So, now what?
In the days since Charlie Kirk was assassinated, flags have been lowered, a suspect apprehended, and a grieving widow has bravely addressed the nation.
But again I ask, now what?
We have proven that as a people, we can kill one another. But how long must we wait until it’s proven we can heal each other&#8217;s hearts?
As enticing as it may be to fight fire with fire, taking up arms in rage would prove just as meaningless and ineffective as sitting back and doing nothing. Neither action matches the high moral standards of the man who was murdered.
I did not know Charlie personally, nor are my beliefs necessarily influenced by his own. Nevertheless, this week, I wept. Wept in a way I likely would not have had his death been the result of an illness or accident, because these tears were more than the reaction to a loss of life — they were the recognition that, for a moment, evil had triumphed over good.
Though malevolence is the price we pay for free will, fortunately, evil of this nature never wins. The gunman’s rifle did not backfire, but his nefarious plan, whatever it was, certainly will. The number of Charlie Kirks this action created is beyond measure.
Words seem so hollow now, but we must not underestimate their effect when compounded. The desired change begins in the heart, expands to the family, and then spreads to the community. Only after these three pillars are fortified will our nation persevere.
While we continue to grieve, and ask more questions than we have answers to, one thought draws comfort: knowing that God’s wisdom and His ways are infinitely higher than our own.
As painful as it is to think of a widowed wife and two fatherless children, as revolting as it is to see so many celebrate this heinous act of wickedness, we must remember, death for a Christian simply means a change of address, and Charlie’s new address is a permanent home the likes of which we can barely comprehend.
May God bless Charlie Kirk, his legacy, and the family he leaves with us here on Earth.

US-POLITICS-TRUMP-INAUGURATION

Charlie Kirk Is Gone. Where Do We Go From Here?

America

Charlie Kirk

Murder

Khloé Kardashian used her platform on social media to call out some Americans&#8217; callousness toward the assassination of conservative Charlie Kirk, and additionally &#8220;liked&#8221; a post that ripped the media for its role in ginning up hate that contributed to Kirk&#8217;s murder.
On her Instagram account, which has more than 300 million followers, Kardashian shared the following post on her stories.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t even know where to start,&#8221; the post reads. &#8220;Something is deeply wrong and we all feel it, even if we don&#8217;t say it out loud. We&#8217;re watching people get murdered in public and no one even flinches.&#8221;
&#8220;A woman is stabbed to death on a bus. A man is killed in front of a crowd,&#8221; it continues, seeming to reference the murder of Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska and the assassination of Kirk.
&#8220;And people record it &#8230; like it&#8217;s just another trending video. Those videos go viral. And we just keep scrolling like it&#8217;s normal,&#8221; the post concludes. &#8220;Like this is life now.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_972129" style="width: 396px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-972129" class="wp-image-972129 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/IMG_1360-386x576.jpeg" alt="" width="386" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/IMG_1360-386x576.jpeg 386w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/IMG_1360-201x300.jpeg 201w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/IMG_1360-768x1147.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/IMG_1360-1028x1536.jpeg 1028w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/IMG_1360.jpeg 1170w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 386px) 100vw, 386px" />Khloe Kardashian: Instagram</div>
Kardashian also liked an even more explicit post. As can be seen on Instagram, Kardashian liked a screenshot of an X post from Patrick Bet-David that reads, &#8220;One of the most important voices in America was just shot in Utah. Praying for Charlie Kirk and his family.&#8221;
It continues: &#8220;The media can&#8217;t wash their hands of this. Every time they pump division and scream racism, they stir hate and create the environment where things like this happen.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_972133" style="width: 486px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-972133" class="wp-image-972133 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/IMG_1362-476x576.jpeg" alt="" width="476" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/IMG_1362-476x576.jpeg 476w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/IMG_1362-248x300.jpeg 248w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/IMG_1362-768x929.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/IMG_1362.jpeg 1170w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 476px) 100vw, 476px" />Screenshot: Instagram </div>
Kardashian has a long history of supporting far-Left causes, like Black Lives Matter, and promoting abortion mill Planned Parenthood.
However, more recently, she took heat for criticizing Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, a Democrat, for her handling of the devastating L.A. wildfires earlier this year. “Mayor Bass you are a joke!!!!” Kardashian wrote on Instagram.
Kirk, 31, was assassinated while answering questions at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. He had massive influence with young conservatives, having founded Turning Point USA at just 18 years old. Kirk was also widely known for routinely speaking openly about his Christian faith.
Kirk&#8217;s suspected assassin Tyler Robinson, 22, was “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology,&#8221; according to Republican Utah Governor Spencer Cox.
“It’s very clear to us and to the investigators that this was a person who was deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology,” Cox <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/who-tyler-robinson-charlie-kirk-suspect-814fd21f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> The Wall Street Journal this weekend.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/details-revealed-about-suspected-charlie-kirk-assassins-leftist-ideology?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Details+Emerge+About+Suspected+Charlie+Kirk+Assassin%E2%80%99s+%E2%80%98Leftist+Ideology%E2%80%99">Details Emerge About Suspected Charlie Kirk Assassin’s ‘Leftist Ideology’</a>

RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

Khloé Kardashian Likes Post Ripping Media For Role In Charlie Kirk Assassination

assassination

Celebrities

Crime

Khloe Kardashian

Social Media

U.S.

