Charlie Kirk murder: Trump ally’s killing sparks political outrage in US
US leaders across party lines condemn the murder of Trump ally Charlie Kirk, calling the shooting a shocking reminder of rising political violence.
The murder of Charlie Kirk, a right-wing conservative activist and close ally of US President Donald Trump, has sparked strong reactions from politicians and public figures in the US who have been victims of political violence.
‘Reprehensible,’ says Nancy Pelosi
The former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suffered a traumatic experience when her husband was left with severe injuries after being -attacked by a man wielding a hammer at their California residence in 2022. Police said that the man was a believer in conspiracy theories.
Pelosi, a Democrat, stated in a social media post that the fatal attack on Charlie Kirk was “reprehensible”. “The horrific shooting today at Utah Valley University is reprehensible. Political violence has absolutely no place in our nation,” she said.
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Donald Trump lauds Charlie Kirk
Perhaps the strongest reaction to Charlie Kirk's death came from Trump, who was shot at a campaign rally last year and suffered a minor ear injury. He was also the target of a failed assassination attempt while playing golf in Florida. He had a close relationship with Kirk and announced his passing on Wednesday on his Truth Social site, reported AP.
Trump described Kirk on Truth Social as a “great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!”
“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” stated Trump.
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'Horrified, ' says Gabrielle Giffords
A Democrat and a former US Representative was left with a serious brain injury during a 2011 shooting while meeting with constituents at a shopping centre in her Arizona congressional district. She survived and has taken up the cause of fighting gun violence.
Giffords posted on social media that she was “horrified” to hear of Kirk’s shooting.
“Democratic societies will always have political disagreements,” she wrote, “but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence.”
Also Read: Charlie Kirk shot dead: 'Political assassination', says Utah Governor
Courageous crusader, says Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The Health and Human Services secretary appeared to invoke his family’s losses as he reacted to Kirk’s killing. Kennedy’s father, for whom he was named, was assassinated in 1968 as he sought the Democratic presidential nomination. Kennedy Sr. was an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War and an advocate for civil rights legislation as attorney general during his brother’s presidency and after John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963.
“Once again, a bullet has silenced the most eloquent truth teller of an era,” Kennedy wrote on social media. He called Kirk a “relentless and courageous crusader for free speech.”
Also Read: Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and Trump's ally, shot dead
Josh Shapiro calls for moral clarity
The Pennsylvania governor, a Democrat and potential national candidate, was evacuated with his family from the governor’s mansion earlier this year after a man broke into the building and set a fire that caused significant damage.
“We must speak with moral clarity,” Shapiro wrote on X. “The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying, and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society.”
(With agency inputs)