parents-marry.aspx">Gallup polling</a>, roughly four in 10 Americans say it is very important that “couples who have a child together” should be married, a 10-percentage point increase over the past six years.
Among Republicans, there has been a 22-point increase, up to 58% who say marriage is very important for couples with a child. Independents have seen a 9-point increase in that direction, and Democrats have experienced a 3-point increase.
It is encouraging to see more Americans valuing marriage in the way it should be. Given the fact that this uptick has been driven by Republicans, we can attribute this trend in large part to the work that Right-leaning think tanks — like the <a href="https://ifstudies.org/blog/get-married-charlie-kirks-most-important-advice-to-young-men-and-women">Institute for Family Studies</a> and the <a href="https://www.aei.org/research-products/journal-publication/the-marriage-paradox-understanding-and-remedying-the-paradoxical-place-of-marriage-in-america/">American Enterprise Institute</a> — have done in recent years to spotlight the value of marriage, the ways in which conservative media outlets and voices — like the Daily Wire, Isabel Brown, and Ben Shapiro — have underlined the importance of marriage, and the encouragement that Republican leaders like Vice President J.D. Vance have <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mkNg8GZ2bk">offered</a> us to “fall in love, get married, and start a family.”
Of course, Charlie Kirk’s <a href="https://ifstudies.org/blog/get-married-charlie-kirks-most-important-advice-to-young-men-and-women">life and message</a> were especially important in driving this conservative interest in marriage. Kirk was famous for <a href="https://www.heritage.org/press/heritage-foundation-unveils-60-foot-tribute-charlie-kirk">urging</a> his followers to “Get married. Have children. Build a legacy. Pass down your values. Pursue the eternal. Seek true joy.” Just days before he was killed, on Laura Ingraham&#8217;s Fox News show, Kirk <a href="https://ifstudies.org/blog/get-married-charlie-kirks-most-important-advice-to-young-men-and-women">addressed</a> the decline in marriage and fertility rates, arguing that young women were chasing “careerism and consumerism” instead of what he considered more meaningful goals. “Having children is more important than having a good career … my kids matter more than how many social media followers I have,” he said. Kirk was also a big booster of <a href="https://ifstudies.org/blog/who-is-happiest-married-mothers-and-fathers-per-the-latest-general-social-survey">data</a> showing that women and men who embrace marriage and family life are significantly happier than their peers who are single and childless. The attention he devoted to the cause no doubt played a central role in marriage’s rising popularity among Republicans since 2020.
But as encouraging as this turn in public opinion is, the numbers are only back up to 2013 levels, so there is still room to grow. If more growth is to happen, conservatives can lead the way. Through culture, research, public policy, and leading by example, conservatives can speak clearly about the necessity of married, stable families for the next generation.
First, pro-marriage scholars and policymakers must use the data to make their case. That is the focus of my work at the Get Married Initiative within the Institute for Family Studies: Providing the research and data to show the value of marriage for children, adults, and the nation as a whole. Overwhelmingly, the data show that married men and women are <a href="https://ifstudies.org/blog/who-is-happiest-married-mothers-and-fathers-per-the-latest-general-social-survey">happier</a> and more <a href="https://ifstudies.org/report-brief/in-pursuit-marriage-motherhood-and-womens-well-being">fulfilled</a> in life. Marriage is <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/mortality/19-310689-Health-E-Stat-Mortality-H.pdf">linked</a> to better <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/08/health/marriage-cancer-wellness">health outcomes</a> and greater <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/mens-health/marriage-and-mens-health">life expectancy</a>. It also serves as a powerful motivator for men to get their <a href="https://ifstudies.org/blog/marital-horizons-the-motivating-power-of-marriage-for-young-men">lives together</a> at work and in their behavior. Married women <a href="https://ifstudies.org/insights?id=4359">feel safer</a> and have better <a href="https://ifstudies.org/insights?id=4410">sex lives</a> compared to unmarried women.
Children who come from married, stable families <a href="https://ifstudies.org/report-brief/family-structure-a-key-factor-hidden-in-plain-sight-the-case-for-federal-reporting-in-education">do better</a> emotionally and in school than those who do not — they are, for instance, about <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/get-married-brad-wilcox?variant=43991601676322">twice</a> as likely to graduate from college and <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/get-married-brad-wilcox?variant=43991601676322">half</a> as likely to end up in jail or prison. Marriage can even <a href="https://ifstudies.org/report-brief/rings-to-roofs-part-i-one-million-homes-through-marriage">help tackle</a> the housing shortage in a time when more Americans are unsure about whether they can afford to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/free-expression/first-the-ring-then-the-roof-376a2880">buy a home</a>.
And marriage is a better bet than critics like Andrew Tate — who <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/get-married-brad-wilcox?variant=43991601676322">says</a> most marriages end in divorce — would suggest. Contrary to conventional wisdom, <a href="https://ifstudies.org/blog/divorce-in-decline-about-40-of-todays-marriages-will-end-in-divorce">divorce is down</a> since 1980, and most marriages today are predicted to go the distance.
Pro-marriage sentiment is the rare issue that unites all factions of the Right. Conservative podcasters, think tankers, lawmakers, church leaders, and intellectuals — ranging from the classic Right to the new Right — all understand the central role marriage plays in family formation and perpetuating our civilization. Already, conservatives get married at <a href="https://ifstudies.org/blog/the-lefts-marriage-problem-fewer-liberals-marry-and-liberal-teens-are-giving-up-on-it">higher rates</a> than liberals, and young conservatives are more likely to desire marriage than their liberal counterparts. Marriage is an important part of the conservative identity, even for those who do not live it out perfectly.
But conservatives can do better. Every conservative family can lead by example to their extended families, churches, communities, schools, and the other social organizations they might be part of.
Leading by example matters for our public leaders as well. As my colleague Lyman Stone shows, peer culture and celebrity culture are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/america-needs-more-famous-families?author=Lyman+Stone&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=America+Needs+More+Famous+Families">both impactful</a> forces on fertility rates. Undoubtedly, a similar dynamic is at play with marriage.
Conservative media personalities, like Kirk and those at the Daily Wire, can play a vital role in promoting marriage simply by talking up the power, beauty, and joy of family life in public and walking the walk in private. It matters when conservative leaders take a pro-marriage position in their commentary. What goes even further is when they have beautiful families for the public to see.
Using data and leading by example must be paired with a pro-marriage policy agenda that strengthens marriage and facilitates family formation. Reforming the tax code, expanding family-oriented tax credits, building more family-friendly starter homes, promoting marriage in schools, and incentivizing marriage prep are some ideas that conservative policymakers should advance in Congress, state houses, and localities across America.
Improving men’s economic prospects to make them more marriageable could also lead to higher <a href="https://ifstudies.org/insights?id=4492">marriage rates</a>, as the Institute for Family Studies’ new <a href="https://ifstudies.org/report-brief/mapping-marriage-in-america-where-young-adults-marry-most">marriage maps</a> show. Investing in trade school pipelines and male-oriented sectors like manufacturing could improve male employment and earnings. Tackling <a href="https://www.compactmag.com/article/republicans-embrace-the-vice-economy/">the vice economy</a> to get men off gambling apps and pot could make a difference as well.
The polling data already indicates that conservatives’ efforts to promote marriage in our culture are working. Scholars, media personalities, and political leaders must keep up the fight if we are to rebuild the American family. This is the best way to honor the “legacy” of Charlie Kirk’s all too short but profoundly pro-family life.
***
Brad Wilcox is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Get Married Initiative at the Institute for Family Studies. He is a Professor of Sociology and Director of the Get Married Project at the University of Virginia. He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