The Pentagon is tracking the social media accounts of service members and War Department employees for messages celebrating or mocking the death of GOP activist Charlie Kirk.
War Chief Pete Hegseth said in a post on social media Thursday that his department would hold accountable those under its pay who have posted offensive messages about Kirk’s assassination earlier this week.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Thursday: “It is unacceptable for military personnel and Department of War civilians to celebrate or mock the assassination of a fellow American. The Department of War has zero tolerance for it.”
Hegseth responded to the post: “We are tracking all these very closely — and will address, immediately. Completely unacceptable.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
We are tracking all these very closely — and will address, immediately. Completely unacceptable. <a href="https://t.co/9weALT5Pb7">https://t.co/9weALT5Pb7</a>
— Pete Hegseth (@PeteHegseth) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteHegseth/status/1966274615975739604?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
After Kirk was murdered by an assassin on Wednesday, some parts of social media were flooded with messages mocking the Turning Point USA founder and celebrating the 31-year-old’s death.
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar is one of the most notable figures to bash Kirk after his murder. The congresswoman from Minnesota <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/social-media-erupts-squad-dems-interview-after-charlie-kirk-assassination-needs-resign">claimed</a> during an interview with Mehdi Hasan this week that Kirk “was willing to debate and downplay the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police … downplay slavery and what black people have gone through in this country by saying Juneteenth should never exist.”
Omar said she has “empathy” for Kirk’s widow and children, but not for the conservative activist.
Others have faced consequences for making similar statements, such as former Middle Tennessee State University Associate Dean of Students Laura Sosh-Lightsy, who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tennessee-university-dean-fired-after-saying-she-had-no-sympathy-for-charlie-kirk">wrote</a> on social media: “Looks like ol’ Charlie spoke his fate into existence. Hate begets hate. ZERO sympathy.”
Sosh-Lightsy was fired on Wednesday.
Hegseth’s promise to hold those under the Department of War to a standard of civility over Kirk’s death comes after the DeSantis administration in Florida threatened similar action against educators who openly celebrate Kirk’s death on social media.
Florida Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/florida-pledges-to-hold-teachers-accountable-who-celebrate-charlie-kirks-death">sent</a> a memo to educators across the state warning that he “will be conducting an investigation of every educator who engages in this vile, sanctionable behavior.”

Pete Hegseth

Hegseth ‘Closely’ Tracking Posts Celebrating Charlie Kirk Murder From Military

Department of Defense

Republican Utah Governor Spencer Cox said Saturday that investigators believe suspected Charlie Kirk assassin, Tyler Robinson, was &#8220;deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.&#8221;
“It’s very clear to us and to the investigators that this was a person who was deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology,” Cox <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/who-tyler-robinson-charlie-kirk-suspect-814fd21f">told</a> The Wall Street Journal.
The Journal report noted that Robinson &#8220;lived much of life on the internet.&#8221; His mother said that by age 15, Robinson was dressing up as “some guy from a meme” for Halloween.
Cox has previously revealed that Robinson’s family members told investigators that the 22-year-old, who did not have a registered political party affiliation, had become more political over the last few years. At a recent dinner, Robinson discussed Kirk&#8217;s upcoming appearance at an outdoor event on the Utah Valley campus in Orem, and talked about why he didn&#8217;t like Kirk or his conservative ideology.
Additionally, recovered bullet casings found with the apparent murder weapon had anti-fascist engravings, Cox said. One casing read, &#8220;Hey Fascist! Catch!&#8221; and another included the lyrics from a famous Italian anti-fascist song called &#8220;Bella Ciao.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox confirmed writings on bullet casings of Charlie Kirk&#8217;s killer, Tyler Robinson:
&#8211; Notices bulges, OWO what&#8217;s this? 
&#8211; Hey Fascist! Catch! 
&#8211; Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao 
&#8211; If you read this you are gay LMAO<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CharlieKirk?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CharlieKirk</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TylerRobinson?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TylerRobinson</a> <a href="https://t.co/bi3eghpBG4">pic.twitter.com/bi3eghpBG4</a>
— CapitolModerate (@CapitolModerate) <a href="https://twitter.com/CapitolModerate/status/1966506133310386636?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
Kirk, 31, was assassinated while answering questions at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. The politico had massive influence with young conservatives, having founded Turning Point USA at just 18 years old. He was widely known for routinely speaking openly about his Christian faith.
Cox said during a Friday presser that Kirk&#8217;s assassination could be a “turning point” on whether the country would embrace free and open debate or turn to political violence.
“This is certainly about the tragic death, assassination, political assassination, of Charlie Kirk,” the governor said. “But it is also much bigger than an attack on an individual. It is an attack on all of us.  It is an attack on the American experiment. It is an attack on our ideals. This cuts to the very foundation of who we are, of who we have been, and who we could be in better times.”
“Political violence is different than any other type of violence, for lots of different reasons,” Cox added. “One, because in the very act that Charlie championed of expression, that freedom of expression that is enshrined in our founding documents, in having his life taken in that very act makes it more difficult for people to feel like they can share their ideas, that they can speak freely.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/well-never-surrender-erika-kirk-gives-emotional-fiery-address-following-husbands-assassination?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=%E2%80%98We%E2%80%99ll+Never+Surrender%E2%80%99%3A+Erika+Kirk+Gives+Emotional%2C+Fiery+Address+Following+Husband%E2%80%99s+Assassination">‘We’ll Never Surrender’: Erika Kirk Gives Emotional, Fiery Address Following Husband’s Assassination</a>

