A conservative icon was publicly assassinated twelve days ago. Charlie Kirk, an earnest, decent man, was shot in the throat by a radicalized Leftist monster whose name I will not utter. Charlie’s approach to the clash of ideas between Conservative thought and Leftist thought was to face his opponents with courage and decency and hold reasoned dialogue and debate with them. This is in stark contrast to the Leftist approach to the clash of such ideas, which was to silence Kirk by murdering him in cold blood, leaving his wife and two small children to experience a level of grief and emptiness that no one should have to face.

One might suggest that I am painting with a broad brush, as if every Leftist was out to kill Charlie Kirk. Point noted. Yet I think it appropriate to explore how many among the Left viewed the death of Charlie Kirk in its aftermath.

Were Leftists ashamed? Were Leftists troubled that things had been taken this far?

The most charitable of the Leftists I profiled essentially said Charlie Kirk did not deserve to die, however. . . Yes, there was a caveat attached. However, they said, he was a positively despicable human being, evil in every imaginable way, and that while he didn’t technically deserve to be murdered, the world is a more pleasant place now that he is gone. Again, that is among the kindest of the sentiments I encountered among the Left.

Leftists such as Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez claimed Charlie Kirk was steeped in bigotry, was opposed to “the Civil Rights Act that granted Black Americans the right to vote,” was an anti-Semite, was “ignorant, uneducated and sought to disenfranchise millions of Americans.” AOC was actually kind compared to Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) who claimed that Charlie Kirk presented “vile dissenting views.” She also claimed Kirk wanted to “roll back the rights of women and Black people.” Did either AOC or Mikie Sherrill ever provide any examples, any quotes from Kirk to support their libel of him? Even a single quote? Just one? Nope.

A woman I know very well, who over the years has moved steadily to the Left, told me that while no one deserved to die because of their opinion, Charlie Kirk was a disgusting human being. When I asked her to explain what made him disgusting, she offered the following: “He was narcissistic; he was wealthy; he was highly educated; he was a far right-wing debater.” The answer was telling; it included an outright falsehood (he was not highly educated but was a college dropout and had no college degrees of any kind, as if having college degrees renders one disgusting). Again, did this individual provide any specifics to bolster her claims? Not at all. In fact, I have not seen a single example from a Leftist detractor of Charlie Kirk who was able to provide even one single specific to back up their disparaging assessments of Charlie Kirk. Even in death, they hate him, but they don’t seem to really know him.

When a public figure dies, even someone controversial, most people recognize that such an occasion requires solemnity and circumspection. Even if we don’t like a person, decent people sense the inappropriateness, the lack of class and dignity, of voicing our misgivings about that person upon the occasion of their death. We try to be as charitable as possible. We avoid voicing our grievances with the deceased. If nothing else, people of goodwill remain silent.

Thus, I think it appropriate to shine a light on how Leftists responded publicly about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Here’s a small sampling of twenty-six examples, and they are not pretty:

