On what would’ve been Charlie Kirk’s 32nd birthday today, there’s no greater honor President Trump could have bestowed on him than keeping his promise to Erika Kirk and awarding Charlie the Medal of Freedom posthumously. He more than deserved this. His legacy speaks for itself.
But he also deserved to be here, to celebrate this with his wife, kids, and all who loved him. This moment, and many future ones, were stolen from all of them. The Left may never fully grasp why today means so much to many. But after what we saw this past month, and well before that, we wouldn’t expect them to.
During the initial shock of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, by a radical leftist who hated him for his politics, one of the more hypocritical reactions from Democrats was the rush to tone down the rhetoric and demand “unity.”
They couldn’t even wait a day. While Americans were still processing the first viral political assassination, and likely not the last, given the Left’s continued rhetoric, Democrats pounded the airwaves with a dual message of “let’s heal” coupled with “the real threat is still you.”
Sure, their side just killed one of the most influential conservative voices in decades, but the actual problem was your response to it. In their eyes, your outrage is more dangerous than their murder.
But why was this tone-deaf response their first gut reaction? Everyone knew they’d resort to the typical blame game at some point. But that quickly, and forcefully?
One media yelling match that stands out in the aftermath helps illuminate why. When conservative commentator Dave Rubin challenged leftist Cenk Uygur on Piers Morgan Uncensored about the Left’s history of dangerous rhetoric against us, Cenk was less than thrilled. While denying this was true, all Dave Rubin had to do was point out Cenk’s own words over the years, labeling us “fascists” too. Rather than try to win the argument, Cenk’s response was to scream at Dave to stop reading his words on air, supposedly concerned for his safety. Funny how that works.
Welcome to our world, Cenk.
Conservatives have had to grapple with that fear for a while now. That’s why we understand Charlie Kirk’s murder wasn’t random; it was years in the making. Since the Trump era began, the loudest voices on the Left have hardly gone a week without signaling to their rabid, violent base how we should be treated. They called us fascists, Nazis, threats to democracy, you name it. But they didn’t just use words. When they finally reclaimed power after 2020, they wielded it against their opponents like no administration has. They dehumanized and targeted us as the enemies they believed us to be.
The Left’s leaders set the violent tone, and their followers took it to heart. Charlie’s killer certainly did.
What everyone witnessed a month ago was the climax of a 10-year effort to label us as not just politically wrong, but as evil that must be dealt with. They had ample opportunity to call off their dogs throughout it. They chose not to. Whenever Democrats were questioned about violence on their side, they’d write it off as some fringe element. But Charlie’s murder proved otherwise. We saw the cheering afterwards. And the posting of videos justifying the killing. And the redirecting of their attacks to Charlie’s widow Erika.
You didn’t see many Democrats attempting to condemn it either. Maybe deep down, they figure it’s too late, that they can’t put the genie back in the bottle. They might be right. But we’ll never know because they never try.
The Left paved the way for Charlie Kirk’s assassination, and they know it. We know they know it because suddenly, out of self-preservation, they believe words matter.
The ultimate irony of their 180 on rhetoric is that they never stopped to think about theirs. They still haven’t. Here’s another: Their fear is wildly misplaced because what they fear is that we are like them.
But we’re not. Charlie Kirk definitely wasn’t. He was the best among us, trying to undo a violent agenda the Left sowed. A fact they would understand if they had listened to him. Instead, they murdered him for it. Yet unlike them, we didn’t riot — we gathered to pray. And unlike us, they couldn’t offer prayers and condolences and leave it at that. Instead, they danced on Charlie’s grave, condemned our rhetoric, and went right back to calling us “fascists.”
In Erika Kirk’s unforgettable words, we can and should forgive Charlie’s killer. But that’s different from unifying with a movement that’s greenlighting the next one. The Left has a clear violence problem. Anyone denying it can look to Democrats’ attorney general candidate in Virginia, who’s still enjoying widespread Democratic support. They spent a decade convincing themselves that we were worth hating. Now, they demand we come together without them reversing course. Well, they got their wish. Just not quite the way they envisioned. Our side is more united than ever. If we are to succeed in finishing Charlie’s work, it must stay that way.
Clay Shoemaker is the Communications Director and Chief Marketing Officer for America First Works, a former Trump White House official, and a 2016 Trump campaign alum.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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