Just when you think America’s propaganda press can’t get anymore disgustingly immoral, they find a way to prove you wrong.
Not even an hour after it was reported that Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was shot at a Utah Valley University TPUSA event Wednesday, despicable media hacktivists leapt into action to smear Kirk and demonstrate they possess zero ethics whatsoever.
Kirk died as a result of the shooting, according to a statement issued by President Donald Trump. He was 31 years old.
While discussing the apparent targeted attack, MSNBC senior political analyst Matthew Dowd suggested Kirk could’ve been shot as the result of “a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration.” He then immediately went on to smear Kirk as a “one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures … who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech … aimed at certain groups.”
“I always go back to, ‘hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions.’ And I think that’s the environment we’re in, that … you can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place,” Dowd said, seemingly blaming Kirk for getting shot.
After reading a statement from FBI Director Kash Patel on the shooting, MSNBC correspondent Katy Tur grossly asked her guest why Kirk is a “divisive” and “polarizing” figure and a “lightning rod.”
Tur also separately attempted to frame the shooting of Kirk around gun access and Utah’s “permissive” firearm laws. She also seemed to express more concern about the political consequences of the tragedy, saying, “You can imagine the [Trump] administration using this as a justification for something.”
In a tweet reporting on the shooting, NBC News declined to mention that Kirk was, in fact, shot at the event. The outlet summarized the incident by writing, “BREAKING: Shots fired at Utah Valley University event featuring right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, university says.”
Daily Kos writer Oliver Willis quickly took to mocking Kirk’s previously expressed support for the Second Amendment on the left-wing social media site known as BlueSky. Willis issued follow-up posts attempting to ignore the left’s violence problem and frame conservatives as the real villains on the subject.
“[T]he right will give lip service to condemning violence and then pivot to calling for migrants, blacks, women and trans kids to be abused and mistreated,” Willis wrote. “[L]iberalism as a movement has been consistent in opposing political violence, even against the people we loathe, not so much on the other side of things.”
The New York Times headlined its “live” update article on the shooting to read, “Live Updates: Charlie Kirk, Right-Wing Influencer, Shot In Utah.” The outlet then seemingly changed the headline to, “Live Updates: Charlie Kirk, Right-Wing Activist, Shot in Utah.”
The Salt Lake Tribune reportedly ran a headline on the shooting originally titled, “Gunshot fired at UVU speech by right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk.” The outlet later seemingly updated the headline to “In Utah, Charlie Kirk is shot as right-wing commentator speaks at college appearance.”
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