1. MSNBC’s Matthew Dowd, who is rabidly anti-Conservative, essentially blamed Charlie Kirk himself for his own murder, claiming that Kirk was “one of the most divisive . . . figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups. And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions.” Did Dowd provide an example of Kirk’s alleged “hate speech”? Of course not.
2. Chelsea Wolfe, who is transgender (i.e., a man who insists he is a woman) was euphoric over the murder of Charlie Kirk, posting the following on Instagram: “We did it!” Mr. Wolfe feels that the collective Left succeeded in murdering a Conservative they didn’t like and they are unabashedly celebrating Kirk’s death.
3. A CBS News host named Nate Burleson felt that it was Republicans who needed to “reflect” on their rhetoric to prevent further murders of Conservatives. Mr. Burleson believes that Leftists who do the murdering of Conservatives are well within bounds and have nothing to reflect on; it is Republicans and Conservatives that are in serious need of soul-searching. Did Mr. Burleson provide even one example of Conservative rhetoric that needed to be reflected on? Take a guess. . .
4. Former NFL football player Chris Kluwe, a radicalized Leftist, and who was fired earlier this year as a high school football coach after calling the MAGA movement a “Nazi” movement, actually went so low as to mock the very notion that Charlie Kirk had been shot and killed with this post: “‘Hahaha yes! This rules!’ ‘what the f— .’” Kluwe is gleeful that Charlie Kirk was murdered. He is currently running for California State Assembly.
5. Late Night Comedian Jimmy Kimmel blamed President Donald Trump for the murder of Charlie Kirk. It’s all Trump’s fault. He later tried to soften his anti-Trump screed by claiming that both sides of the aisle, both Republicans and Democrats are to blame – even though the shooter himself was in no way a Republican. Kimmel went on to push this whopper out to his Left-leaning audience: he tried to claim that the shooter was a MAGA radical, not a Leftist radical. Here is what Kimmel said: “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.”
6. Anthony Pohorilak, an Administrator at George Washington University claimed that since Charlie Kirk values the Second Amendment, that fact alone makes it “fair” that he would be slaughtered by a gun. He went on to say, “No thoughts, no prayers.”
7. At Middle Tennessee State University, Dean Laura Sosh-Lightsy said she had “zero sympathy” for Charlie Kirk following his assassination.
8. Mr. Aaron Sharpe, one of the co-owners of a Cincinnati-based restaurant called Lucius Q, upon learning of Charlie Kirk’s death, wrote these unsympathetic words on Facebook: “Good riddance. What a piece of sh*t.”
9. Fiction author Stephen King, who has written such popular books at Carrie, The Shining, It, Misery, The Dark Tower, the Green Mile, etc., was mired in his fictional mindset and posted this fiction about Charlie Kirk: he said Charlie Kirk basically deserved to die because he had advocated “stoning gays to death.” But Stephen King lied. Charlie Kirk never said any such thing.
10. George Abaraonye, the incoming Left-wing leader of Oxford Union, posted in a What’sApp group chat the following: “Charlie Kirk got shot, let’s f*cking go.” On Instagram, he posted: “Charlie Kirk got shot loool.” He evidently took great joy in the death of Charlie Kirk. He later backtracked and glibly said his posts “did not reflect my values.”
11. Pilots and other airline employees at both Delta and American Airlines were actively celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk.
12. While a vigil in Boise, Idaho was taking place on behalf of Charlie Kirk, Mr. Terry Wilson, a Black Lives Matter activist drove by on a bicycle and shouted “F*ck Charlie Kirk!” at those mourning for Kirk.
13. Dr. Matthew Jung, medical doctor practicing medicine at Englewood Health in New Jersey gleefully celebrated the death of Charlie Kirk, and did so in front of both staff and patients. So much for the Hippocratic Oath.
14. After a memorial was set up outside of Turning Point USA headquarters in Phoenix, a 19-year-old man named Ryder Corral showed his contempt for Charlie Kirk by stampeding through the display, kicking over items including flowers, vases and flags.
15. Tanisha Blanche, a School Resource Officer assigned to Somers Intermediate School in suburban New York mocked Kirk’s death with social media posts which stated: “Why yall [SIC] don’t have that same energy for the school shooting that took place yesterday, but yall [SIC] crying over the man that was ok with gun violence” and “well that white sniper was over qualified when he put that hole in your neck hunni bunni [SIC].” Being a racist herself, she focused on the race of the shooter, which is all she knows how to do. In further reference to Kirk, she went on to post: “This is who y’all crying about on my feed? Get a life.”
16. Army Col. Scott Stephens put out some social media posts celebrating the killing of Charlie Kirk. Stephens, a die-hard radicalized Leftist, wrote the following in a social media post: “The death of Charlie Kirk in Utah was tragic. However, we can take comfort in the fact that Charlie was doing what he loved best — spreading hate, racism, homophobia, misogyny, and transphobia on college campuses.” Did Col. Stephens provide even one example of Kirk’s alleged hate, racism, homophobia, misogyny, or transphobia? Not a chance.
17. Bob Vylan, a punk-rock performer of modest talent, at a performance in Amsterdam, had this to say to his adoring fans from the stage: “I wanna [SIC] dedicate this next one to an absolute piece of sh*t of a human being. The pronouns was/were. ‘Cos if you chat sh*t, you will get banged. Rest in piss, Charlie Kirk, you piece of sh*t!” His audience cheered his foul-mouthed cursing.
18. During a Florida vigil in memory of Charlie Kirk, a Charlie Kirk hater named Courtney Beth Anderson, age 56, showed up to the solemn gathering, yelling at the mourners and giving the middle finger to the people there. Eventually, that level of vitriol wasn’t enough, so she took matters into her own hands, grabbing 73-year-old Valerie Jamieson, one of the organizers of the vigil, and shoved her to the ground, causing her to hit her head on the concrete.
19. Matt Gutman of ABC News felt a real kinship with the murderer of Charlie Kirk. After reading the murderer’s text messages sent to his transgender lover, Gutman’s heart was moved by what he felt was the sensitivity and tenderness of the murderer of Charlie Kirk. (“And then those text messages, and I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a press conference in which we’ve read text messages that are, A) so fulsome, so robust, so apparently, so allegedly self-incriminating, and yet, on the other hand, so touching.” Gone was any hint of outrage at the reality that a public assassination had taken place. Instead, the focus was on how moving and how precious the two love-birds expressed their devotion to each other. As a Left-wing newsman, Gutman had sympathy for a murderer. He showed no sympathy to say, Charlie Kirk’s widow, or to his two children that will never grow up with their father in their lives.
20. Not to be outdone, Elliot Forhan, candidate for attorney general in the state of Ohio, posted these charming sentiments: “F*ck Charlie Kirk!” He went on: “Charlie Kirk was a champion of tyranny, not democracy. We should not pretend otherwise.” Did Mr. Forhan provide an example of Kirk’s tendencies for tyranny? Nope. Could he if pressed? Same answer.
21. At Texas State University, a student found the murder of Charlie Kirk so entertaining, that he mockingly simulated what he imagined Kirk’s death would have looked like, mimicking in parody fashion the contortions he imagined Charlie Kirk must have exhibited. To this student, the murder of Charlie Kirk was slapstick comedy. The student recorded his antics and posted it on X.
22. Cleveland Fire Chief Anthony Luke posted a political cartoon mocking Charlie Kirk’s death and blaming Republicans for gun violence.
23. Left-wing TV personality Montel Williams proffered the odd notion that the murder of Charlie Kirk was neither ideological nor a political hit job, but more of a man wanting to defend the honor of his transgender lover. We should admire the murderer for his chivalry, according to Mr. Williams.
24. President Trump ordered all American flags to be flown at half-staff following the public assassination of Charlie Kirk. Surprisingly, the Southern California city of West Hollywood, a Left-wing haven, acquiesced to that request by President Trump. However, a large segment of the population of that city, being predominantly part of the LGBT demographic, went wild with rage. To these people, Charlie Kirk’s murder should be celebrated, not solemnized.
25. An unnamed woman, a Leftist, who worked as an anesthesiologist at Riverside Walter Reed Hospital in Virginia, posted comments on social media suggesting she was in favor of violence against public figures like Charlie Kirk. She was delighted he had been killed.
26. The New York Times posted some FAKE NEWS about Charlie Kirk, trying desperately to paint him as being so foul a public figure and implying he deserved to be killed, by claiming Kirk once uttered an anti-Semitic slur. But that claim was a lie. Charlie Kirk was quoting someone else who made the anti-Semitic statement, and then Kirk went on to dissect and analyze that statement. But again, the New York Times falsely attributed that statement to Kirk.

