On September 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk was fatally shot during his event at Utah Valley University. Kirk was one of the most famous and polarizing conservative public figures, known for his outspoken religious and right-wing beliefs. He was an avid MAGA supporter, and opposed abortions, LGBT+ rights, gun control, and immigrant rights. In the divided climate of our country, he had as many supporters as he had critics. Now, these two groups are clashing over his death.
Kirk’s final moments sparked a debate on the connection between his death and his beliefs. Kirk famously and frequently defended the right to possess guns, and his last words — “counting or not counting gang violence?” — were a follow up to a question about mass shootings. On social media, users quickly pointed out an irony. “His last word being ‘violence’ is crazy,” wrote one commenter. Another added, “he didn't deserve to die; but the irony in all of this is wild.” Several posts also resurfaced a 2023 remark in which Kirk said, “I think it's worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year,” in exchange for the right to own firearms. “He was a victim of his own beliefs, he died on a hill he created” a user commented under one of the posts. Many were hesitant to empathize with his death: “everyone wants us to feel bad [but he died of what] he was literally advocating for,” read one comment, while another said “Charlie Kirk said empathy isn’t a real thing by the way.”
Supporters, however, expressed grief and admiration. Religious and conservative communities online shared tributes such as “rest in peace” and “fly high,” with many offering prayers for Kirk’s wife, Erika, and their children. Some commenters went as far as to compare him to figures like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesus Christ. After Erika Kirk delivered a speech for her husband, in which she forgave his shooter in the name of “our savior” Jesus Christ, the support for her also became an attack on liberals. “Someting the left could never do is forgive their enemies,” read one comment, a sentiment that many conservatives reflected.
The debate continued when liberal influencer Brielle Asero criticized the scale of outrage over Kirk’s death. “I sure hope that this outrage about Charlie Kirk is the same outrage that you had two weeks ago when it was baby children in their school being massacred,” she posted. “I am seeing a lot more today than I ever have in my entire life, for any sort of gun violence. I am very disturbed and angry about that.” Many echoed her point, noting that almost immediately after Kirk’s passing, a school shooting in Denver, Colorado, received no attention from the same conservative posters.
Charlie Kirk’s death was also atypically first revealed on Truth Social by President Trump. Trump wrote: “The Great, even Legendary, Charlie Kirk is dead…Charlie, we love you!” Some questioned why Trump announced the death on social media before news outlets did, fueling a wave of conspiracy theories. For example, people were making unsupported statements that Kirk’s death was orchestrated by the government as a distraction from the Jeffrey Epstein files. On The Charlie Kirk Show and Turning Point USA, he discussed Epstein’s possible role as a secret intelligence agent for the UK, Saudi Arabia or Israel, and had demanded the release of the Epstein files. Social media conspiracy theorists began speculating that due to Trump’s suspected involvement in the Epstein files, Charlie Kirk was forcibly eliminated. No side wanted to take responsibility, creating an polarizing environment.
Trump’s attention to Kirk’s death also drew comparisons to his silence after the assassination of Minnesota Democratic Rep. Melissa Hortman two months earlier. While Democratic leaders, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, expressed condolences for both Hortman and Kirk, conservative figures did not issue statements about Hortman’s death. When asked about his lack of comment at the time, Trump said he was unfamiliar with her, and deflected that “the radical left causes tremendous violence,” blaming them for Kirk’s death. Investigators, however, noted that Hortman’s killer had specifically targeted liberal officials and was therefore suspected of being Republican, and Kirk’s assassin, Tyler Robinson, came from a conservative family — though he was not registered with a political party.
As tributes, criticisms, and conspiracies continue to spread online, Charlie Kirk’s death remains both a tragedy for his supporters and a new flashpoint in America’s culture wars. It has unintentionally added fuel to the fire of liberal vs conservative beliefs and served as a meaningful message that gun violence stops for no one. However, it has also brought to light the nation’s broader divisions. As social media seeps further into the new generations, views from both sides will always have an outlet, and the online debates will intensify, making the truth almost impossible to flesh out.