US-POLITICS-SHOOTING-KIRK

Charlie Kirk’s True Legacy May Be A Surge In Young Families

family policy

gallup poll

institute for family studies

marriage

Utah prosecutors pushed back against Tyler Robinson’s attorneys on Tuesday after the defense claimed that conservative leader Charlie Kirk expressed &#8220;hateful&#8221; views.
Defense lawyer Richard Novak argued that Kirk spoke “hatefully” about people who do not hold traditional gender norms and those who are not heterosexual, while also highlighting Robinson’s relationship with Lance Twiggs, who identifies as transgender. Novak claimed there is a “gap” between Kirk’s “hateful” views and Robinson’s alleged motives, effectively trying to undermine the idea that this was a politically motivated assassination, an issue that could affect the prosecution’s effort to pursue the death penalty.
&#8220;It is true that Mr. Kirk spoke hatefully of certain groups of people,&#8221; Novak claimed. &#8220;He spoke hatefully of people who don&#8217;t have traditional norm-conforming gender identities. He spoke hatefully of people who are not strictly heterosexual. He spoke hatefully of people who have sexual relationships out of marriage. And yes, it is true that the evidence from Mr. Twiggs is that he identified in a non-gender-conforming way to his friends, and that he was in a romantic relationship with Mr. Robinson.&#8221;
&#8220;But that doesn&#8217;t mean that those personal choices by Mr. Twiggs and by Mr. Robinson equate with the hate that at least Mr. Robinson says he had toward Mr. Kirk,” Novak continued. “There’s a gap between what it is that Mr. Kirk said and stood for &#8230; and what it is that Mr. Robinson felt about him.”
“And it&#8217;s a significant gap because what it allows the state to do is to make it up,” he added. “‘Oh, it must be about this relationship.’ … And that&#8217;s an inference without evidence.” 
The prosecution, though, immediately seized on the defense’s characterization, arguing that it actually strengthens the state’s case about Robinson targeting Kirk because of his political and religious views.
Prosecutor Chad Grunander responded, saying that the state &#8220;takes great exceptions with Mr. Novak attributing all of this ‘hate’ to Mr. Kirk during his argument today,&#8221; <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/sep/1/tyler-robinson-face-death-penalty-assassination-charlie-kirk-judge/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">according</a> to The Washington Times.
“He had an opinion that he would express on politics and religion. That doesn’t make it hate, but the fact that Mr. Novak even considered it as hate makes the case for the state,” Grunander said. “In his client’s own words, he hated what Mr. Kirk stood for.”
Judge Tony Graf <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-rules-on-charlie-kirk-assassination-trial-death-penalty?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=4&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Judge+Rules+On+Charlie+Kirk+Assassination+Trial%2C+Death+Penalty">agreed</a> that the state had established probable cause that Robinson intentionally selected Kirk because of what Robinson perceived as Kirk’s protected political expression.
The state also pointed to the engraved shell casings as evidence of a political motive. Three unfired casings found with the rifle allegedly contained messages including “Hey fascist! CATCH!” and the lyrics “O Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Ciao, ciao” — a reference to the Italian anti-fascist resistance song &#8220;Bella Ciao&#8221; — as well as “If you read this, you are GAY Lmao.”
Notably, the defense during the preliminary hearing did not offer an alternative theory for who shot Kirk. Instead, Robinson’s attorneys focused heavily on whether prosecutors have met the legal requirements necessary to make the 23-year-old eligible for the death penalty.
The judge ultimately ruled Tuesday that Robinson will stand trial on the aggravated murder charge, leaving the death penalty on the table. Robinson pleaded not guilty to all seven charges.

