My opinion on Charlie Kirk

The media are seemingly interviewing everyone who has clapped eyes on Robinson in the last 20 years. So we're learning that he was a Groyper, a furry, a MAGA, that his roommate (with whom he may or may not have been in a relationship with) was transitioning from male to female, that his family was MAGA but he "rebelled" against them, that he had become very political in recent years, that he wasn't political at all, that he shot Kirk because Kirk was conservative, or because he wasn't conservative enough - whatever narrative you need to support your preferred conclusion, you can find something to back it up.

And this doesn't even touch on the conspiracy theories - Trump ordered it because Kirk was demanding the release of the Epstein files, the Mossad killed him because he was "questioning Israel" in his final weeks, that his own team of bodyguards took him out with a shot from a few feet away, that it was a squib and Kirk faked his own death, and I'm sure others that I haven't seen yet that are even more unhinged.

I want to say a few words regarding the terrible murder of Charlie Kirk. Someone who I strongly disagreed with on almost every issue, but who was clearly a very smart and effective communicator and organizer and someone unafraid to get out into the world and engage the public. My condolences go out to his wife and his family.

A free and democratic society, which is what America is supposed to be about, depends upon the basic premise that people can speak out, organize, and take part in public life without fear, without worrying that they might be killed, injured, or humiliated for expressing their political views.

In fact, that is the essence of what freedom is about and what democracy is about. You have a point of view. That's great. I have a point of view that is different than yours. That's great. Let's argue it out. We make our case to the American people at the local, state, and federal levels. And we hold free elections in which the people decide what they want. That's called freedom and democracy. And as many people as possible should participate in that process without fear.

Freedom and democracy is not about political violence. It is not about assassinating public officials. It is not about trying to intimidate people who speak out on an issue. Political violence in fact is political cowardice. It means that you cannot convince people of the correctness of your ideas and you have to impose them through force.

Every American, no matter what one's political point of view may be, must condemn all forms of political violence and all forms of intimidation. We must welcome and respect dissenting points of view. That's what our Constitution is about. That's what our Bill of Rights is about. That in fact is what freedom is about.

The murder of Charlie Kirk is part of a disturbing rise in political violence that threatens to hollow out public life and make people afraid of participating.

From the January 6 attack on the Capitol, to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, to the attack on Paul Pelosi, to the attempted kidnapping of Gretchen Whitmer, to the murder of Minnesota's Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman and her husband, to the Austin attack on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, to the shooting of United Health Executive Brian Thompson, and the shooting several years ago of Representative Steve Scalise. This chilling rise in violence has targeted public officials across the political spectrum.

Sadly, this is not a new phenomenon. We all remember the assassinations of President Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Robert F. Kennedy, John Lennon, Medgar Evans, and the attempted assassinations of President Ronald Reagan and Alabama Governor George Wallace.

This is a difficult and contentious moment in American history. Democracy in our country and throughout the world is under attack and there are a lot of reasons for that which need serious discussion.

But bottom line, if we honestly believe in democracy, if we believe in freedom, all of us must be loud and clear. Political violence, regardless of ideology, is not the answer and must be condemned.