PHILL MAGAKOE/AFP via Getty Images

Details Emerge About Suspected Charlie Kirk Assassin’s ‘Leftist Ideology’

Leftism

Politics

Spencer Cox

Utah

An emotional and fiery Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk, spoke out publicly for the first time since the assassination of her husband on Friday. She reflected on Charlie&#8217;s life and faith, and vowed to never let her husband&#8217;s mission end.
Erika opened her remarks by thanking law enforcement and first responders for helping her husband after the shooting and capturing his assassin.
The young mother said her husband &#8220;loved what he did&#8221; and thanked all of Charlie&#8217;s supporters. She also singled out Vice President JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance for honoring Charlie after his assassination.
And to President Donald Trump, Erika said of her husband, &#8220;He loved you. And he knew that you loved him, too.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
JUST IN &#8211; ERIKA KIRK: &#8220;Mr. President. My husband loved you. And he knew that you loved him too. He did.&#8221;
😭😭 <a href="https://t.co/wGYfeLwngb">pic.twitter.com/wGYfeLwngb</a>
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1966660153534542119?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
She also discussed Charlie&#8217;s faith, and said she was sure Charlie was with his Savior, Jesus Christ. &#8220;Two days ago, my husband went to see the face of his Savior and his God,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Now, and for all eternity, he will stand at his Savior&#8217;s side wearing the glorious crown of a martyr.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Erika Kirk: &#8220;Two days ago, my husband went to see the face of his Savior and his God&#8230; Now, and for all eternity, he will stand at his Savior&#8217;s side wearing the glorious crown of a martyr.&#8221; ❤️ <a href="https://t.co/BhPDEPcK4I">pic.twitter.com/BhPDEPcK4I</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1966661452942467190?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
&#8220;Charlie loved life, he loved his life, he loved America, he loved nature &#8230; he loved the Chicago Cubs and, my goodness, did he love the Oregon Ducks,&#8221; she said. &#8220;But most of all, Charlie loved his children and he loved me, with all of his heart. And I knew that, he made sure I knew that.&#8221;
&#8220;He was such a good man,&#8221; Erika said through tears. &#8220;He was the perfect father, he was the perfect husband.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_971973" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-971973" class="wp-image-971973 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2234173488-2-864x576.jpg" alt="PHILL MAGAKOE/AFP via Getty Images" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2234173488-2-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2234173488-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2234173488-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2234173488-2.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />PHILL MAGAKOE/AFP via Getty Images</div>
&#8220;My husband laid down his life for me, for our nation, for our children &#8212; he showed the ultimate covenantal love,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;Our God is so good.&#8221;
&#8220;The evildoers responsible for my husband&#8217;s assassination, they have no idea what they have done,&#8221; a fiery Erika said. &#8220;They should all know this, if you thought that my husband&#8217;s mission was powerful before, you have no idea, you have no idea what you just unleashed across this country.&#8221;
&#8220;You have no idea the fire you have ignited in his wife,&#8221; she said. &#8220;The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🚨 BREAKING &#8211; ERIKA KIRK UNLEASHES, DEFIANT: &#8220;They should all know this. If you THOUGHT that my husband&#8217;s mission was powerful before? You have NO IDEA. You have no idea what you&#8217;ve just unleashed across this entire country, and this world. You have no idea the fire you&#8217;ve… <a href="https://t.co/kxpcEa3pLw">pic.twitter.com/kxpcEa3pLw</a>
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1966661765086715932?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
&#8220;The movement my husband built will not die. It won&#8217;t. I refuse to let that happen,&#8221; Erika promised. &#8220;No one will ever forget my husband&#8217;s name, and I will make sure of it.&#8221;
Erika added that Turning Point USA events, including planned campus events, will continue as planned.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/saying-political-violence-is-wrong-doesnt-go-far-enough?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Ben+Shapiro&amp;category=Opinion&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Saying+‘Political+Violence+Is+Wrong’+Doesn’t+Go+Far+Enough">Saying ‘Political Violence Is Wrong’ Doesn’t Go Far Enough</a>

‘We’ll Never Surrender’: Erika Kirk Gives Emotional, Fiery Address Following Husband’s Assassination