Tyler Robinson Attends Court Hearing For Charlie Kirk Murder Case

Robinson Lawyer Calls Charlie Kirk ‘Hateful.’ Prosecutors Say That Helps Prove Their Case.

Robinson Lawyer Calls Charlie Kirk ‘Hateful’, Prosecutors Say Defense Just Made Their Case

death penalty

politics

A Utah Judge ruled Tuesday that Tyler Robinson will stand trial on all seven charges in the assassination of conservative leader Charlie Kirk, leaving him eligible for the death penalty if convicted of aggravated murder.
After hearing hours of closing arguments from the defense and prosecution, Fourth District Judge Tony Graf found that the state had established probable cause, meaning there was sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial.
Robinson, 23, faces one count of aggravated murder, one count of felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, two counts of obstruction of justice, two counts of tampering with a witness, and one count of committing a violent offense in the presence of a child, according to court records.
The judge&#8217;s decision allows the aggravated murder charge to move forward, along with the aggravating circumstance prosecutors say makes the charge eligible for the death penalty.
The defendant&#8217;s attorneys asked during the preliminary hearing that Graf reject the aggravating circumstance that could make the killing eligible for capital punishment. They argued that prosecutors had not shown that the shooter knowingly created a “great risk of death” to anyone other than Kirk. Prosecutors countered, saying others were indeed at risk when the shot was fired. Graf ultimately found there was sufficient evidence for the aggravating circumstance to remain in the case.
Kirk&#8217;s parents and his widow, Erika Kirk, appeared in court Tuesday. A statement from the family called the ruling &#8220;an important step in our family’s pursuit of justice for him.&#8221;
&#8220;Every step in this process carries the weight of all that Charlie’s murder has taken from his family, especially his children who will grow up without their father. We are grateful to all who have continued to pray for us, support us, and stand with us through a year of unimaginable grief,&#8221; the family said.
&#8220;As the next phase of the judicial process begins, our family remains united in our love for Charlie, our commitment to the pursuit of justice, and our prayer for a transparent and timely process,&#8221; the statement added.
Robinson is accused of fatally shooting Kirk in September 2025 at Utah Valley University, where the conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder was speaking at an outdoor event.
Following Judge Graf&#8217;s ruling, Robinson&#8217;s attorneys entered not guilty pleas on his behalf to all seven charges.

MixCollage-15-Sep-2025-04-51-PM-6957

Judge Rules On Charlie Kirk Assassination Trial, Death Penalty

utah valley university

A Utah judge is expected to decide on Tuesday whether Tyler Robinson will stand trial for the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and whether prosecutors will be allowed to pursue the death penalty.
Following a five-day preliminary hearing, Judge Tony Graf will hear closing arguments from the state and defense for a maximum of two hours each before ultimately giving his ruling.
Robinson, 23, is charged with aggravated murder and multiple other felonies in the September 2025 fatal shooting of Kirk at Utah Valley University, where he was engaging others with differing political views. Prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted.
Robinson&#8217;s attorneys have asked Graf to reject the aggravating circumstance that could make the killing eligible for capital punishment. They argue that prosecutors have not shown that the shooter knowingly created a &#8220;great risk of death&#8221; to anyone other than Kirk. Prosecutors counter that others were indeed at risk when the shot was fired.
The filing does not dispute for purposes of the preliminary hearing that Robinson was the shooter. Instead, his attorneys argue that the state has not produced sufficient evidence to support the aggravated murder charge and potential death penalty.
Prosecutors have also presented evidence they say ties Robinson to the shooting, including his alleged statements to people close to him. Robinson surrendered to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office about 33 hours after Kirk was shot, arriving with his parents and a family friend.  Robinson&#8217;s father had reportedly confronted him after recognizing images of the suspected shooter released by authorities. According to investigators, Robinson also allegedly told his father that he was the shooter and made statements to his male roommate and romantic partner the day of the shooting that prosecutors say are confessions.
Investigators also recovered the rifle believed to have been used in the shooting, along with four bullet casings, one fired and three unfired, that had messages engraved on them. One unfired casing read, “Hey fascist! Catch!” while others referenced the Italian anti-fascist song “Bella Ciao” and read, “If you read this, you are gay LMAO.” Prosecutors have pointed to the engravings and other evidence as part of their case regarding Robinson’s motive.
Robinson’s defense has also repeatedly fought efforts to allow cameras and microphones in the courtroom, arguing that extensive media coverage could prejudice a future jury and undermine his right to a fair trial. Kirk&#8217;s family has asked the judge to allow full transparency, aiming to stop wild conspiracies being peddled online. Judge Graf ultimately allowed cameras during the preliminary hearing.
The defense has also attempted to remove the Utah County Attorney’s Office from the case, arguing there was a conflict of interest because Chief Deputy County Attorney Chad Grunander’s daughter attended the event where Kirk was killed and communicated with her father shortly after the shooting. The defense argued the connection could affect the office’s impartiality. Judge Graf rejected the motion in February.
A source close to the family told The Daily Wire that Kirk’s parents and his widow, Erika Kirk, will attend the hearing. Beyond a statement following the court’s ruling, the Kirk family will not speak with the media.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tyler-robinsons-own-lawyers-undercut-claims-he-was-framed-in-charlie-kirk-murder">Tyler Robinson’s Own Lawyers Undercut Claims He Was Framed In Charlie Kirk Murder</a>

