Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume said on Fox News Monday that the left’s response to Charlie Kirk’s assassination risks long-term political damage.
Appearing on Special Report, Hume told host Bret Baier that widespread mockery and celebration online in the wake of the Turning Point USA founder’s death mirrors the left’s reaction to President Donald Trump and could trigger a similar backlash.
“I think, to a considerable extent, the reaction to Charlie Kirk is a reflection of what has been the reaction to Donald Trump. Donald Trump has triggered what is widely referred to as Trump Derangement Syndrome, which refers to an absolute inability to see Donald Trump as anything other than a danger, a threat to society, a national emergency,” Hume said. “Charlie Kirk went around the country supporting President Trump by and large, but with his own agenda as well. And the reaction is very similar. It is irrational, it is vicious, it is extraordinarily harsh.”
Hume said many Americans still value basic human decency, particularly in moments of tragedy.
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“Americans as a people have long thought that ordinary decency requires that you don’t speak ill of the dead, certainly not in the immediate aftermath of a death. You don’t do that,” Hume said. “That’s not how Americans react. It’s not how most people in the world react. And yet we’ve seen some of that. And I think that you’re right, Bret, that it’s been so poisonous and seems so poisonous to so many people that it reflects badly on the American left and, therefore, to some extent on the political party that represents the American.”
Hume said Kirk’s unapologetic embrace of his beliefs may have created “a new kind of permission structure” that encouraged others to do the same.
“It was certainly central to Charlie Kirk’s message and the way he lived his life. It may have helped to create a new kind of permission structure on that very thing in life,” Hume said when Baier asked about younger generations expressing their faith more after Kirk’s death. “And I know that I’m reading that the churches were filled to a much greater extent than usual this Sunday. That’s a sign that something very positive may have come out of this, owing to Charlie Kirk and the way he lived his life.”
Authorities arrested 22-year-old Tyler Robinson early Friday morning after he allegedly shot and killed Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, where Kirk was debating students.
Tom Elliot, founder of Grabien News, shared a montage on Sunday on X showing left-wing figures and commentators applauding Kirk’s assassination. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, during his SiriusXM show on Thursday, condemned the online cheers over Kirk’s murder.
Several individuals have lost their jobs over online remarks either mocking Kirk’s death or celebrating his assassination. Some Democratic officials have targeted those mourning Kirk, while others have drawn moral equivalence between his killing and the events of Jan. 6, 2021, invoking the Capitol riot to justify their reactions or dampen public sympathy.
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