Donald Trump

JD Vance

On the heels of a tragic shooting in Utah that claimed the life of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, Stephen A. Smith took a rare detour from his usual sports commentary to deliver a sobering message on humanity, unity, and the role sports must play in a fractured America.
“We saw this man speaking &#8230; and we saw him struck by a bullet in his neck,” Smith said, not mincing words describing the heinous act that took place at Utah Valley University. A 31-year-old father of two was gunned down in broad daylight, in front of his wife and children. And the horror of it, Smith said, transcends politics. It’s about a life lost — a husband, a father, a fellow American — executed for simply expressing his beliefs.
“There&#8217;s a lot more love and a lot more brotherhood and sisterhood and humanity that goes on in this world that does it than doesn&#8217;t,” he stated. “Yet the few who are evil amongst us are the ones that screech and make the most noise. And it&#8217;s affecting us in a way where it&#8217;s getting to a point where you&#8217;re going to get scared to walk out in the streets. You&#8217;re going to get scared to show love and affection and even to say hello to your fellow man and woman, your neighbor.”
While Smith emphasized that Mad Dog Sports Radio is not a political soapbox, he made clear: “I don&#8217;t care what his political beliefs were. I don&#8217;t care what he felt. I care about the fact that a man was gunned down in front of two of his children who are 5 years of age or less. That he&#8217;s dead at the age of 31. That his wife is a widow. That his children are fatherless because his ideas and his beliefs differed from somebody else.”
That, he said, is the only thing that should matter. Not party. Not ideology. Humanity.
Smith blasted those online who celebrated Kirk’s death. “Shame. Shame on you,” he declared. For Smith, the very idea that someone could cheer the assassination of a man for his views marks a grotesque turning point in our moral compass.
“At some point in time, we got to remember that and remember to remind one another that there&#8217;s far more love in this world than hate and not allow evil and hate to dominate us and to strip us of what truly makes us the greatest nation in the world,” he declared. “It&#8217;s that mosaic that we live under, a willingness to embrace any and all and find a way to agree without being disagreeable. Not even because we may want to all the time, but because we know it&#8217;s what&#8217;s best for a society to be civilized and positioned to prosper. Someone forgot about that yesterday and murdered Charlie Kirk. Others forgot about it by parading online and celebrating an evil, vile occurrence.”
The ESPN host, unapologetically black and proud of his journey, highlighted moments of unity he experiences every day. “I see people looking at me and smiling and saying, ‘What’s up, Stephen?’ and they don’t look anything like me. And I don’t care — because they’re showing me love, and I’m showing it right back.”
In closing, he reminded listeners: “He&#8217;s gone at 31 just because he expressed thoughts that differed from somebody else apparently. And some might blame it because, ‘oh my God, he&#8217;s friends with the president’ and they may not be a Donald Trump supporter. I&#8217;m saying bump all that. He&#8217;s a human being living in the United States of America. This is America. We&#8217;re not supposed to condone stuff like this. We&#8217;re not supposed to say it&#8217;s okay.  I don&#8217;t give a damn who you are. Black, white, or anything in between. You&#8217;re a human being. That&#8217;s your fellow man and fellow woman out there.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M8QQTea3-qs?si=6l3yNc5R33MOgUA3" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

Stephen A. Smith

‘Shame On You’: Stephen A. Smith Condemns Those Celebrating Charlie Kirk’s Death

I grew up in an age of assassinations. The President, John F. Kennedy, was gunned down in 1963, when I was nine years old. His brother, Robert Kennedy, was killed five years later, little more than a month after I saw him at a campaign event in my home town. That was the same month Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered. Malcolm X had been killed three years before.
Americans often speak proudly of our peaceful transitions of power, but that is because we are only thinking in terms of political power. Yes, compared to the violence that often accompanied the change of rulers in imperial Rome or medieval England, our transfers of leadership are relatively tranquil. Our system of free elections circumvents the need for violent revolution.
But in a democratic republic, political power is bestowed by the people, and the ideas of the people are shaped by the culture. When cultural power changes hands in the U.S., that’s when the shooting starts. The Civil War did not begin because Abraham Lincoln threatened to free the slaves. He didn’t. The war began because his election telegraphed to the slave states that the tide of the culture was shifting against them.
The 1960s marked the dawn of another such shift. A leftward swing was in the making, a rebellion against the post-war consensus. New voices were rising in the academies and in the arts, voices that challenged the efficacy of capitalism, the treatment of minorities, the roles of women, and traditional norms of language, behavior, and dress. It was as that shift was forming, that leaders who spoke even moderately of change began to seem threatening, that rhetoric became inflated and incendiary, and that dealing death began to seem a reasonable political action in the worst of minds. It didn’t work. If anything, it destroyed reasonable leaders like the Kennedys and MLK, and allowed them to be replaced by radicals and grifters.
Today is also such a time.
For at least the last thirty years, American culture has been all but monopolized by the Left. The news media are almost exclusively located in left-wing coastal enclaves. Journalists’ political donations go to Democrats by a huge margin. The news coverage of Donald Trump’s largely moderate policies is relentlessly negative, not to mention hysterical, childish, and absurd. In Hollywood, outspoken conservatives are vanishingly rare. Those less entrenched than, say, Clint Eastwood and Jon Voight keep their mouths shut and, when they don’t, it hobbles their careers. In the academies, conservative speakers are routinely greeted by demonstrations and violence. Liberal arts courses are no longer liberal: they are indoctrination centers where leftist critical theory drowns out the voices of classic writers and thinkers of the past.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1247-the-opposite-of-murder?elementPosition=0&amp;row=5&amp;rowHeadline=The+Andrew+Klavan+Show&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Andrew Klavan Show</a></h3>
Only such a cultural monopoly could have spread the radical ideas of the left and bullied businesses and citizens into pretending to believe their ridiculous untruths. People can’t change sex. Dysfunction in black communities is caused by black culture, not racism. Women have grown steadily unhappier under feminism. Homosexuality is not a source of pride. Facts are not hate speech, and what some may call hate speech is protected under the First Amendment. These are not bigoted, mean, radical opinions. To those who break through the fog of leftist narrative, there are obvious conclusions drawn from the evidence of our own eyes. The years in which the Left was able to declare these self-evident truths unspeakable were years of cultural tyranny.
But now, the leftist cultural monopoly is crumbling. New media — like the Daily Wire, Elon Musk’s X, and the Megyn Kelly and Joe Rogan podcasts — have risen to prominence in spite of widespread attempts by the government and social media outlets to censor us, demonize us, and starve us out. We have not yet developed the cultural power of radical left-wing institutions like the New York Times, Yale University, and Disney, but we are able to debunk the distortions of those institutions almost as fast as they can produce them.
On the night Donald Trump was re-elected, it was immediately evident that the tide had turned. The ceaseless news stories calling Trump an authoritarian, the banana republic lawfare with which the powerful tried to imprison him, the media-wide (and mordantly hilarious) attempts to depict first Joe Biden then Kamala Harris as viable presidential candidates — all these strategies and more were not enough to create a narrative the majority of voters would believe. Like the American Revolutionaries who inspired us, our ragtag band of culture warriors had beaten back an Empire of Lies.
Charlie Kirk was the next generation of that effort. He believed in God, in family, and in American liberty, things that most Americans have believed for nearly 250 years. He utilized techniques of open debate pioneered by forerunners like Ben Shapiro and Steven Crowder to invade the academic enclaves of the left and create free conversations that freed minds. Inscriptions on the bullets in the gun that killed him suggest the killer believed Charlie to be a fascist. The killer is responsible for his own actions, but that utterly false belief was impressed upon him through the power of a culture too long dominated by radicals.
That culture is over. That power is changing hands.
I sometimes joke to my wife that I am the Ernie Pyle of the Culture War. Not a speaker-slash-debater like Ben. Not an activist master of samizdat like Matt Walsh. Not a future politician like Michael Knowles. Just a writer in the trenches who tries to get an up-close view of the fight and report what’s happening.
This is what’s happening: We’re winning.
Watch your six.
* * *
Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. Klavan is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fifth installment, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/After-That-Cameron-Winter-Mysteries/dp/1613166869/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EGZUC370LG46&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Y_NI0mDOKeowShheDQTVx5NH-fAeimJoCD56_T0Acpl8C0mup7uJf-nGGSRLEItaaekoDnvS2vWLMa4Zd2UBXQ8Y-g-P502jOWz-Y8IX3ZQsdlO7WMLrg1xIhNoKmjCorSWUR4C2l_RbiZ7apJ1MfPzGOrrEf7AdAXX6xwnJRVP_XqUfWuMuVthTWscaU3P4vgmS86-96n-721enHfX12CFQWTajqFbVnrsDkexfUf4.6_gTH6h1Bb9Pn375QdF_VAVZSayDvjQBBKGXE-MTiFo&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=klavan&amp;qid=1754049918&amp;sprefix=%2Caps%2C80&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">After That, The Dark,</a> is now available for Pre-Order. Follow him on X: <a href="https://x.com/andrewklavan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@andrewklavan</a>

