OREM, UTAH — Charlie Kirk, a right-wing political activist and pundit from the U.S., was shot in the neck and killed, while speaking to a huge crowd outside on the Utah Valley University campus. Kirk was a well-known figure in conservative politics at the age of 31. He was recognized for his ability to get young people involved and for his often incendiary comments about race, gender, and immigration.
The incident happened when Kirk, who is the head of the conservative student group Turning Point USA, was giving a speech on campus. The sad episode happened not long after he got back to the US from an overseas speaking tour. The tour included a big gathering in Tokyo for Japan’s far-right Sanseito party and a stop in South Korea.
A Strong Voice for Trump
In 2012, Kirk became well-known when he co-founded Turning Point USA with conservative activist Bill Montgomery. The group helped conservative causes on college campuses and was a big part of getting young people to support Donald Trump in the November 2024 election. Kirk also started Turning Point Action in 2019. It’s a non-profit entity that works to support conservative candidates.
His impact went beyond activism on campus. Kirk was very popular online. He had 5.3 million followers on X and over 500,000 listeners per month for his podcast and radio show, “The Charlie Kirk Show.” He wrote a number of publications, such as “Time for a Turning Point” and “The College Scam,” and he often wrote for Fox News.
On his social media site Truth Social, President Donald Trump wrote about the death of “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk.” Charlie was the best at understanding and caring about the youth of the United States. Everyone loved and respected him, especially me. Now he is gone. Trump ordered that U.S. flags be flown at half-staff until Sunday in Kirk’s memory. This is an uncommon distinction for a non-government official.
Language and Disagreement
Kirk’s bold manner often got him into trouble. In an August podcast broadcast, he said that Black Democratic lawmaker Jasmine Crockett was part of a bigger “attempt to eliminate the white population in this country.” This sounded a lot like “great replacement” conspiracy theories.
His political career took off after Fox News saw an op-ed he wrote for the conservative news site Breitbart in 2012. This led to his first appearance on TV. That chance led to a speech when he met Bill Montgomery. Montgomery told Kirk to carry his message to college campuses, which eventually led to the establishment of Turning Point USA.
Charlie Kirk’s death is a sad event that happens at a time when political violence is on the rise in the U.S. The reason for the shooting is yet unknown, but his death is a big loss for the conservative movement and shows how dangerous it is for politicians to be in the public eye.