Former President Barack Obama condemned the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, calling it a tragedy. However, he accused the Trump administration of using the fatal shooting to suppress free debate in America.
Obama’s comments at the Jefferson Educational Society’s Global Summit mark the first time that the former president has spoken publicly about the killing of the activist and Turning Point USA founder, other than on social media.
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Obama: ‘A horrific tragedy’
Obama condemned political violence against Republicans and Democrats and said the U.S. is in a “political crisis,” according to a transcript of his remarks obtained by CNN and GoErie, which is part of USA Today’s network.
“Regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, what happened to Charlie Kirk was horrific and a tragedy,” Obama told journalist Steve Scully. “What happened, as you mentioned, to the state legislators in Minnesota, that is horrific. It is a tragedy. And there are no ifs, ands or buts about it.”
Mourning — without silencing debate
Speaking to a crowd of roughly 8,000 people, Obama said he didn’t know Kirk personally but offered condolences:
“I didn’t know Charlie Kirk. I was generally aware of some of his ideas,” Obama said. “I think those ideas were wrong, but that doesn’t negate the fact that what happened was a tragedy. I mourn for him and his family. He was a young man with two small children and a wife, who obviously had a huge number of friends and supporters who cared about him. So we have to extend grace to people during their period of mourning and shock.”
But Obama also pushed back against the idea that Kirk’s death should silence dissent or difficult conversations.
“We can also at the same time say that ‘I disagree with the idea that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a mistake. That’s not me criticizing your beliefs. It’s making an observation about who we are as a country,” Obama said. “I can say that I disagree with the suggestion that my wife or Justice [Ketanji Brown] Jackson does not have adequate brain processing power. I can say that I disagree that Martin Luther King was awful. I can disagree with some of the broader suggestions that liberals and Democrats are promoting a conspiracy to displace whites and replace them by ushering in illegal immigrants. Those are all topics that we have to be able to discuss honestly and forthrightly.”
Obama praised Utah’s Republican Gov. Spencer Cox for his handling of the investigation into Kirk’s assassination. He also applauded Pennsylvania’s Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro after he delivered a speech in Pittsburgh condemning political violence. Authorities say that Shapiro and his family were the targets of an assassination plot when a part of his home was set ablaze while the family slept.
Criticism of Trump administration
Without naming Donald Trump directly, Obama criticized the administration’s rhetoric regarding the shooting before a suspect was named.
“I’ve noticed that there’s been some confusion around this lately coming from the White House and some of the other positions of authority,” he said as he referred to the importance of maintaining civil debate. “That suggest even before we had determined who the perpetrator of this evil act was, that somehow we’re going to identify an enemy, we’re going to suggest that somehow that enemy was at fault and we are going to use that as a rationale for trying to silence discussion around who we are as a country and what direction we should go, and that’s a mistake.”
Obama’s remarks came during a nearly 90-minute appearance that also covered artificial intelligence, social media, and the progress of his presidential library.
He made clear that while the country is grieving, the ability to debate ideas remains vital to democracy – even when emotions run high.