Charlie Kirk Murder Suspect Tyler Robinson Attends Court Hearing

Charlie Kirk Assassination Case Faces Make-Or-Break Court Moment

utah valley university shooting

An HHS-commissioned study found an association between support for &#8220;radical gender ideology&#8221; and a greater willingness to justify political violence. 
The <a href="https://opa.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2026-08/gender-ideology-report.pdf">report</a>, released Wednesday by the Department of Health and Human Services, was written by researchers affiliated with Rutgers University, the Manhattan Institute, and the Network Contagion Research Institute.
The preregistered survey asked more than 1,200 U.S. adults to rate their agreement with five transgender-affirming positions and whether six politically motivated acts of violence could be justified.
Those scenarios involved killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, killing President Donald Trump, killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, setting fire to ICE buildings, damaging wealthy people&#8217;s property, and attacking police officers.
Strong support for the transgender-affirming positions was positively correlated with greater justification for all six acts. The strongest association involved killing Trump, which had a correlation of 0.35, followed by setting fire to ICE buildings at 0.34 and killing Kirk at 0.31. 
The correlations were weaker for damaging wealthy people’s property at 0.28, killing Thompson at 0.27, and attacking police at 0.23. 
The researchers measured left-wing authoritarianism separately, which the report describes as a psychological disposition characterized by aggression toward perceived oppressors, support for censorship and institutional enforcement, and hostility toward conventional institutions.
Left-wing authoritarianism showed a stronger association with justification of political violence, with correlations ranging from 0.47 to 0.54 across the six scenarios.
Both transgender-affirming beliefs and left-wing authoritarianism remained significantly associated with greater justification of all six acts after researchers controlled for respondents&#8217; political identities.
“Together, these findings support the paper’s core claim: gender ideology may function as an ideological accelerant, telling left-wing authoritarian psychology who the enemy is, why the situation is urgent, and — in those already disposed toward force — that violence is legitimate,” the researchers wrote.
Both the researchers and HHS <a href="https://health.gov/hhs-releases-study-finding-individuals-who-associate-left-wing-authoritarian-beliefs-and-radical">acknowledged</a> that the study found an association but could not establish causation.
The report comes as the political views and transgender associations of several people accused or convicted of targeting prominent conservatives face ongoing scrutiny.
Tyler Robinson, the man charged with Kirk&#8217;s September 2025 murder, was living with a male roommate and romantic partner who identified as transgender, according to court documents.
Prosecutors say Robinson sent his roommate messages confessing to the shooting and saying he &#8220;had enough of [Kirk&#8217;s] hatred.&#8221; Robinson’s mother <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/read-the-disturbing-texts-between-tyler-robinson-and-his-trans-love-after-charlie-kirk-assassination">previously told investigators</a> that her son became more political and left-leaning in the year before Kirk&#8217;s killing and had grown more supportive of pro-transgender views.
Ryan Michael English, 26, also known as Raleigh Jane English, was sentenced last week to 73 months in prison for bringing a knife and two improvised incendiary devices to the U.S. Capitol as part of a plot to kill then-Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent.
English, a man who identifies as a transgender woman, approached a U.S. Capitol Police officer in January 2025 and turned himself in. English later pleaded guilty to two federal weapons charges.
A second study is currently being designed to further investigate the correlation between left-wing ideology, trans-ideology, and political violence.

