No, Charlie Kirk Was Not Practicing Politics the Right Way

[RandySF]

Tragedy is a powerful shaper of narratives. In the aftermath of the horrific assassination of MAGA champion Charlie Kirk, a husband and father of two, it was natural that his allies, including President Trump, lionized him as a patriot, free-speech advocate, and activist. And political opponents somberly denounced the terrible killing, as they should, with some hailing Kirk’s devotion to public debate. There’s a tendency in such a moment to look for the best in people or, at least, to not dwell on the negatives. That can be a good thing. Yet as Kirk is quickly canonized by Trump and his movement—on Thursday Trump announced he would bestow upon Kirk a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom—a full depiction of his impact on American politics is largely being sidestepped.

In promoting a story on the murder of Kirk—headlined “Charlie Kirk killing deepens America’s violent spiral”—Axios described him as a “fierce champion of the right to free expression” whose “voice was silenced by an assassin’s bullet.” New York Times opinion columnist Ezra Klein, wrote, “You can dislike much of what Kirk believed and the following statement is still true: Kirk was practicing politics in exactly the right way. He was showing up to campuses and talking with anyone who would talk to him. He was one of the era’s most effective practitioners of persuasion.” Klein added that he “envied” the political movement Kirk built and praised “his moxie and fearlessness.”

Here’s the problem: Kirk built that movement with falsehoods. And his advocacy was laced with racist and bigoted statements. Recognizing this does not diminish the awfulness of this act of violence. Nor does it lessen our outrage or diminish our sympathy for his family, friends, and colleagues. Yet if this is an appropriate moment to assess Kirk and issue bold statements about his participation in America’s political life, there ought to be room for a true discussion.

Kirk, a right-wing provocateur who founded and led Turning Point USA, an organization of young conservatives, was a promoter of Trump’s destructive and baseless conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was stolen from him. Two days before the January 6 riot, Kirk boasted in a tweet that Students for Trump and Turning Point Action were “Sending 80+ buses full of patriots to DC to fight for this president.”



https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/09/charlie-kirk-legacy-ezra-klein-2020-election-trump-turning-point/

[SocialDemocrat61]

1. Thanks for posting

Always loved David Corn. Ezra Klein is a jerk.

[Cha]

3. Traitor to the USA inspires Traitors NOT

Patriots.

They've abandoned the US Flag for the Confederate, Russian and Traitor Flags.

AXIOS is Full of Gaslit Shit.. .. Fascist Wing Bullshit.

TY for this...

[J_William_Ryan]

4. Kirk's

lawless killing shouldn’t be used to conceal or whitewash the fact that he was a promoter of racism, bigotry, and hate; a conservative ideologue who was responsible for spreading all manner of rightwing disinformation, conspiracy theories, and lies contributing to current political division and acrimony.

[DFW]

5. He was pracicing politics the FAR right way

And he reaped the ultimate reward for his efforts.

[harumph]

13. Even further, he was practicing politics the Nazi way.

Not hyperbole. Point by point there is little to no distance between the positions he promoted and what the Nazis espoused.
I have no doubt he would have felt very much at home in the party. Do I think it's OK that he was shot? No. Do I think
our national discourse will suffer from his absence? No. Just another self aggrandizing malignant carnival barker. I hope his story soon becomes yesterday's news.

[DFW]

16. It was different here in the 1930s

Kaiser Wilhelm’s war bled the country dry, and it was a social and economic basket case. National Socialism appealed to just enough voters (42%) to get Hitler elected Reichskanzler.

The USA in 2024 was a roaring economy after over 3 years of Joe Biden’s successful damage control. Nothing even close to National Socialism should have appealed to any American voter with half a brain. Republicans, exploiting religious money grabbers, Fox Noise, various purveyors of extremist right wing horseshit found their willing followers.

But National Socialism (Nazi is the German abbreviation) doesn’t quite fit their mold, although many of the NSDAP’s tactics, some taken directly from Lenin and Stalin, did help get itself established. Göbbels was a dedicated socialist before he became a National Socialist. Once they had consolidated their power, the National Socialists made sure that socialists of any other stripe were exiled, absorbed or killed. If they thought they could get away with it, I’m sure today’s Republicans would adopt similar tactics. I am also sure that most of today’s Republicans realize that they could never get away with it, but I am not convinced that this Charlie Kirk guy was one of them. It was Kirk’s bad luck that someone decided to practice what Kirk, himself, preached.

[Heidi]

6. He was a fierce champion of HIS OWN right to free expression.

Last edited Fri Sep 12, 2025, 08:54 AM - Edit history (1)

Not for *the* right to free expression.

[underpants]

7. and selective editing

He spliced his appearances together to make it look like he “owned the Libs”.

[Heidi]

11. He probably cheated at golf, too. (nt)

[underpants]

8. In summary

[SKKY]

9. But here's the question I have about all this...

...How long before Erika Kirk and Corey Lewandowski are a couple?

[cachukis]

10. The man was a provocateur and charlatan

mimicking the ways of rush limbaugh and using the same audience. He full well knew what he was doing.
Sure he was in the public eye, but controlled the narrative.
It is normal to rue his violent death, but it is also normal to find fault with what he stood for.

[Passages]

12. Ezra Klein is wrong more often than not.

Here he is a coward, and unable to state the reality that violence begets violence....through rhetoric and in Kirk's case, a deliberate practice in demagoguery.

Shame on Ezra.

[harumph]

14. Evidently when you have the integrity to speak the plain truth like Dowd, you get canned.

Ezra has jettisoned his credibility. Our lefty version
of David Brooks. Spilling much ink, yet either saying nothing of value, or subtly supporting
the received wisdom handed down by our billionaire zoo keepers.

[EdmondDantes_]

15. He was promoting bad things, but I understand the argument

We need people more involved politically, socially. I don't think we get to say it's only the right way if someone agrees with us. Part of what Trump and his counterparts in other countries are appealing to are the disaffected. Bringing them in is necessary. There's plenty of research showing a correlation between things like knowing gay people or minorities and not hating them. If we leave the disaffected outside to only stew in their anger, it just keeps boiling.

I get the anger towards Kirk because he was a hateful bigot, but I still feel banning that is a mistake. The ACLU defends nazis being allowed to march and all sort of theory.

[DFW]

17. I understand WHY the ACLU defends neo-nazis

Still, I am gratified that most hate groups decline to avail themselves of the opportunity offered by the ACLU.

[Kid Berwyn]

18. Un-American Professional NAZI Propagandist Charlie Kirk Drove Chaos

From David Corn via the OP:

Moreover, as a movement strategist, he relied upon and advanced lies and bigotry—including falsehoods that fueled violence and an assault on our national foundation. That was not a side gig for Kirk. It was a core component of his organizing. He did not practice politics the right way. He used deceit to develop his movement and to weaken the United States. His assassination is heinous and frightening and warrants widespread condemnation. It should prompt reflection on what is happening within the nation and what needs to be done to prevent further political violence. It should not protect him or others who engage in such politics of extremism from critical review.

[Cognitive_Resonance]

19. He was "practicing politics"? Try fascist deceit peddler

manipulating insecurities, manufacturing grievances, stoking resentment, bullying scapegoats... keeping hateful losers in a perpetual lather.

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

20. Tyler Robinson, the MAGA-cidal killer, was weeding out what he saw as a milquetoast MAGA, Charlie Kirk.

Trump and the GOP have opened a Pandora's box where these maga-nuts have started whacking each other.