Ep. 1813 - What Happens After Charlie Kirk?
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Summary
Charlie Kirk's killer has reportedly been found, the authorities have announced a press conference, the question on everyone s mind is, what happens now? The Vice President of the United States has personally escorted Charlie s remains back home, the FBI may have found the assassin, there will be a long prosecution, a lot of interesting information that s come out even this morning out of that.
Transcript
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Charlie Kirk's killer has reportedly been found. The authorities have announced a press conference.
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The press conference should begin momentarily. We ordinarily do not do this show live on all
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of the platforms. We ordinarily only do this show live to the Daily Wire audience. Obviously,
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given the circumstances, we will be live. We are waiting on that press conference
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immediately. No matter what we find out from that press conference, the question on everyone's mind
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is, what happens now? The vice president of the United States has personally escorted Charlie's
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remains back home. The FBI may have found the assassin. There will be a long prosecution,
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a lot of interesting information that's come out even just this morning out of that.
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The rest of us are trying to figure out how to uphold Charlie's legacy and pull our country back
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from what just about everyone feels is the brink. And I fear that many people are drawing precisely
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the wrong conclusions. I'm Michael Knowles. This is The Michael Knowles Show.
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Welcome back to the show. Things are moving very, very quickly. As you know, as of last night,
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the assassin, the suspect was still at large. The FBI had discovered the weapon. The FBI had
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discovered some footprints. The FBI had discovered some grainy pictures. But they were calling on the
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entire country to help out with the search. They appear to have found someone. President Trump
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appeared this morning on Fox and Friends to give just some of the details.
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I don't want to go too far. I'd like to tell you some stories that how it happened. But essentially,
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somebody that was very close to him turned him in. And that happens when you had some of those good
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shots. Somebody is going to say, whether it's a parent or whatever, I'd rather not say right now,
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they're going to announce it today, sometime later, probably talk about that. But somebody close to
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him turned him in. You know, they said, whoa, it's interesting. Well, we had very good pictures,
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but not great, not perfect. And when you look at it, what happened is somebody, and this happens a
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lot. It happened with the crazy Boston bomber. It happened with others. Somebody that's close
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recognizes even a little tilt of the head, which nobody else would do. And somebody that was very
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close to him said, hmm, that's him. And essentially went to the father, went to a U.S. marshal,
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who was fantastic, by the way. And the person was involved with law enforcement, but was a
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person of faith, a minister, and brought him to a U.S. marshal, who was fantastic. And the father
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convinced the son, this is it. And so the president here saying someone who was close to the shooter
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turned him in, or rather someone who was close to the shooter notified the father,
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and then he was apprehended. The reporting that's coming out right now is that the suspect's father
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was able to secure him, and that it was the suspect's father who called law enforcement.
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Again, we're waiting. We're probably just a few minutes out now from the press conference where
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we're going to learn a lot more. But if that was in fact the case, it raises this question.
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Why would the father tune in? I think we're getting law enforcement here addressing the crowd. Let's
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get to it. Nope, that was a fake out. Okay, we have a five-minute warning on the press conference.
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So the question that is raised is, well, why would the father turn the suspect in? And
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one, you could say, well, it's because of justice, it's because of morality, it's because
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he believes the suspect committed cold-blooded murder. It might also come from a place of
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paternal care, because the way that this was more likely to end was with that suspect being dead.
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And if the suspect were found dead or retrieved dead, that would make this national tragedy
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so much worse. There would be so many more questions. There would be so much more doubt
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in a country that already does not trust one another. I'll get to the implications of all of
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this after we hear from the authorities. I'll get to the media reaction. I'll get to what this says
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about our political culture. I'll get to what I think is the path forward, because I think a lot
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of people are drawing the wrong conclusions. But just for right now, I want to focus on who this
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person could be. The FBI released video last night of the suspected shooter. They had video from around
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the Utah campus. The shooter was up on the roof, shot Charlie, and then immediately fled off the roof,
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jumped down. Here's the video that we had last night.
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The details that are going to follow this, you're going to see a very distinctive t-shirt with an
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American flag. It appears to have an eagle on it. There's also a baseball cap with a triangle on it
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and a pair of sunglasses. All distinctive, all the things that we would ask the public to look for
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and try to identify if they know someone who has those items, who has been seen wearing those items.
