His Life was Controversial, His Death was Controversial

Name: George Foster

To say the United States is a polarized nation today would be a massive understatement, and it’s not hard to see why. No matter your beliefs, anyone can take in the fierce debates raging over political alignment, foreign policy, immigration, race, gender, laws, education, spending, medical care, etc. Ours is a decade marked by political debate and disagreement, and there are many stories and aspects to this rift. But politics isn’t just the ideas, it's the people that spread them, and there is a wealth of people that can be pointed to. For some people, the standouts are the politicians and presidents who embody these beliefs, such as the scandalous and questionable Donald Trump, or the less intense but supposedly slow Joe Biden. For others it is the news anchors who present them such as Fox News’ Tucker Carlson or CNN’s Anderson Cooper. But today, with the widespread use of Social Media, it is the political commentator and activist that has risen to new heights. And while there are many famous members of this unofficial group, it is Charlie Kirk who has risen to attention today. For conservatives, he was a youthful face that was willing to challenge the new ideas of the left, a symbol of resistance. For progressives, he was a bigoted, hateful man who undoubtedly spread slander towards people based on race, religion, and gender and backed the conspiracies of the spiteful right. But now, he has become one of the most famous people to die in a politically motivated assination, and a rallying cry for his wounded compatriots.

The Rise of Kirk:

Born in 1993 Chicago, Charlie’s foray into conservative politics began at a young age, penning an essay for a right wing news company at 18, the topic being about school propaganda and indoctrination of students. Not long after he met his mentor, Bill Montgomery, who despite being 50 years older than worked with him and helped found Turning Point USA in 2012, an organization dedicated to spreading conservative on college campuses.

The timing could not have been better for Kirk, as while this was during the presidency of the definitely not conservative Barack Obama, his policies along with growing the divide politically over issues such as gay rights gave Kirk his opening. And soon, Kirk found the orange man who would promote him even further.

Kirk’s actions of spreading conservatism both on college campuses and through Social Media had won him a speaking place at the 2016 Republican National Convention, and after some brief hesitation began to show backing for Donald Trump. Trump took this loyalty very well, and clearly appreciated Kirk’s efforts both in the 2016 election and in the following elections of 2020 and 2024 in his ability to not only debate and spread influence but also reach out to donors for funding. Another aspect was how Kirk reached out to young male voters who were more removed from the political process, efforts that seemingly succeeded in 2024 as the Democrats saw a decrease in young voter support during that election. More controversy however, Charlie Kirk also espoused views about how the 2020 election was stolen and seemingly barraged about how he bussed 80 people to a rally that would devolve into the Jan. 6 riot.

Nevertheless, Trump and his followers showed support for Kirk, with Trump Jr. saying “There is no question that Charlie’s work and his voice helped my father win the presidency”. JD Vance, who Charlie had actually helped promote in Maga, described that a seeming reward for Charlie's service was his help in vetting new administration officials for the return of the Trump administration, saying "He didn't just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government” in a tribute following Kirk’s death.

The Calculations of Kirk:

While it would be easy to look at the fact that Charlie Kirk is a conservative and simply assume what his opinions are, that would be moving away from the fact that while Kirk’s views do line up with some Conservative/Maga beliefs, his arguments for them are somewhat shocking and even downright disgraceful, sometimes even not lining up with other young conservatives.

Starting off, Kirk had no issue with discriminating against groups such as LGBTQ+. He has famously decried LGBTQ+ has a “throbbing middle finger to god”, citing his distaste for the group in Leviticus 20:13 from the Bible, stating the standard “there are only 2 genders” mantra and even at one point calling for the burning of gay flags. Reportedly, it was TPUSA policy to have student followers identify professors for having incorrect “gender ideology”.

While not predictable, he also has an unsurprising distaste for Islam, arguing that the religion’s values on “conquest” and the “taking of land” were signs of the faith’s threat to America, as obviously Christians have never been warlike or shown interest in conquest. Recently, he made connections between democratic nominee for New York mayor Zohran Mamdani and the 9/11 attacks, saying "now a similar form of that pernicious force is poised to capture city hall”. 

In terms of issues on race, he expressed his regret over the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Martin Luther King’s efforts to get the bill passed, saying that while he wants a colorblind society, the bill (which gave equal rights to many minorities) had put an unnecessary fixation on race. In the face of this, he also called out DEI with an infamous quote of “If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, ‘Boy, I hope he’s qualified.’”

After all this, it also shouldn’t be shocking that he denounced climate change, and also was a staunch supporter of free speech and gun rights. While free speech is hardly shocking as it was the basis of his actions and debates, his views on gun control can come off as ironic as he argued that deaths from gun violence were a small price to pay to ensure the safety of US citizens and the 2nd amendment.

