I certainly don’t feel “terrible” about this. I also very strongly don’t believe every man’s death diminishes me. The world is slightly better, in some ways, for one less Charlie Kirk in the world. I agree with @Moriarty ‘s take above:
And a counter-point:
I am sorry his children lost their father. However, regarding the comparison to Charles Manson, I agree! Charlie Manson’s damage was limited to a relatively small number of people. Charlie Kirk’s damage was far more widespread, and far more insidious… and I would be willing to bet overall resulted (and will result) in more deaths than Manson could have dreamed of…
It is impossible to prove, but it is hard for me to see Butler not turning enough Pennsylvanians rightward to explain Senator Bob Casey being replaced by Dave McCormick in an election where the margin was 0.2 percent. So every Senate tie broken by Vance would have gone the other way. No Butler, and no Hegseth, and no Big Beautiful Bill, at least not without compromise provisions.
Then there is the psychological impact on Trump. Being shot isn’t the only explanation for Trump being more reckless this time around, but it is a plausible factor.
When I think about how I feel about this, I consider the generous sympathy extended by our current president to the family of Nancy Pelosi after her husband was beaten within his home. And I consider the blind adulation given to our current president by millions of Americans.
As a longtime deer hunter who has missed more than his fair share of deer at less than 200 yards, I can assure you that the shooter was the real deal. He must have had a well sighted in rifle and was skilled in using it.
In 1952 and 1953, Stalin was planning a purge to kill off large numbers of people in the USSR, including his inner circle. He died of a stroke before he had a chance to carry out the purge. There is speculation that Beria (his head of secret police) poisoned him with rat poison before he could carry out the purge because Beria knew he’d end up dead in the purge, just like the 2 previous NKVD leaders before him had been tortured and executed.
This death of Stalin led to the end of Stalin’s reign of terror, de-stalinization of the USSR and the release of large numbers of people from gulags.
Kirk himself said, as has been shown in this thread, that he felt that civilian deaths are an unfortunate but acceptable consequence of having the second amendment.
He just meant everyone else’s deaths were a sacrifice he was willing to make.
Chalk me up as someone who had never heard of Charlie Kirk until today. So I guess it’s hard for me to grasp his sphere of influence on the right, or to predict what the consequences will be. I imagine if I knew who he was, my response would be more or less the same: It’s not great. Political violence often backfires.