Diverse people holding transgender flags

HHS Study Links Transgender Ideology To Justification Of Political Violence

department of health and human services

political violence

transgender ideology

President Donald Trump will appear on both nights of the first-ever midterm Republican National Convention next month in Dallas, Texas, The Daily Wire can first report, with his keynote address planned for night two.
The convention is set to be a &#8220;primetime showcase&#8221; of the Trump administration&#8217;s wins since Trump took office last year, with plans to contrast Democrat extremism with Republican common sense. Both Trump and Vice President JD Vance will be in Texas to support Republican candidates ahead of the midterm elections, with Vance giving the keynote address on night one.
For the first time in history, the convention will be open to the public with a limited number of free tickets made available through a lottery. Each night will highlight the men and women running in key races nationwide, as well as &#8220;everyday Americans&#8221; who support the president and his party.
The RNC wants to unify the party around a &#8220;simple message,&#8221; according to a messaging memo reviewed by The Daily Wire.
&#8220;Americans want strong borders and sound immigration policies, not sanctuary cities and the unspeakable crimes that comes with them,&#8221; the messaging document said. &#8220;They want to continue to reap the profound benefits from the One Big Beautiful Bill: no tax on tips, new pathways to retirement savings, and a vibrant economy that lifts all boats. Parents want a common-sense approach to education, youth sports, and school choice — not a liberal lecture on transgender rights and those who think boys should be allowed to play in girls athletics.&#8221;
Any ability to unify will put Republicans a step ahead of the Democrats, who are grappling with an influx of Democratic Socialist of America candidates. Trump has pounded the message that the Democrat candidates embracing socialism are far too radical for Americans. The convention will offer Republicans an opportunity to make that case once again.
“President Donald Trump and Republicans have delivered historic results for the American people, and every hour of this historic convention will tell that story,&#8221; RNC Chairman Joe Gruters said. &#8220;Over two action-packed days, we will take Americans through the defining issues of our Party’s agenda and what is at stake in November.&#8221;
&#8220;Each hour will have its own theme, its own message, and its own voices, building toward President Donald Trump’s vision for the next chapter of American greatness,&#8221; he promised. &#8220;This will be unlike any political convention America has seen before.”
On Wednesday, September 9, the first night of the convention, speakers will highlight the Working Families Tax Cuts, efforts to root out waste and fraud, and healthcare successes such as the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program.
The convention will then contrast the &#8220;mainstream&#8221; Republican policies with &#8220;extreme&#8221; Democrat policies through &#8220;Two Visions for America.&#8221; It will also call for passing the SAVE America Act, Trump&#8217;s major election reform initiative, and introduce key candidates in target districts, contrasting these candidates with Democrat opponents.
Speakers will also spotlight &#8220;No Tax on Tips,&#8221; the enhanced Child Tax Credit, the successful enforcement on the border, including the sixteen consecutive months of zero interior releases, protection of religious freedom and the promotion of national pride, Trump&#8217;s &#8220;America First trade policy,&#8221; and efforts to make American cities such as the nation&#8217;s capital safe and clean again.
That also includes the president&#8217;s moves to protect education and root out gender ideology, critical race theory, and more from American institutions.
Ahead of Vance&#8217;s remarks on that first night of the convention, officials will highlight economic success stories alongside &#8220;workers and everyday Americans.&#8221;
The second day of the convention, September 10, will open with families who are receiving multiple benefits from &#8220;No Tax on Tips, Overtime, and Social Security.&#8221; This second night will also highlight Trump&#8217;s expansions of school choice, the hostages brought home by the president, efforts to target corruption such as a Capitol Hill trading ban, food security and public health, the concept of sports as a unifying force, and border security.
That night will also be used to honor the legacy of Charlie Kirk, on the one-year anniversary of his assassination. The convention plans on &#8220;converting that legacy into a call to mobilize voters,&#8221; which was one of Kirk&#8217;s primary goals through Turning Point USA.
The convention will also highlight Angel Parents and border victims, and mark the 25th anniversary of 9/11 with the children and families of first responders.
In the hour leading up to the president&#8217;s keynote address, speakers will focus on how Republicans are empowering families to Make America Healthy Again.
They will also showcase the party&#8217;s wins while &#8220;defining the agenda and future direction of the party,&#8221; present the &#8220;Opposition Contrast&#8221; as they deliver the night&#8217;s &#8220;sharpest partisan case against the extreme liberal Democrats,&#8221; and highlight how Republicans are putting American workers ahead of global elites in trade policy, tax relief, and energy dominance.
Trump will take the stage and deliver the evening&#8217;s keynote address at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
The party&#8217;s core message, according to the messaging document, is that &#8220;the stakes could not be higher,&#8221; and that the November elections will decide whether to take Americans on a path to safety or a path to obstruction.
&#8220;One that leads to prosperity, peace through strength, and a doubling-down on core American ideals – or the one littered with far-left liberal ideology and policies that have decimated our cities, outsourced American jobs to China and beyond, and provided the dismal promise of a future filled with high taxes and low wages.&#8221;
&#8220;The choice,&#8221; the RNC said, &#8220;is crystal clear.&#8221;