Kirk’s Catastrophe and the Rights Retribution:

On September 10th, 2025, Kirk was shot while giving one of his infamous debates to students of Utah Valley University, the topic ironically being gun ownership. The shooter, Tyler Robinson, reportedly killed Kirk with a shot through the neck with a bolt action rifle, with several bullets being inscribed with messages that were possibly simple jokes such as “Hey Fascist! Catch!” or “If you Read This, You Are GAY Lmao” . Robinson's reasoning was, in his own words, “I had enough of his hatred”, with his own mother reportedly arguing that he had become more left leaning in ideology over the years. Currently, Utah county prosecutors charged Robinson with aggravated murder and are aiming to give him the death penalty.

While there was mourning over the assination from both ends of the political spectrum, many from the right (including the White House) also have expressed a desire for revenge on the “radical left” that they blame for Kirk’s death. Trump himself declared that he would like to classify a large range of groups such as antifa as domestic terror organizations, in a seeming dismissal of right wing terror organizations which (according to institutions such as the Center for Strategic and Internal Studies) are responsible for more attacks and violence then left wing organizations, a notable example being the January 6th riots. Trump's argument to this was that such organizations simply don’t want crime.

Trump was not alone however, as Stephan Miller (deputy chief of staff) declared “With God as my witness, We are going to use every resource we have at the Department of Justice, Homeland Security and throughout this government to identify, disrupt, dismantle and destroy these networks and make America safe again for the American people. It will happen, and we will do it in Charlie’s name”. Vice President JD Vance, who actually hosted the Charlie Kirk Show from the White House, stated that it would be the government's goal to target the left leaning groups that “foments, facilitates and engages in violence.”

In the face of this, there was backlash, with a notable example being former President Barack Obama who, while speaking at moderated event in Erie, Pa, stated that he believed that while Charlie’s death was a horrific tragedy, he also believed that Trump’s attacks on rivals were sowing further dissent and ran contrary to Kirk’s beliefs on debate, especially since many of Kirk’s beliefs were and still are controversial. Furthermore, when late night show host Jimmy Kimmel stated that the right was desperate to portray Tyler RObinson as anything other than one of them, his show was quickly suspended indefinitely by ABC. The incident saw criticism from many including Steven Colbert, another talk show host whose show was also canceled by Paramount seemingly in an attempt to appease Trump.

Conclusion and Personal Thoughts:

Charlie Kirk’s death was undoubtedly a tragedy, and while he did say several disrespectful things, that doesn’t justify his death. However in many ways any chance for both the left and right to mourn him was quickly killed after the Trump administration's attack on suspected perpetrators and the seeming silencing of criticism aimed at a man who ironically argued for the existence of such debate.

rks Cited

Ahn, Ashley, and Maxine Joselow. "Where Charlie Kirk Stood on Key Political Issues." The New York Times [New York City], 11 Sept. 2025. The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/us/charlie-kirk-views-guns-gender-climate.html. Accessed 20 Sept. 2025.

Brooks, Emily. "Right adopts take-no-prisoners approach to 'radical left' after Charlie Kirk killing." The Hill [Washington D.C.], 16 Sept. 2025. The Hill, thehill.com/newsletters/the-movement/5504739-charlie-kirk-killing-conservative-response/. Accessed 20 Sept. 2025.

Edsall, Thomas B. "'We Will Do It in Charlie's Name.'" The New York Times [New York City], 16 Sept. 2025. The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/opinion/trump-charlie-kirk-crackdown.html. Accessed 20 Sept. 2025.

Pager, Tyler. "After Kirk's Killing, Obama Says the Nation Is in a 'Political Crisis.'" The New York Times [New York City], 17 Sept. 2025. The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/us/politics/obama-trump-kirk-unity.html. Accessed 20 Sept. 2025.

Peters, Jeremy W., et al. "Kirk Killing Suspect Faces Aggravated Murder Charge, and Death Penalty." The New York Times [New York City], 20 Sept. 2025. The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09/16/us/kirk-shooting-suspect-charges. Accessed 20 Sept. 2025.

Smith, Allan. "How Charlie Kirk rose from a teenage activist to a MAGA star." NBC News [New York City], 15 Sept. 2025. NBC News, www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/charlie-kirk-rose-teenage-activist-maga-star-rcna230943. Accessed 20 Sept. 2025.

Summerland, Joe. "Where Charlie Kirk stood on guns, the LGBT+ community and the future of the United States." The Independent [London], 11 Sept. 2025. The Independent, www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/charlie-kirk-political-views-guns-lgbt-trump-b2824580.html. Accessed 20 Sept. 2025.

Wendling, Mike, and Bernd Debusmann Jr. "How a college dropout from the suburbs became Maga star Charlie Kirk." BBC [London], 12 Sept. 2025. BBC, www.bbc.com/news/articles/c33r4kjez6no. Accessed 20 Sept. 2025.

Youngs, Zolan Kanno, and Katie Rogers. "White House Plans Broad Crackdown on Liberal Groups." The New York Times [New York City], 15 Sept. 2025. The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/us/politics/jd-vance-charlie-kirk-show.html. Accessed 20 Sept. 2025.