MixCollage-12-Sep-2025-03-22-PM-3225

In America, Violence Arises When Cultural Power Shifts

In America, Violence Arises When Cultural Power Shift

Andrew Klavan

Conservatives

Culture

Democrats

Leftists

Political Violence

Actor Charlie Sheen was recording a conversation for podcast host Joe Rogan&#8217;s next episode when they learned about the assassination of conservative commentator and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on Wednesday afternoon.
Rogan and Sheen were both clearly taken aback, shaken by the news — and both immediately assumed that the shooting had been politically motivated as they reacted in real time to the news.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨NEW: Joe Rogan &amp; Charlie Sheen react to Charlie Kirk Assassination🚨
ROGAN: &#8220;We just found out that Charlie Kirk got sh*t.&#8221;
SHEEN: &#8220;It&#8217;s f*cking awful.&#8221;
ROGAN: &#8220;Whoa!&#8221;
SHEEN: &#8220;M*rdered for having a different opinion from somebody else.&#8221;
&#8220;Rest in peace. F*ck!&#8221;
&#8220;He doesn&#8217;t… <a href="https://t.co/zdDx7SHqtr">pic.twitter.com/zdDx7SHqtr</a>
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonJournoDC/status/1966191482206863583?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Should we bring this up? I guess we have to,&#8221; Rogan began, clearly just having received the news himself. Bringing his hands to his forehead and taking a deep breath, he said, &#8220;So this just happened, we just found out that Charlie Kirk got shot.&#8221;
Rogan paused then, apparently unsure how to react.
&#8220;That&#8217;s f***ing awful,&#8221; Sheen said.
&#8220;And — is he dead?&#8221; Rogan asked. Off camera, one of his producers said he didn&#8217;t think so.
&#8220;That&#8217;s what was just —?&#8221; Sheen asked. &#8220;— that in the lobby was &#8230;&#8221;
&#8220;One of the guys out there just confirmed that he&#8217;s dead,&#8221; Rogan said, his voice flat.
Rogan let out a heavy sigh as his producer went to confirm the details: &#8220;Whoa.&#8221;
&#8220;Murdered for having a different opinion from somebody else,&#8221; Sheen posited. &#8220;A different ideology from somebody else.&#8221;
&#8220;Yeah, I mean, I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; Rogan said.
&#8220;&#8230; beliefs that didn&#8217;t align,&#8221; Sheen continued.
The producer interrupted to confirm that Kirk had died.
&#8220;Rest in peace,&#8221; Sheen said immediately. &#8220;F***. Twenty-seven years old? Thirty, maybe?&#8221;
&#8220;Do they even have a suspect?&#8221; Rogan asked, but the producer had no more answers.
&#8220;F***,&#8221; Sheen said again. &#8220;Nobody deserves that, he didn&#8217;t deserve that, nobody deserves that.&#8221;