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We're looking for all that information. Please pay close attention to the t-shirt. Like I said,
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very distinctive with that American flag and that eagle. The hat with the triangle and the
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So this comes out last night, and I know a lot of people look at it and say, well, how are you
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supposed to tell who that is? It's a grainy photograph. This guy's covered up with a hat,
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with sunglasses. President Trump made the point, well, you know, sometimes if it's a loved one,
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if it's someone you know, even just a little tilt of the head, you say, that's the person. Or,
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as the FBI is saying here, I recognize those shoes. Oh, I recognize that shirt. And so
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because the suspect was able to escape, a lot of people were just called upon to give any
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information they can. This is why, not that we want to include the photograph of the shooter in
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the show. But if the suspect is at large, if anyone has any additional information,
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this was a plea by the government to a country that is obviously fractured, that is increasingly
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fractured, in which a large portion of the country celebrated the cold-blooded murder of a man who just
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wanted to go talk it out on campuses with his opponents graciously and generously. This was a plea
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to say, hey, if we have any common humanity left, if we have any shared community left,
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we need your help. We cannot do it alone. You have to reach out. And reportedly,
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that is exactly what happened. That someone close to the shooter contacted the father.
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The father reportedly called authorities and said, I have secured my son. This raises questions too.
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Does it mean I'm distracting my son until you get here? Does this mean that I'm physically
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restraining my son? Does this mean I'm locking my son in a room? We just don't know. We're waiting
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now on all of that. What we do know is what the Utah governor promised yesterday, which is that the
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death penalty will be pursued. This would appear to be appropriate, to put it diplomatically.
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And there are many people on the right. I don't know if I'll say many. No, there are. There are,
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really. There's a growing number of people on the right who are opposed to the death penalty.
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And I think it's important to ask ourselves why we have the death penalty. We have the death penalty
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for three different reasons. Retributive justice, most importantly, if you do something wrong,
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that is why you are punished. It's not merely rehabilitation. It's not merely deterrent. It's
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retributive justice. You do something wrong, justice demands you be punished in some way.
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It is deterrence to turn people away from doing these crimes, to discourage them.
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And it is rehabilitation, as Dr. Johnson points out. Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he's
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to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully. Those are the three reasons.
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The modern argument against the death penalty is that, practically speaking, we don't need it anymore.
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We live in this modern society. We can lock people up very well. And so you don't really need it.
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That prudential argument is beginning to fray. As we let criminals off the hook,
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as we have mainstream calls to abolish prisons, as we have this kind of violence and terrorism
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spreading, not merely the targeted assassinations as happened to Charlie, but regular old street crime,
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women being set on fire in New York City subway cars, women refugees being stabbed in the neck
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on Charlotte trains. As this is creeping up, it begins to weaken the prudential argument against
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the death penalty. Because increasingly, people cannot trust the criminal justice system
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to lock away the bad guys, to protect society from the evildoers.
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And so I think you might be seeing a return to a more classical and traditional conception of
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justice and morality. At the very least, that's what you're getting in Utah.
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And I think most people are quite all right with that. Now, the rest of what's occurred
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concerns Charlie himself. And I know a lot of people were really choked up yesterday because
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Charlie's remains were flown from Utah to Phoenix, Phoenix, which is his home.
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And not only were they returned there, they were returned on Air Force Two, the vice president's
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airplane. Not only were they returned on Air Force Two, which is a great and fitting honor,
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but the vice president himself helped to carry the casket onto the airplane.
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For those of you who are only listening, there's JD front right side of the casket
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carrying his friend's body. The vice president and Charlie Kirk were quite close all the way onto
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the airplane. A beautiful gesture from the vice president and one that is not only fitting at a
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personal level, but is fitting from a political and public level. Because Charlie was not only a
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public figure, but he was one of the most important political figures in the entire country.
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Even though he didn't hold office, even though he didn't pass laws. Maybe because he didn't hold
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office and pass laws. But I think it's no exaggeration to say a member of the cabinet could
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have been assassinated, God forbid. It would have been much less politically significant than Charlie
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Kirk being assassinated. And I'm counting both parties in this, really. He wasn't a governor,
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he wasn't a senator, he didn't hold office, and yet he was much more politically influential and
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significant in the minds of people than any of them. And on top of all of that, he was a symbol of
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what many, many people wish for in this country, which is open dialogue, respectful, generous,
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gracious exchange, trying to talk it out, hear out the other side. He was a symbol of that.