Screenshot 2026-08-25 at 3.46.06 PM

EXCLUSIVE: A First Look Inside Donald Trump’s Dallas Midterm Convention

2026 midterm election

donald trump

jd vance

republican national committee

A year ago, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wapo-ordered-to-rehire-radical-hamas-defender-who-mocked-reaction-to-charlie-kirks-death?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Up+Next&amp;rowType=Up+Next&amp;title=WaPo+Ordered+To+Rehire+Radical+Hamas+Defender+Who+Mocked+Reaction+To+Charlie+Kirk%E2%80%99s+Death">Karen Attiah</a>, an untalented, narcissistic, racist, terror-sympathizing man-hater who loves the word “<a href="http://m">democracy</a>” more than life itself, was fired from her job as an opinion writer at The Washington Post. Her crimes against journalism? Lying, failing basic standards of accuracy, and posting egregious commentary about Charlie Kirk within hours of his assassination.
This week, after a year-long public tantrum, a private arbitrator forced the Post to take her back. Like a bad ex blackmailing you into getting back together.
Democracy Lives On…in the forced rehire of every Bluesky Karen who cannot accurately quote a dead man. On September 10, 2025, the same day Charlie Kirk was assassinated in front of thousands, Attiah posted this:
“Black women do not have the brain processing power to be taken seriously. You have to go steal a white person’s slot”. &#8211; <a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!db2o!,w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe1e3c8f1-c515-4afa-9dd6-2d808ad9d2ee_1198x346.png">Charlie Kirk</a>
Kirk was not, of course, speaking about all black women. He was responding on a live show to Joy Reid, Michelle Obama, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, discussing their own affirmative-action status. He played the clip of Sheila Jackson Lee declaring from the House floor:
<blockquote>I rise today, as a clear recipient of affirmative action…particularly in higher education. I may have been admitted on affirmative action both in terms of being a woman, and a woman of color&#8230;</blockquote>
Kirk’s apt reply: “We know. You do not have the brain processing power to otherwise be taken really seriously. You had to go steal a white person&#8217;s slot to go be taken somewhat seriously.”
He was correct. Sheila Jackson Lee spent nearly 30 years as the low-competence representative for Texas’ 18th district (cough term limits cough) while compiling an impressive résumé of public gaffes. She confused Mars with the Moon. She announced that “today we have two Vietnams, side by side, North and South.” She claimed the Constitution is 400 years old. And in 2024, she informed high school students that the Moon is a planet “made up mostly of gases.” Somehow, this woman graduated from both Yale and the University of Virginia School of Law, where she obviously did not study the solar system.
But who has time for journalistic integrity these days? It’s far easier to ignore reality, post absurdly racist and defamatory misquotes, and then collapse into victimhood the moment consequences appear. Attiah used her vast brain-processing power to suggest Kirk was a violent white man, call the United States a “sick” country that “worships violence,” express solidarity with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wapo-columnist-celebrates-anti-jew-terrorism-as-exactly-what-decolonization-means">Hamas</a> terrorists who murder Israeli civilians, threaten <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wapo-editor-white-women-lucky-were-not-calling-for-revenge">revenge</a> against white women, and lament that white America refuses to get rid of their guns while suggesting we <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/25/lgbtq-culture-wars-laura-ann-carleton/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_campaign=wp_opinions&amp;utm_medium=social">arm the gays</a>. Because in her moral universe, selective political violence is practically a civil duty.
Speaking of violence, Karen Attiah wakes up and chooses it against men every day. She simply prefers to channel her white-male rage in the gym rather than in more creative outlets <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/shorts/85edf547-5650-4079-ad71-df022690f2bd?elementPosition=3&amp;row=10&amp;rowHeadline=Trending+Shorts&amp;rowType=Shorts+Carousel">such as the bathtub</a>, once <a href="https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/karen-attiah-fitness.jpg">writing</a> that her fitness goals included “building legs strong enough to crush men’s hopes and dreams.”
It’s a wonder she’s forty and still single.
Apparently, that was the bulk of her brilliant output. Following her firing, a Post staffer anonymously <a href="https://freebeacon.com/media/wapo-fires-karen-attiah-radical-beefcake-columnist-who-praised-hamas/">observed</a> that “Karen Attiah wrote two columns in the last three months, and one was about her body-building regimen. I think the Post will be OK.” Speak for yourself, Anon. This past year has been terribly difficult for us body-building gurus who relied on the motivational mantras of Miss Crush-Men Karen in the opinion section of a political newspaper.
The most revealing part of this entire saga is the pure, distilled hypocrisy of how she handled her own termination. She was fired for a clear pattern of racist and hateful posts made in the hours after a public assassination; posts that generalized, distorted, and celebrated the dehumanization of a man who had just been murdered in front of the world. And under the leadership of a new, sane, and competent editor, Adam O’Neal, the Washington Post treated those posts as the misconduct they were.
Yet Attiah’s response was not reflection or even a mild course correction; it was victimhood word vomit. She immediately framed the firing itself as an act of racism and hate directed at her. In her narcissistic telling, the newspaper wasn’t enforcing basic standards of accuracy and civility; it was silencing a black woman for speaking uncomfortable truths. The same person who spent years diagnosing “whiteness” as a pathology and treating political violence as selectively acceptable suddenly discovered that accountability is only legitimate when it happens to other people. She got fired for being racist and hateful…then spent the next year insisting that the firing was racist and hateful.
And so the bad ex has clawed her way back into the house through arbitration, threats, and sheer force of grievance. This particular ex is the kind who would also find a way to soft-pedal Lindsay Clancy, treat the murder of her political foes as something closer to justice than tragedy, and who still manages to keep a soft spot in her heart for Hamas.
The Washington Post is now stuck with her and a fat couples-therapy bill, and the rest of us are stuck with more unsolicited columns about getting jacked in order to attack men.
This, we are told, is democracy in action: a forced reunion between an institution that tried to set a boundary and an activist who refuses to accept that boundaries apply to her. Everyone loses. Especially the photographer who had to take this <a href="https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/attiah-post2.jpg">picture</a> during the breakup.
<a href="https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/attiah-post2.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1164173" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/attiah-post2.jpg" alt="" width="736" height="515" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/attiah-post2.jpg 736w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/attiah-post2-300x210.jpg 300w" sizes=" (max-width: 736px) 100vw, 736px" /></a> 
The only winner is the grievance industrial complex, which has once again proven that if you scream “racist” and “Democracy is dying” loudly enough after being held accountable for actual racism, someone in a suit will eventually hand you your job back.
When in reality, the real “death of democracy” looks more like Anthony Fauci lying to the public for years and facing zero consequences while the rest of us lived under the rules he helped to invent. It looks like Kamala Harris being coronated as the Democratic nominee without ever winning a single primary vote. It looks like pollsters and operatives spinning up fake websites and misleading data operations designed to confuse the public and nudge election outcomes. And it looks like conservative TikTokers (myself included) who can’t post a single video without it being silently removed or suppressed under the ever-shifting excuse of “violating community guidelines,” guidelines that somehow never seem to apply equally in the other direction.
That is the actual erosion. Not a newspaper being ordered to rehire one of its most deranged and morally depraved columnists. Maybe Mr. O’Neal should mandate that she write with Professor Umbridge’s blood quill — I must not tell lies — until it finally sinks in.

