Some Republicans warn against politicizing Charlie Kirk’s death
While prominent MAGA voices cried “war” and blamed the “other side” for Charlie Kirk’s murder, another coalition is urging its peers to blame the shooter rather than their political rivals.
The big picture: Administration officials’ rush to blame the left, coupled with a campaign to name and shame Kirk critics, sparked fears — even among some Republicans — that the government will seize this moment to suppress dissent and exact retribution.
- Immediately after Kirk’s assassination, MAGA coalesced around a shadowy foe: they.
Driving the news: But in a Wednesday Wall Street Journal opinion piece, Republican strategist Karl Rove wrote, “No. Charlie Kirk wasn’t killed by ‘them.’ ‘They’ didn’t pull the trigger. One person did, apparently a young man driven by impulse and a terrible hate.”
- Rove, the former deputy chief of staff to former President George W. Bush, lamented the “sad, sickening week” following Kirk’s death and lauded “his extraordinary life.”
- But he emphasized that “using Charlie’s murder to justify retaliation against political rivals is wrong and dangerous” and will “further divide and embitter our country.”
What we’re watching: Rove framed Kirk’s memorial service this Sunday, which Trump and other top Republicans will attend, as a chance to pivot.
- It “could be a moment when Americans see people of prominence remind us that our republic’s continuance depends on debating important ideas with both passion and mutual respect.”
Zoom out: Saying he was “heartsick” over Kirk’s death, former Vice President Mike Pence on Thursday similarly called for individual accountability, saying on CNBC there was only “one person responsible for Charlie Kirk’s assassination.”
- Pence, who broke from Trump after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, said that public officials can “of course” do better in how they speak about the country’s issues, adding “democracy depends on heavy doses of civility.”