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And both of these things come together when you look at someone like the vice president. Because
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just at a personal level, I know that Charlie's death has seriously affected many, many millions
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of people, not only in America, but around the world. And we'll get to some of those tributes that
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have come in in a little bit. But also, he was a personal friend to a lot of us. He was a personal
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friend to a lot of us. He had a lot of friends. And a lot of those people who have public roles
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know him, know what a good guy he was, know his innocence, and are feeling very personally
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the injustice of their friend being murdered. That adds on to all of it.
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And everyone else could feel that too. So the vice president helps to carry Charlie's casket
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onto Air Force Two. Air Force Two then lands in Phoenix. This is what Phoenix Air Traffic
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Welcome home, Charlie. You didn't deserve it. May God bless your family.
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Beautiful tribute, even from air traffic control.
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Welcome home, Charlie. You didn't deserve it. God bless you and your family.
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Charlie's widow, Erica, was walking down the plane holding hands with the second lady of the
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United States, Usha Vance. Not just even air traffic control. You know, I mentioned the day
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that Charlie was murdered. The Yankee Stadium held a moment of silence for him before the game.
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And I thought that was really astounding. Not just because I'm a Yankee fan. Love the Yankees. But
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I said, oh, wow. It's not just the American right that is saying nice things about him. It's not just
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the president of the United States and the vice president who are saying nice things about him.
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It's all of the other presidents in both parties. It's multiple heads of government from around the
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world. I said, oh, my goodness. It's even cultural institutions like the Yankees. The Yankees,
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though, a little secret is they've always trended a little bit more conservative.
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Even last night, the NFL, which is a downright leftist league, you know,
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the leading the charge on disrespecting the American flag and BLM and all the rest of it.
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The National Football League asks that you please join us in a moment of silent reflection
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following the murder of Charlie Kirk. The NFL condemns all violence in our communities.
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It will take all of us to stop hate. Thank you.
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That really struck me. I think you are seeing from the prominent institutions,
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from the really prominent individuals, a recognition that the United States is on the brink.
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We are on the brink of something. Civil wars have started for less. No exaggeration. I am not one for
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hyperbolic talk or about civil war or any. I am not. I am not that guy.
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But it's not just me who recognizes this here. I think it's the NFL. I think it's all the major
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politicians. I think it's the parties. There has been a sense that, wow, you know, even people who
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have contributed to this nasty environment, this environment that would become increasingly
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violent with private violence, vigilante violence, trying to attack people for what their mere
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opinions, mainstream opinions at that, that, yikes, maybe we don't really want to go down this path.
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There has been a reasonable amount of responsibility from almost every institution,
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with one exception, with one exception, and that is the left-wing media.
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I mentioned yesterday on the show, I said, everyone is going to be
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invading and with great anger about the horrific reactions from the left-wing media
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to Charlie's murder. I said, today is not that day. I said, yesterday is a day to mourn the man
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and to grieve, and there's an order to these things, and it's natural and it's good.
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I said, all of that is for tomorrow. Okay, we won't forget it. We won't let it slip.
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Our blood will boil on simmer for 24 hours as we mourn Charlie. We'll get to that tomorrow. Well,
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tomorrow is here. That's very, very important to pay attention to what elite liberal media had to say
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about this. Not some fringe stuff. I'm not pulling up all of the degenerate leftists on
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Twitch or whatever. I'm not. I'm not finding the most sensationalist small potato that I can find.
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I am pointing to the major networks. Here we have MSNBC's reaction.
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In which a shooting like this happens. Yeah, and again, I emphasize what you just emphasized. We
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don't know any full details of this. We don't know if this was a supporter shooting their gun off
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in celebration, so we have no idea. That was Matthew Dowd, MSNBC contributor. Charlie Kirk is shot.
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Everyone sees it on all the cameras. It's shot through the neck. And I think most people,
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the moment they saw the video, recognized he was almost certainly dead.
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And the left-wing official news analysts' immediate reaction on the left-wing news network was,
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well, I mean, who knows? Maybe it was a supporter shooting off his gun in celebration.
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I can't, I can't tell if that displays a level, an almost criminal, at least culpable level of
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ignorance, or if that was snark. Was that sarcasm? Was that a little jibe about gun control? I don't
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know. Those rube idiots, those rube idiots who follow those right-wing speakers like Charlie Kirk,
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maybe they were just shooting their guns off like Mexican banditos in celebration.
