In the aftermath of the killing of conservative organizer Charlie Kirk, Politico’s Global Editor-In-Chief John Harris observes that there are few, if any, national figures who are spreading a message of unity.
We’re at a point, he says, “where almost every news event very quickly does become politicized, and people view events as … weapons or shields in a nonstop political argument.”
Kirk, 31, was shot and killed while he was speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. Kirk was among the nation’s most prominent conservative organizers, founding Turning Point USA when he was just 18 years old and growing it into a nationwide youth movement with hundreds of chapters.
Harris joined POLITICO’s Dasha Burns to discuss Kirk and the impact of his life and death on American politics in the latest episode of “The Conversation.”
“He was a larger-than-life figure in Republican politics,” Burns said, describing him as “controversial” and “provocative” but noting his commitment to debate. “I interviewed Charlie multiple times and our exchanges were sometimes intense. I pressed him, he pushed back, but in the end he was always cordial. Always willing to engage,” she said.
His killing is the latest in a string of acts of political violence — from the attempted assassination of then-candidate Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, last summer to the killing of Melissa Hortman, the former Democratic speaker of the Minnesota house, and her husband in June.
Harris notes that while there have been periods of violence in America — the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, among others — in the past, national leaders have at least sought to share messages of unity in the aftermath. While the current political moment has taken us away from that messaging, Harris notes that our climate of divisiveness is out of step with the majority of Americans.
“I think a lot of people do wish for something better,” he said, “I would think almost every person wishes for something different than the horrific violence that we saw.”
The full interview with Harris is available this weekend on The Conversation wherever you get your podcasts.
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