THE ASSASSINATION OF CHARLIE KIRK is deepening divisions in Washington, as political leaders heighten their rhetoric around who is to blame for the state of American politics.
President Trump, who was twice targeted for assassination during his 2024 campaign, is pinning the blame squarely on the “radical left” and promising investigations into liberal groups.
“If you look at the problem, the problem is on the left,” Trump told reporters.
“And when you look at the agitator, you look at the scum that speaks so badly of our country, the American flag burnings all over the place, that’s the left,” he added. “That’s not the right.”
When asked who he plans to investigate, Trump responded: “We’ll see. We’ll be announcing.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), whose house was set on fire earlier this year while he and his family slept inside, responded by saying “no one party is immune from political violence.”
“Using the rhetoric of rage and calling some of our fellow Americans ‘scum’ — no matter how profound our differences — only creates more division and makes it harder to heal,” Shapiro posted on X.
Republicans are blaming Democrats for incendiary rhetoric.
“Calling people Nazis and fascists is not helpful,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “There are some deranged people in society, and when they see leaders using that kind of language so often now increasingly, it spurs them on to action. We have to recognize that reality and address it appropriately.”
Democrats argue that Trump and his administration frequently use incendiary rhetoric to describe their political opponents.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) warned that the Trump administration is preparing for a “dizzying” crackdown on political dissent.
“Pay attention. Something dark might be coming,” Murphy posted on X.
There has been a spate of firings of left-wing social media users across the country, as companies get rid of employees for making controversial remarks about Kirk’s assassination.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Monday called for a “national divorce.”
“Our country is too far gone and too far divided, and it’s no longer safe for any of us,” Greene posted on X.
“I will pray for the left, but personally I want nothing to do with them,” she added.
Some lawmakers are worried that political violence is becoming the norm.
“What’s so alarming to all of us is it’s getting baked in,” Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said. “It’s getting more and more [immersive]. How do you reverse it? It’s not like you can pass a law to reverse it.”
Many see Kirk’s assignation as a watershed moment for the country.
Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.) said the U.S. “is at a boiling point,” noting that Kirk’s death came shortly after the killings of Minnesota Representative Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband in their home.
“We’re certainly at a crossroads in this nation,” Elfreth said on CNN’s “State of the Union.
The Hill’s Mike Lillis writes:
“The assassination of Charlie Kirk has united the parties in a sense of dread that the country has arrived at a dangerous place. How it got here, however, remains very much in dispute. …All sides, though, seem to converge around a dark view that the country is too divided, the rhetoric too venomous and the violence too frequent to sustain the American experiment unless something happens to ease partisan hostilities and bring the sides together.”