Charlie Sheen Discusses His New Book “The Book Of Sheen” With David Duchovny

‘He Doesn’t Deserve That’: The Moment Charlie Sheen, Joe Rogan Learned Charlie Kirk Was Dead

Joe Rogan

Media

The manhunt for Charlie Kirk&#8217;s assassin continues, as reports indicate the ammunition used was etched with pro-transgender and anti-fascist phrases. The legacy media faces intense backlash for its response to Charlie Kirk&#8217;s murder, with some commentators blaming the victim for his own assassination. On the 24th anniversary of 9/11, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth lays out a new, hard-hitting vision for the U.S. Military.
It’s Friday, September 12, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
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If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<h2>Manhunt Continues for Charlie Kirk’s Killer</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-971571" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.12.25-SH1-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.12.25-SH1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.12.25-SH1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.12.25-SH1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.12.25-SH1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.12.25-SH1.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: The nationwide manhunt continues for the assassin who fatally shot Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, as new reports indicate the ammunition used in the attack was etched with pro-transgender and anti-fascist slogans.
Authorities have recovered the high-powered, bolt-action rifle allegedly used in the attack from a wooded area near the Utah Valley University campus. A law enforcement bulletin cited by The Wall Street Journal said the ammunition found with the rifle was etched with a number of pro-transgender and anti-fascist phrases. Kirk was an outspoken critic of transgender ideology and was discussing the topic at the moment he was shot.
The FBI has identified a new person of interest &#8212; a slender male in his 20s &#8212; and released two images to the public, offering a $100,000 reward for information on his whereabouts. As the killer remains at large, lawmakers across the country have canceled scheduled events over security fears. Later on Thursday, authorities released video showing the suspected assassin flee the scene, jumping off the building where he&#8217;s believed to have shot Kirk from with a hunting rifle.
<div id="attachment_971557" style="width: 307px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-971557" class="size-large wp-image-971557" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2234187310-297x576.jpg" alt="" width="297" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2234187310-297x576.jpg 297w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2234187310-155x300.jpg 155w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2234187310-768x1490.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2234187310-792x1536.jpg 792w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2234187310-1055x2048.jpg 1055w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2234187310-scaled.jpg 1319w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 297px) 100vw, 297px" />(Photo by FBI Salt Lake City via Getty Images)</div>
President Trump announced that Kirk would be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, calling him a &#8220;giant of his generation.&#8221; On Thursday, Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, accompanied the Kirk family as Charlie’s casket was flown back to his home in Phoenix, Arizona, on Air Force 2.
<h2>Legacy Media Faces Backlash for Response to Kirk’s Murder</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-971573" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.12.25-SH2-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.12.25-SH2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.12.25-SH2-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.12.25-SH2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.12.25-SH2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.12.25-SH2.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: The legacy media is facing widespread and intense criticism for its coverage of Charlie Kirk&#8217;s assassination, with some commentators implying the conservative activist was to blame for his own death.
Immediately after the fatal shooting, MSNBC contributor Matthew Dowd suggested on-air that Kirk&#8217;s &#8220;hate speech&#8221; often leads to &#8220;hateful actions,&#8221; and even speculated that the shot could have come from &#8220;a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration.&#8221; Following intense backlash, MSNBC issued an apology and fired Dowd. On CBS, host Nate Burleson suggested the assassination was a moment for the Republican Party to reflect on political violence. The New York Times initially smeared Kirk as a &#8220;provocateur&#8221; in its report on his assassination.
Critics are pointing to a long pattern of hostile and false coverage of Kirk by legacy media outlets and activist groups. The far-Left Southern Poverty Law Center recently added Kirk&#8217;s organization, Turning Point USA, to its &#8220;Hate Map&#8221; alongside KKK chapters. On the floor of the U.S. House, about a dozen Democrats erupted in protest when Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) requested a prayer for Kirk after a moment of silence, with one shouting, &#8220;Pass some gun laws!&#8221;
<h2>Hegseth Issues 9/11 Call to Action for U.S. Military</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-971569" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.12.25-SH3-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.12.25-SH3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.12.25-SH3-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.12.25-SH3-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.12.25-SH3-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/MRN-9.12.25-SH3.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: On the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivered a powerful address laying out the Trump administration&#8217;s hard-hitting vision for the U.S. Military.
&#8220;War is an enduring aspect of the human condition,&#8221; Hegseth said Thursday. &#8220;War must not become a mere tool for global social work, eager to risk American blood and treasure for utopian fever dreams. We should hit hard, wreak vengeance, and return home.”
Retired Marine Corps Major Chris Lovell told Morning Wire that the new mission clarity is having a positive effect on the armed forces. &#8220;We are in such a good place with the military,&#8221; Lovell said, crediting the administration with &#8220;getting rid of the DEI distractions, the woke distractions.&#8221; He said recruitment is now &#8220;fuller than ever&#8221; because the mission is clear.
Lovell reflected on the surge of patriotism following the 9/11 attacks, when nearly 200,000 young Americans enlisted. He said the military&#8217;s new mission under Trump and Hegseth is inspiring a similar sense of purpose. &#8220;We&#8217;re going to be lethal,&#8221; Lovell said. &#8220;We&#8217;re going to defend the interests of the United States of America. And we&#8217;re going to have leaders that support us and have our backs.&#8221;