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I can't tell, and I don't know what's worse. I don't know if this guy really has nothing between
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the ears. Just wind whistling through, that would be bad enough. Or did he actually try to get a
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little barb in at Charlie, or at least Charlie's supporters, as the man was bleeding to death,
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probably at that point already murdered. I think the charitable view to this guy's intellect is
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that it was the latter. But the charitable guy, the charitable view to this guy's soul,
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to this guy's character, would be the, it's unthinkable. Matthew Dowd then goes on. And I think
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maybe this clip actually reveals a little bit more of where he's coming from.
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But following up what was just said, he's been one of the most divisive, especially divisive
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younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed
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at certain groups. And I always go back to hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to
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hateful actions. Vomit inducing, vomit inducing behavior from, from MSNBC and from this person.
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Because he, he says in a way you have to be grateful to him because he is articulating what
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a lot of liberals, even mainstream liberals have said, and at least thought privately.
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And he's just saying it out loud explicitly. He says, well, you know, uh, yes, that a young man,
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that 31 year old father of two married boy scout who only ever wanted to talk it out with his
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opponents in a gracious way. He's very divisive. That's a, that's your first reaction. Well,
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you're, he's very, how's he divisive? By the way, give me an example of a divisive thing.
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Charlie said friends with Charlie for a long time. I know all the things you're going to point.
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You're going to say, well, he says that men and women are different.
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Maybe that is divisive today. Wasn't divisive eight years ago. Well, he says we should protect
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babies in the womb. We shouldn't murder them. Maybe that's divisive today by today's standards.
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Didn't used to be for statistically all of American history. That wasn't divisive at all.
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Any even slightly moral person would have agreed with that. Even slightly moral, even accidentally
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moral person would have agreed with that. Now I guess that's considered divisive. Even after that
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became divisive, quote unquote, at the very least people, uh, didn't think you should be murdered for
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expressing that opinion. But then MSNBC goes further. MSNBC says, says the quiet part out loud says,
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well, you know, look, this kind of rhetoric leads to these kinds of feelings,
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leads to these kinds of actions. He had it coming. That's what they're saying in not quite so many
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words, but that is directly what they're saying. Well, he had it coming. That was MSNBC's first
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reaction. And it's such a gut punch. Very little surprises me in politics. And I knew that these guys
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kind of thought that I suspected they kind of thought that, but that is such a gut punch, man.
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A 31 year old father of two married sweet guy, moderate, nice as mainstream as they get as
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gracious as they get gets murdered in cold blood on television front of his wife. And his kids are
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going to have to watch that. And your first reaction is, yeah, well, what do you, yeah,
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he had it coming. He had it coming. He did it. He deserved it. That's what he said. That's what MSNBC said.
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Sickening. And it's a gut punch, not merely because of this lunatic television network
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that is somehow still on the airwaves, but it's because it wasn't just them.
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It's because it was the media more broadly. You want to go past MSNBC? I have the New York
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Times right here. Now here's how the New York Times covered it. A correction was made on September 11th,
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2025. An earlier version of this article described incorrectly an anti-Semitic statement that Charlie
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Kirk had made on an episode of his podcast. Hold on, wait, what? Man, you can call Charlie Kirk a lot
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of things. Calling him an anti-Semite? Are you insane? Anyone, you don't have to be his friend.
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Anyone who has ever followed him for one second knows. He's been quite a supporter of the Jewish
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people and of the state of Israel. What could they be talking about? New York Times, paper of record,
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the gray lady. An earlier version of this article described incorrectly an anti-Semitic statement that
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Charlie Kirk had made on an episode of his podcast. He was quoting a statement from a post on social media
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and went on to critique it. It was not his own statement.
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Young man, totally innocent, murdered in cold blood by, it would appear, a political opponent.
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Maybe a political opponent who reads the New York Times.
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Gunned down for expressing his views and mainstream views at that.
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And you say, yeah, well, you know, he's probably a Jew hater.
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Yeah, he's a Jew hater, Charlie Kirk. He's an anti-Semite.
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Oh, he's like the head of the Ku Klux Klan, isn't he?
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Listen to the first statement. An earlier version of this article
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described incorrectly, an anti-Semitic statement that Charlie Kirk had made.