America is reeling from the sudden and extraordinarily violent death of Charlie Kirk, who was hit by a sniper’s bullet as 3,000 people looked on. Kirk was divisive in life, but looks set to be even more so in death.
MAGA has never been more furious and vengeful, and in the absence of a suspect to blame, that unfocused anger is spraying in all directions. It’s already claimed the job of an MSNBC correspondent who argued that Kirk’s “hateful words” logically result in “hateful actions”, and anyone who dares to make any dark jokes on social media is getting drawn over the coals.
Now horror master Stephen King has stepped into the fray with a post that – to be honest – kind of states the obvious:
The motivation of the man who shot Charlie Kirk isn't clear (although he's probably mentally unstable–duh). What is clear is it was another example of American gun violence.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) September 10, 2025
“The motivation of the man who shot Charlie Kirk isn’t clear (although he’s probably mentally unstable–duh). What is clear is it was another example of American gun violence.”
Thanks for the contribution, Mr King. We are all well aware that this was an example of American gun violence, as Kirk was shot by a gun in America. But even this innocuous comment has drawn sheer rage from conservatives.
Comments theorize the killer was: “probably influenced by your posts”, that they were “a hateful leftist like yourself”, a request for King, “How about sitting this one out since you’ve been part of the problem”, and “This ridiculous rhetoric at a time like this is disgusting, but then again, you are a Democrat”.
“Radical left political violence”
Things will crystallize when (if?) a suspect is identified and we can find out whether Trump’s assertion that “radical left political violence” is to blame. Though, frankly, we’re in such a post-truth world that even if the shooter has a social media feed full of far-right material, they’ll inevitably be described as some sort of leftist.
In the meantime, maybe King didn’t need to give his opinion on this. Frankly, it wasn’t even technically an opinion, more a description of what happened. But even that currently has the potential to draw waves of furious MAGA acolytes to you, so if you feel the urge to say something pithy or comedic about Kirk, maybe keep it to yourself for a few days until the heat dies down.