Hoover Institution Hosts Discussion On Jamal Khashoggi And US-Saudi Relations

The Bad Ex Who Blackmailed Her Way Back To The Washington Post

karen attiah

media

sheila jackson lee

washington post

The Washington Post has been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/24/business/washington-post-karen-attiah.html?unlocked_article_code=1.71A.plFf.yI_cDbktFcRd&amp;smid=url-share">ordered</a> by a private arbitrator to rehire opinion columnist Karen Attiah and hand over full back pay to the woman who issued a social media post seemingly mocking the reaction to the death of Charlie Kirk.
Attiah was booted from the paper last September after unleashing a series of jaw-dropping social media posts following Kirk’s assassination. Attiah took to Bluesky to mock the public grief surrounding the killing, writing, “Refusing to tear my clothes and smear ashes on my face in performative mourning for a white man that espoused violence is … not the same as violence.”
She also falsely claimed Kirk had stated, “Black women do not have the brain-processing power to be taken seriously. You have to go steal a white person’s slot.”
Journalist Jerry Dunleavy <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/liberal-washington-post-columnist-fired-over-charlie-kirk-comments">noted</a> that Attiah’s quote was inaccurate as she implied Kirk was referring to all black women when, in reality, he was targeting former first lady Michelle Obama, the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), former MSNBC host Joy Reid, and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Despite Post executives having deemed her remarks &#8220;beyond the pale,&#8221; &#8220;gross misconduct,&#8221; and a breach of company standards, arbitrator Sarah Miller Espinosa ruled last week that the paper lacked &#8220;good and sufficient cause&#8221; to fire her, claiming the outlet violated its labor agreement, The New York Times reported on Monday.
Attiah’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wapo-columnist-celebrates-anti-jew-terrorism-as-exactly-what-decolonization-means">history of radical takes</a> stretches far beyond mocking Kirk. Back in October 2023, on the very day Hamas terrorists slaughtered 1,200 innocent civilians in Israel, Attiah reposted rhetoric justifying terrorism, such as &#8220;what did y&#8217;all think decolonization meant? vibes? papers? essays? Losers.&#8221; She also reposted someone who stated, &#8220;All my American education taught was that all we have to do to fight brutal, racist oppression is schedule a single die-in or refuse to give up a single seat on a bus and justice automatically prevails through non-violence.&#8221;
Meanwhile, she boasted of her radical academic credentials: &#8220;I studied race construction, human rights and global anti-colonial resistance in college and grad school. Honey, we did the scholarship way before it was &#8216;cool.'&#8221;
Attiah even looked as if she were justifying raw violence by non-state actors, claiming that public opinion was shifting toward anti-Israel extremism and echoing posts that seemingly accused defenders of Israel of siding with &#8220;oppressors, murderers, thieves and political manipulators.&#8221;
Attiah celebrated the arbitrator&#8217;s ruling, calling the Post &#8220;one of the world&#8217;s most storied newspapers&#8221; and claiming she was &#8220;relieved to finally have that record set straight.&#8221;