MRN 9.12.25 Thumbnail V2

Morning Brief: Manhunt For Charlie Kirk’s Killer, Backlash To Media Coverage, 9/11 ‘Call To Action’

9/11

Legacy Media

Conservative icon Charlie Kirk, before his assassination on Wednesday, talked about assassination culture rising on the Left, and needing full-time security.
In a resurfaced video, which was posted by HumanEvents, Kirk says opponents will &#8220;take weapons&#8221; to try to &#8220;murder&#8221; conservative ideas, since they cannot effectively debate and defend their own ideas.
“At the core of the Left, at the core of a liberal, is someone that would use the sword if they had it,&#8221; Kirk says in the video. &#8220;They are very violent people at their core, they always have been. They can’t debate, they can’t have conversations, so they resort to these tactics.&#8221;
“They are going to do everything they possibly can to try to murder this movement because they can’t beat us, so they’re going to try to take weapons. And know we’re very aware of that, I am very aware of it &#8212; we have to have full time security,&#8221; he added. &#8220;This is not a joke and this is who these people are.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Charlie Kirk warned us about the violent left!
“At the core of the left, the core of a liberal, is someone who would use the sword if they had it. They are very violent people at the core! “
“They can’t debate they can’t have conversation so they’ll resort to these tactics.”… <a href="https://t.co/mAYpMGRGvR">pic.twitter.com/mAYpMGRGvR</a>
— PattyMI (@PattyLovesTruth) <a href="https://twitter.com/PattyLovesTruth/status/1965942641851510898?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
Additionally, just months before his murder, Kirk took note of the Left&#8217;s increasing support for political violence.
&#8220;Assassination culture is spreading on the left,&#8221; he posted to X, back in April. &#8220;Forty-eight percent of liberals say it would be at least somewhat justified to murder Elon Musk. Fifty-five percent said the same about Donald Trump. In California, activists are naming ballot measures after Luigi Mangione.&#8221;
&#8220;The left is being whipped into a violent frenzy,&#8221; Kirk continued. &#8220;Any setback, whether losing an election or losing a court case, justifies a maximally violent response.&#8221;
&#8220;This is the natural outgrowth of left-wing protest culture tolerating violence and mayhem for years on end,&#8221; he added. &#8220;The cowardice of local prosecutors and school officials have turned the left into a ticking time bomb.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Assassination culture is spreading on the left. Forty-eight percent of liberals say it would be at least somewhat justified to murder Elon Musk. Fifty-five percent said the same about Donald Trump.
In California, activists are naming ballot measures after Luigi Mangione.
The… <a href="https://t.co/xiGAAvoPHy">pic.twitter.com/xiGAAvoPHy</a>
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) <a href="https://twitter.com/charliekirk11/status/1909391943802703899?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
Kirk was tragically shot dead during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, when he was openly debating differing viewpoints.
President Donald Trump called the late conservative a “legendary” figure.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” Trump wrote. “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!”
Trump announced on Thursday that Kirk will be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/charlie-kirk-was-asked-how-he-wanted-to-be-remembered-he-pointed-to-his-faith?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Charlie+Kirk+Was+Asked+How+He+Wanted+To+Be+Remembered.+He+Pointed+To+His+Faith.">Charlie Kirk Was Asked How He Wanted To Be Remembered. He Pointed To His Faith.</a>

Charlie Kirk’s Prescient Message On Assassination Culture Before His Death

President Donald Trump said the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was a &#8220;dark moment for America&#8221; in an Oval Office address on Wednesday night, saying that he was &#8220;filled with grief and anger&#8221; following the &#8220;heinous assassination.&#8221;
&#8220;Charlie inspired millions and tonight all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror. Charlie was a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loves so much, the United States of America,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;He fought for liberty, democracy, justice, and the American people. He&#8217;s a martyr for truth and freedom, and there&#8217;s never been anyone who was so respected by youth.&#8221;
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<a href="https://t.co/ylYDnRyL8W">pic.twitter.com/ylYDnRyL8W</a>
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1965943681560752371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Trump had responded to the news earlier in the day with posts on Truth Social, first calling on Americans to pray for Kirk and then announcing that he had passed away at the age of 31, leaving behind his wife Erika and their two young children.
In his Wednesday night address, he also took aim at what he views to be the root cause of the violent attack. Trump called out the media and the political left, saying that politically motivated assassinations were largely the result of people demonizing others simply because they hold differing opinions.
&#8220;For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world&#8217;s worst mass murderers and criminals,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we&#8217;re seeing in this country today.&#8221;
Trump said Kirk, one of his most fervent supporters who played a key role in his 2024 political campaign, was better at communicating with young voters than anybody in history.
&#8220;This is a dark moment for America,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Charlie Kirk traveled the nation, joyfully engaging with everyone interested in good faith debate. His mission was to bring young people into the political process, which he did better than anybody. Ever &#8230; He championed his ideas with courage, logic, humor, and grace.&#8221;
&#8220;Charlie was also a man of deep, deep faith. And we take comfort in the knowledge that he is now at peace with God in heaven,&#8221; Trump said, before asking for God&#8217;s protection and comfort for Kirk&#8217;s family &#8220;in this terrible hour of heartache and pain.&#8221;

