Donald Trump Pours Gas on a Dangerous Fire

Unsurprisingly, Trump used the tragic killing of Charlie Kirk to further the divide in the country

The assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk is a tragic event. You don’t have to agree with Kirk on anything to recognize that he leaves behind a wife and two young children. A heartbreaking video is circulating of one of Kirk’s children running and jumping into his lap after a television appearance. This is trauma they will have to live with for the rest of their lives. As of this writing, the assailant is unidentified and still at large. We do not yet know why Kirk was shot. Given his background and profile, many are assuming the motivation was political, and there are reports of politically motivated markings on what is believed to be the weapon used to kill Kirk.

The shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk is just the latest in a very alarming spate of political violence in recent years, including:

• The violent assault on the Capitol

• The two assassination attempts against Donald Trump in 2024

• The attempted arson of the governor’s mansion in Pennsylvania

• The attempted kidnapping of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer

• The murder of two Israeli embassy employees

• The shooting at the CDC in Atlanta

• The home invasion and assault on Paul Pelosi

• The murder of the United Health Care CEO

• The murder of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the shooting of State Senator John Hoffman and his wife

We can argue about which side is more to blame. We can debate whose rhetoric has been more dangerous or dehumanizing, or which party has done more to celebrate the perpetrators of violence or make guns easier to access for those who wish to commit violence.

I have strong opinions on those questions. You have heard from me on these matters in this newsletter and on Pod Save America.

However, we all need to step back and recognize that, as a society, we are on the precipice of something very dangerous.

Democracy cannot function if people can’t participate in the political process without fear of violence. Political violence begets more violence, as more and more people seek retribution. This is when the system collapses and people begin to lose their rights and freedoms.

This is a moment for both sides to step up and call for calm. Yes, it’s true that many Republicans, like Senator Mike Lee, disgustingly tried to gaslight the public after the shootings in Minnesota. Yes, MAGA media personalities closely associated with Trump spread dangerous lies about the political affiliation of the shooter in that incident.

As painfully unfair as it may seem, Democrats cannot and should not sink to that level. We must be better than that. We must meet the moment. I haven’t seen every statement from every Democrat, but from what I have seen, Democrats have been condemning political violence and sending their thoughts and prayers to Kirk’s family and everyone affected by the shooting.

President Trump had the opportunity to speak to our better angels—to try to heal the wounds on both sides of our bitterly divided politics. But of course he didn’t do that. It’s telling that no one thought he would do what almost every other president would have done in this moment.

Instead, Trump poured gas on a burning fire. Even though we still don’t know who killed Kirk or the motivations behind the assassination, Trump blamed the “Radical Left” not just for Kirk’s murder but for the recent spate of political violence in America:

For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.

My Administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country. From the attack on my life in Butler, Pennsylvania last year, which killed a husband and father, to the attacks on ICE agents, to the vicious murder of a healthcare executive in the streets of New York, to the shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and three others, radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives.

Trump ignored very recent political violence coming from the Right—including the murder of a Minnesota elected official in her home—because it didn’t fit his chosen political narrative. Given that Trump enabled one of the largest examples of mass political violence in recent history and then pardoned and promoted those responsible, last night was an obvious opportunity to look inward. But then again, no one is more devoid of the capacity for introspection than Donald J. Trump.

I am worried about how the Right may use this moment to justify more troops in American cities, more politically motivated investigations, and a further rollback of our democracy. Even before Trump’s remarks, the most influential MAGA media types were aggressively pushing to use Kirk’s killing as a pretext for a crackdown on the political opposition. Sean Davis, the editor of The Federalist, wrote:

In the world we live in now, there is no time to try to convince the left to ‘tone down’ their extreme rhetoric. They need to be treated like the domestic terrorists they are.

Right-wing activist Christopher Rufo took to X to call for a 1960s-style crackdown on the Left.

After the attempted assassination of Trump, many on the Right used that incident as a cudgel to argue that nearly any criticism of Trump was enabling political violence. If you correctly pointed out that Trump wanted to be a dictator, you were responsible for the shooting. If you correctly pointed out that Trump was a threat to democracy, you were engaging in dangerous rhetoric.

It’s happening again, but this time, Trump has the power of the government to crack down on political speech, the FBI and DOJ to investigate the opposition, and the bully pulpit of the White House to demonize anyone and everyone who disagrees with Trump and the MAGA-fication of America. I specifically worry about how this incident will be used as justification for even more policy and political attacks against the trans community.

I think everyone—from the left to the right and the center—should consider the language they use to describe the other side. We should strive to communicate in ways that do not dehumanize those with whom we disagree. However, Democrats also cannot be cowed into silence about the very real threats to democracy and freedom. We must remind everyone that the best—and only—way to protect those freedoms comes from the ballot, not the bullet. Violence is never the answer. Ultimately, Democrats should strive to appeal to the vast majority of Americans who desire unity and comity.

To go silent in this dangerous moment—either from fear of political recriminations or of violence itself—would be to let those who perpetrate violence win.