Conclusion

Many people in this country are becoming more and more coarsened. This is a growing viciousness among many people, where death and murder are celebrated, where children losing their father is laughed at, where wives losing their husbands are mocked.

Charlie Kirk’s murder is not an anomaly:

• President Donald Trump came within millimeters of losing his life when a young, radicalized Leftist missed blowing Trump’s head apart on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania, only because Trump turned his head away to look at a graphic on a screen at the moment the trigger was pulled. Corey Comperatore wasn’t so lucky; he was shot dead by that same Leftist sniper, leaving behind a wife and two daughters, and David Dutch along with James Copenhaver were both shot and severely injured. Just two months later, on September 14, 2024, President Trump came very close to an assassin’s bullet a second time when another Leftist radical named Ryan Routh staked out a place at Trump’s International Golf Club in West Palm Beach where President Trump was golfing, only being spared because an alert Secret Service agent spotted the shooter just in the nick of time.
• Left-Wing violence also took place against Conservatives earlier this year at the Republican Party Headquarters in New Mexico where an arson attack took place. The entire entrance of the headquarters was destroyed, and graffiti reading “ICE=KKK” was spray-painted on the building.
• Charlie Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA, which has college and high school chapters all over the country, have been targets of Left-Wing violence, including at UC Davis where more than 30 Leftist thugs wearing masks attacked students there in April. The masked thugs pulled down the Turning Point tent and booth, destroyed camera equipment, removed signage and foam boards, and attempted to take electronics (an iPad and/or laptop) from a TPUSA field rep, and engaged in roughing up the students.
• Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines gave a speech at a Turning Point event at San Francisco State University and Leftist radicals came after her. She ended up barricaded in a room with the campus police who were unable or unwilling to control the rabid mob.
• In 2017, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., was shot along with three others when James Hodgkinson, a deranged Leftist radical shot up an Alexandria, Virginia baseball field with gunfire as Republican lawmakers practiced for the annual Congressional Baseball Game. A single bullet entered the left hip of Mr. Scalise, fractured bones, injured internal organs, and caused severe bleeding. Although it was a single gunshot wound, the damage was life-threatening and required multiple surgeries and a long recovery. Scalise came very close to losing his life.

And these examples barely scratch the surface.

Clearly some segments of our country are turning more coarsened with the passage of time. Clearly, Leftists, when not committing murder and mayhem on Conservatives, are prone to celebrating and mocking such violence.

What is one to do?

As with any serious problem, the first step is to identify the problem, to shine a light on the problem, to raise awareness of the problem, to call it out, to stigmatize it.

Charlie Kirk did not deserve to be murdered. Yet many a Leftist believes otherwise, which the above twenty-six examples have established. I could have highlighted another forty examples, but doing so would be belaboring the point. There is something eerily wrong with the Leftist conscience. That conscience has become anesthetized to any sense of distinction between good and evil. And only evil remains.

And that, my friends, is the latest elephant in the room.