The killing of the rightwing activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah college on Wednesday afternoon prompted outrage among both Democrats and Republicans over the latest act of political violence in the United States, with Donald Trump lamenting the loss of a key ally.
“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,” the US president posted on his Truth Social platform.
Kirk was a prominent activist in the Republican make America great again (Maga) movement and Trump’s post also added the assertion: “He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.”
The president said that he would order flags to be lowered to half mast until Sunday evening. Trump survived an assassination attempt while campaigning for re-election in July 2024, and was targeted by a second assassin weeks later.
“Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,” tweeted JD Vance, who had earlier in the day called Kirk “a genuinely good guy and a young father”.
Secretary of state Marco Rubio said he was: “Heartbroken and outrages [sic] by the assassination of Charlie Kirk,” calling the 31-year-old “an incredible husband and father and a great American”.
Former vice-president Kamala Harris said she was “deeply disturbed” by the shooting of the activist, who organized against her presidential campaign last year.
“Let me be clear: Political violence has no place in America. I condemn this act, and we all must work together to ensure this does not lead to more violence,” she wrote.
Congress’s top Republicans and Democrats joined in the condemning the attack, which occurred during Kirk’s appearance at Utah Valley University in Orem, south of Salt Lake City. “Political violence, which this attack seems to be, has no place in this country – none,” said John Thune, the Republican Senate majority leader.
“I’m deeply disturbed about the threat of violence that has entered our political life, and I pray that we will remember that every person, no matter how vehement our disagreement with them, is a human being and a fellow American deserving of respect and protection.”
Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic House minority leader, echoed the sentiment, saying: “Political violence of any kind and against any individual is unacceptable and completely incompatible with American values.”
Gabby Giffords, whose time as a congresswoman was cut short when she was grievously injured in a 2011 mass shooting, said: “Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence.”
The House oversight committee took a break from considering more than a dozen bills to change laws in Washington DC as part of Trump’s militarized crackdown on crime in the district to hold a moment of silence in Kirk’s honor, after Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican congressperson, informed the panel of the shooting. .
Democrats seen as potential presidential contenders in 2028 also denounced the violence.
“The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form,” said Gavin Newsom, the California governor.
Wes Moore, the Maryland governor, wrote on X: “Political violence is never acceptable. Ever.”
New Jersey senator Cory Booker, a Democrat, said the attack “must be condemned by all”.
“We must call politicial [sic] violence what it is: evil and an attack on our most fundamental values,” he wrote.
Katie Hobbs, the Democratic governor of Arizona where Kirk headquartered his rightwing non-profit, Turning Point USA, said she was “deeply saddened” by his death.
“This tragedy is not about who Charlie Kirk supported politically. It is about the devastating loss of a father, a neighbor and an Arizonan who called this state home, and whose life was cut short by senseless violence,” Hobbs said in a statement.
“We must stand together in rejecting violence, lowering the temperature of our politics and recommitting ourselves to the values of civility, respect, and community that American democracy requires.”
The state’s Democratic US senator Ruben Gallego called Kirk’s death “beyond terrible”, adding: “Violence is never the answer.”
Police have not yet announced the arrest of a suspect in the attack, but Kash Patel, the FBI director, said the bureau “stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation”.
However, some conservatives were quick to blame liberals for the shooting.
“The Left is the party of murder,” said Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO who threw the federal government into turmoil earlier this year as chair of Trump’s department of government efficiency initiative.
Christopher Rufo, a conservative operative who led rightwing attacks against critical race theory in recent years, wrote on X: “The last time the radical Left orchestrated a wave of violence and terror, J Edgar Hoover shut it all down within a few years. It is time, within the confines of the law, to infiltrate, disrupt, arrest, and incarcerate all of those who are responsible for this chaos.”
Chaya Raichik, operator of the Libs of TikTok account, wrote to her 4.3m followers on X: “THIS IS WAR”.
Hasan Piker, the progressive commentator who was scheduled to debate Kirk at an event hosted by Dartmouth College’s political union later this month, watched the video of his opponent being shot while streaming on Twitch.
“This is insane. I never thought I would see something like this. But I guess if there’s one country where something like this could happen, it’s this one,” he said.