President Trump Meets With His Cabinet At The White House

Trump Remembers Charlie Kirk In Oval Office Address: ‘Dark Moment For America’

“Hi, Mr. Shapiro, I’m Charlie Kirk.”
Charlie was 18 years old when I met him at an event at The Breakers, the rather ritzy Palm Beach hotel that served as the gathering spot for the annual <a href="https://www.horowitzfreedomcenter.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">David Horowitz Freedom Center</a> donor weekend. Charlie had just started an organization, and he was pitching me on it, an organization called Turning Point USA. I’d never heard of it, of course: He had just graduated high school, and the group had its seed donors but was still in its infancy.
Charlie was eager, and he was aggressive, and he was whip-smart. His energy was almost exhausting.
When he walked away, I turned to my friend Jeremy Boreing and said, “That kid is going to be the head of the Republican National Committee one day.”
I was wrong. Charlie became far more important than that.
Charlie’s <a href="https://tpusa.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Turning Point USA</a> became the single most important conservative political organization in the country. And it grew because Charlie grew. He turned himself into an excellent public speaker and a talented debater. He could fundraise better than anyone in the game. He was friendly and gregarious to everyone. His drive was unmatched, because he cared about his fundamental values.
The clips of Charlie on campus — the firebrand Charlie — make for great watching, but they don’t do him full justice. Behind the scenes, Charlie was deeply thoughtful, constantly seeking ways to build and grow coalitions. That’s a messy business, and it comes with aches and pains. No one did it better. That’s how a guy who never went to college ended up as a confidant of the President of the United States, the vice president, and pretty much everyone else on the right side of the aisle.
Charlie never stopped moving. He never stopped talking and negotiating and debating and working. That infectious energy never left him. Until a killer’s bullet ripped his life from him. And there are no more words. There can be no more words.
It’s impossible to process what it means when a 31-year-old man is murdered. A husband. A father of two young children. Assassinated, it would appear, for the crime of passionately speaking the truth, debating politics and discussing ideas, and working to make the country a better place as he saw it.
But here’s one thing we do know: This all has to stop. It’s an ugly picture that we’ve seen before. The 1960s and 1970s were a time of tremendous change in American history, and of tremendous violence. Political assassinations became commonplace; bombings and terror attacks were excused by a variety of supposedly great intellectuals. And eventually, America rejected all of it. Now, we’re watching the same ugly picture reappear.
A wave of violence is building, from the assassination of Charlie Kirk to the attempted shooting of President Trump, from the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson to the slaying of two Israeli embassy staffers. All of these acts of extreme violence have found support in the dark precincts of political radicals.
The temperature in our country has steadily been rising. And it’s been rising because many people have determined that their political opponents aren’t just opponents, but enemies, threats to their very existence. That determination by fringe actors is often reinforced in the online spaces that prize virality and mirror emotional excess. And then, it breaks free from the world of the online, into real life, with bloody and horrific consequences.
Yes, that phenomenon crosses the political aisle. But to pretend that the phenomenon is distributed equally would be a mistake. The rising tide of violence on the left has become more and more virulent over the course of the last several years. The argument that speech is violence, to be met with violence; the argument that opposition to contention amounts to a form of “genocide” or “erasure”; the argument that political opponents are moments away from ending our republic outright. These views all trend toward revolutionary violence.
And the wave of violence, a wave already breaking on the shoreline, appears as though it is only the beginning. It has already destroyed Charlie Kirk’s family and ended his life at the age of 31.
But it feels as though a tsunami is coming. The water has already receded from the shoreline. And what comes next could be far more devastating even than what we have seen thus far.
That tsunami, if left unchecked, will wash away this entire republic.
I’ve spoken at dozens of college campuses; I’ve required heavy security at many of them. My security has instructed me to wear bulletproof vests, insisted on metal detectors, told me to leave venues they considered nonsecure. And yet I’ve never truly felt unsafe, because to do so would be to accept—even consider—the idea that an American would truly harm someone simply for speaking freely in the United States of America. I don’t believe that anymore. I’m not sure who does.
So, what can be done? It’s frequently said by those of politically liberal persuasion that thoughts and prayers aren’t enough. That action is necessary. But here is the truth: We need more thoughts and prayers. Thoughts for our political opponents: recognition that while we disagree, they are our fellow Americans; understanding that the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States can hold only if we treat each other as friends, not enemies; realization of the fact that speech is not violence, and that we must, as Americans, speak with each other. The way Charlie did.
And we need prayers: prayers for our country, which is torn apart, under attack from within and without; prayers for our own souls, that we hold ourselves accountable for the way we treat others.
Our America is a robust place of discussion and debate, of liberty and rights. But all of that must be undergirded by basic virtue. Basic decency. Respect for others. And yes, reverence for the uniqueness of an America that values speech and deplores violence.
Charlie had that reverence. And for that, he was murdered.
May his memory be a blessing—for us, and for our bleeding nation.
Editor&#8217;s note: this piece also <a href="https://www.thefp.com/p/ben-shapiro-the-assassination-of-charlie-kirk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ran in The Free Press.</a>

Conservatives Gather In Phoenix For Annual AmericaFest

The Assassination Of Charlie Kirk And The Fight For America’s Soul

Ben Shapiro

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