Leading Democrats Are Condemning Charlie Kirk's Murder

"From the moment an assassin shot Charlie Kirk, my social-media feed began filling up with people decrying the attack. The sentiment of horror-both at the murder itself and at what it portended for American political culture-was overwhelming and cross-ideological. From the pro-Donald Trump conservatives in my timeline, however, I detected another sort of response. Although most expressed genuine grief at the tragedy befalling a figure many of them admired or knew, some others seemed preoccupied with proving that "the left" was celebrating the attack."

"The challenge, for this cohort, is that Democratic Party leaders were united in condemnation of the attack on Kirk and political violence generally. California Governor Gavin Newsom, a gleeful pugilist who has made a brand out of aping the president's disordered egomaniacal communication style, wrote, "The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.""

An assassination attempt against Charlie Kirk provoked overwhelming horror across ideological lines on social media. Many conservatives expressed genuine grief, while some focused on proving that 'the left' celebrated the attack. Democratic leaders uniformly condemned the shooting and political violence, including Gavin Newsom and Zohran Mamdani. In the absence of widespread liberal support for the attack, right-wing influencers searched for and amplified isolated private posts expressing offensive sentiments. Figures like Andy Ngo and outlets such as the Washington Free Beacon highlighted individual citizens' remarks, portraying them as evidence of a broader liberal celebratory strain.

Read at The Atlantic