WaPo Ordered To Rehire Radical Hamas Defender Who Mocked Reaction To Charlie Kirk’s Death

hamas

Angie Nixon, the socialist who just stunned Florida Democrats in a Senate primary, spent months attacking slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk — calling his supporters tools of “white supremacy” and comparing a bill honoring the Turning Point USA founder to something “brought straight by the KKK.”
Only six days after Kirk was murdered, State Rep. Nixon (D-FL)<a href="https://x.com/AngieNixon/status/1968064168629772383?s=20"> attacked</a> GOP lawmakers who introduced resolutions honoring Kirk and those who supported them.
“It is BEYOND disrespectful for<a href="https://x.com/SenRickScott"> @SenRickScott</a> &amp;<a href="https://x.com/JimmyPatronis"> @JimmyPatronis</a> to introduce resolutions honoring Charlie Kirk. That man said some of the most hateful about Black People and cloaked it in scripture,” Nixon wrote on Sept. 16. “ If you support it, you are a tool of white supremacy, and I DID NOT STUTTER!”
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It is BEYOND disrespectful for <a href="https://x.com/SenRickScott?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenRickScott</a> &amp; <a href="https://x.com/JimmyPatronis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JimmyPatronis</a> to introduce resolutions honoring Charlie Kirk. That man said some of the most hateful about Black People and cloaked it in scripture. If you support it, you are a tool of white supremacy and I DID NOT STUTTER!
— State Rep. Angie Nixon (@AngieNixon) <a href="https://x.com/AngieNixon/status/1968064168629772383?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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“And he was homophobic, antisemitic, misogynistic&#8230;the list goes on and on,” Nixon said of the 31-year-old conservative activist, who evangelized on college campuses and built a political ground game that helped elect President Donald Trump.
Months later, Nixon <a href="https://x.com/AngieNixon/status/2021261020803527005?s=20">bragged</a> about voting “NO on the Charlie Kirk Day of Remembrance Bill in the Florida Legislature,” calling the legislation “a slap in the face to Black Women.” 
When the <a href="https://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=82648">bill</a> establishing a Charlie Kirk Day of Remembrance came before the Florida Legislature, Nixon escalated her attacks.
“This bill, to members of my community, black people, is like a bill brought straight by the KKK,” Nixon said during the debate, according to<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/florida-house-charlie-kirk-day-bill/"> CBS News</a>.
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Just voted NO on the Charlie Kirk Day of Remembrance Bill in the Florida Legislature. It’s a slap in the face to Black Women that this bill was even brought forth in our committee. This body has consistently shown that it is ok to be anti-Black Women in this state. Disrespectful!
— State Rep. Angie Nixon (@AngieNixon) <a href="https://x.com/AngieNixon/status/2021261020803527005?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Nixon argued that Kirk should not be memorialized, claiming the legislation was an attempt to “sanitize what this guy was about.” She also accused the Florida Legislature of promoting “hate and cruelty,” declaring that it was “OK” in the legislative body to be “anti-black” and “anti-Muslim.”
“If you removed all of the stuff he said about Black people and made it about Jewish people, we wouldn&#8217;t be here,” Nixon said. “We would label him antisemitic, and you&#8217;d be saying he&#8217;s saying things that are terroristic.”
After facing intense online backlash, Nixon <a href="https://x.com/AngieNixon/status/2021395287345176699?s=20">lashed out</a> at her critics in crude terms. 
“Hi keyboard warriors! I’m not gonna be too many more of your apes, dirty b*tches,” she wrote, adding that her critics were “illustrating why I voted no on that divisive bill.”
RNC spokeswoman Emma Hall blasted Nixon&#8217;s remarks in a statement to The Daily Wire. 
“Nixon’s repulsive comments are hateful and unhinged, just like her,” Hall said. 
Nixon, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, scored a major upset Tuesday night by defeating former Trump impeachment witness Alex Vindman for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/socialist-scores-major-upset-stuns-trump-impeachment-witness-in-senate-primary?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=10&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Socialist+Scores+Major+Upset%2C+Stuns+Trump+Impeachment+Witness+In+Senate+Primary">The Daily Wire</a> previously reported. 
The Jacksonville lawmaker, who went <a href="https://x.com/RealJessica/status/2049858609165582734?s=20">viral</a> for shouting down her colleagues with a bullhorn, will face Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) in November to determine who will serve the final two years of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s Senate term.
Nixon&#8217;s upset marks a major victory for the Democratic Party’s insurgent socialist — and potentially a major break for Republicans in a state Trump won by 13 points in 2024.
Prediction markets give Moody a <a href="https://polymarket.com/event/florida-senate-election-winner">94% chance</a> of winning the seat in November. 
“Ashley Moody is saying, &#8216;Thank you, God. Thank you, God,&#8217;” CNN’s polling guru Harry Enten <a href="https://x.com/ForecasterEnten/status/2090858534724403510?s=20">joked</a> Friday. 
“It turns out that nominating a self-described Democratic socialist in a state like Florida, where there are a lot of, let&#8217;s say, Cuban refugees, is not necessarily the smartest idea. The Democratic Party and those Democratic voters – essentially, probably, taking this race off the board come November.”

Florida Senate Candidate Angie Nixon Rallies Supporters On Eve Of Primary Election

Socialist Senate Nominee Called Charlie Kirk Supporters Tools ‘Of White Supremacy’

angie nixon

ashley moody

florida senate election

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