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“Obviously I didn’t know Charlie Kirk,” Obama said. “I was generally aware of some of his ideas. I think those ideas were wrong, but that doesn’t negate the fact that what happened was a tragedy and that I mourn for him and his family.”
But Obama didn’t stop there. He warned that the nation faces “a political crisis of the sort that we haven’t seen before,” accusing the Trump White House of giving cover to “extreme views” in a way he claims his administration never did.
“Those extreme views were not in my White House,” Obama said. “I wasn’t empowering them. I wasn’t putting the weight of the United States government behind them. When we have the weight of the United States government behind extremist views, we’ve got a problem.”
Obama then turned his attention to what he called disturbing political language coming from Washington.
“When I hear not just our current president, but his aides, who have a history of calling political opponents ‘vermin,’ enemies who need to be ‘targeted,’ that speaks to a broader problem that we have right now, and something that we’re going to have to grapple with — all of us,” he warned.
The Trump White House wasted no time firing back at Obama, accusing him of hypocrisy and reminding Americans of his own divisive rhetoric during his presidency.
“Barack Hussein Obama is the architect of modern political division in America — famously demeaning millions of patriotic Americans who opposed his liberal agenda as ‘bitter’ for ‘cling(ing) to guns or religion,’” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.
“Obama used every opportunity to sow division and pit Americans against each other, and following his presidency more Americans felt Obama divided the country than felt he united it,” Jackson added. “His division has inspired generations of Democrats to slander their opponents as ‘deplorables,’ or ‘fascists,’ or ‘Nazis.’ If he cares about unity in America, he would tell his own party to stop their destructive behavior.”
Charlie Kirk, 31, was killed September 10 while addressing thousands at Utah Valley University. Prosecutors say Tyler Robinson, 22, climbed onto a rooftop, fired a single shot, and struck Kirk in the neck. He was arrested days later and now faces aggravated murder charges. Authorities say the case could qualify for the death penalty.
Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was credited with energizing young conservatives and shaping the modern Republican movement. His death drew immediate tributes, including from President Trump, who posthumously awarded Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
On the day of the shooting, Obama wrote on X: “We don’t yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy. Michelle and I will be praying for Charlie’s family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children.”
But both parties now accuse the other side of stoking political hatred. Democrats blame rising “right-wing extremism,” while Republicans point to the shooter’s radicalization amid rhetoric calling conservatives “fascists.”
Kirk’s assassination has now become more than a tragedy—it’s a battle over who bears responsibility for the nation’s deep political divide.
