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The date was October 29, 2001.
President George W. Bush was warming up in the bowels of Yankee Stadium, trying to get his arm ready to throw out the first pitch of Game 3 of the World Series between the Yankees and the Diamondbacks. It was truly an amazing sight to see such a huge event in New York City at all, considering what happened more than six weeks earlier when Al-Qaeda terrorists killed 2,967 people at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
OPINION: CHARLIE KIRK WAS MURDERED FOR WINNING THE WAR OF PUBLIC PERSUASION
But just before Bush was supposed to depart for the mound, captain Derek Jeter pulled him aside to give him a friendly warning
“Don’t bounce it. They’ll boo you,” Jeter cautioned before suggesting that Bush throw from the rubber instead of in front of the mound, as many non-players elect to do.
Bush took the advice to heart and after being introduced to the crowd of more than 57,000, he walked up onto the mound to a huge roar and standing ovation. It was a sight one never thought you would ever hear for a Republican president in New York City.
Bush gave a thumbs-up to the crowd. Fans roared even louder. And then he looked at home plate, wound up, and threw a perfect strike.
The roar at this point was deafening, followed by chants of “USA USA!”.
The country had indeed united after 9/11. There were no blue states or red states. Just red, white, and blue.
Fast-forward to September 10, 2025. Conservative activist Charlie Kirk is holding yet another Turning Point USA rally at Utah Valley University, which is located about 40 minutes outside of Salt Lake City. Thousands were in attendance on a perfect September day, with Kirk throwing MAGA hats into the crowd while sporting a bright smile.
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Charlie was in his element. Again. He created Turning Point USA at age 18 from scratch in 2012. Most guys that age are thinking about what college they’re attending, what fraternity they’re pledging, or just about girls and beer in general.
Thirteen years later, he sported millions of followers online. His venues were always sold out. And his voter registration drives getting young adults involved were unmatched.
Not long into the Utah event, Kirk was taking a question on transgender mass shooters when a single shot ran out. Video from the scene shows Kirk being struck directly in the neck. It was a fatal shot taken from a high caliber rifle from a shooter 200 yards away perched on a rooftop.
“Even if there was a trauma surgeon onstage,” explained Dr. Ronnie Jackson, a former doctor to presidents Obama and Trump, on Sean Hannity‘s prime-time show on Fox News. “It wouldn’t have mattered. They wouldn’t be able to save him.”
Kirk was later pronounced dead. He was just 31 years old and leaves behind a beautiful wife, young daughter, and son.
For many of us who weren’t around during the 60s for the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and John F. Kennedy, Charlie’s shocking murder may very well be the most jarring, maddening, and horrific event we have witnessed in our lifetimes.
All of this said, one would have hoped that legacy media wouldn’t screw this one up. One would also hope lawmakers wouldn’t start pointing fingers and casting blame. Unfortunately, it was naïve to have that kind of optimism… Because while many outlets handle the news responsibly… There were enough actors and apples out there to taint the industry once again.
Exhibit A is Matthew Dowd, now formerly of MSNBC.
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“[Kirk] is one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups. And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions,” Dowd told Katy Tur right after the shooting when it was still unknown whether Charlie was alive or dead.
“I think that’s the environment we’re in, that the people just — 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,” he added piously.
Dowd would be fired from the network less than 24 hours later, after enormous (and justified) backlash.
Not far behind Dowd was a so-called anchor named Katy Tur. She was the one interviewing Dowd when she put forth this despicable perspective that she uttered (again) while Kirk’s condition was unknown.
“You can imagine the [Trump] administration using this as a justification for something.”
Not long after that, she asked, “How worried do you get about somebody taking up the cause of Charlie Kirk?”
Dowd has since been fired. Tur wasn’t even suspended and was back on the air the next day. This is unacceptable that no reprimand occurred given she quarterbacked this conversation with Dowd.
As an anchor, she should’ve understood how to act responsibly in the moment, considering that she’s been in this business for two decades. But she couldn’t resist, even in a shocking and somber moment, continuing her perpetual resistance to Trump and anything conservative. That at least warrants a long suspension.
But it didn’t stop there. Not even close.
In a story that redefines poor taste and zero class, the New York Times decided to accuse Kirk of making antisemitic comments just hours after he was killed. One problem: The “paper of record” completely took him out of context. And when called out for it on social media, the New York Times issued the following correction for a piece that somehow required for bylines.
“A correction was made on Sept. 11, 2025: An earlier version of this article described incorrectly an antisemitic statement that Charlie Kirk had made on an episode of his podcast. He was quoting a statement from a post on social media and went on to critique it. It was not his own statement,” it reads.
Great job all around, guys.
CBS morning anchor Nate Burlson also got into the act during an interview with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy one day after Charlie died by somehow making the argument that rhetoric from the right may have caused this.
“Speaking of tragedy, is this a moment for your party to reflect on political violence? Is it a moment for us to think about the responsibility of our political leaders and their voices and what it does to the masses as they get lost in misinformation or disinformation that turns in and spills into political violence?”
Sorry, Nate, but which party has referred to the current president on countless occasions as Hitler, a fascist, a Nazi, and an authoritarian dictator again? Didn’t then-President Biden declare that “We need to put Trump in a bullseye” just four days before he was shot?
Just one more reason major changes are coming to CBS News soon, which is almost indistinguishable from MSNBC at this point.
Speaking of Hitler references, here’s what Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), the face of the Democratic Party if her media schedule is any indication, told The Breakfast Club on Friday. And it’s a doozy…
Me disagreeing with you, me calling you a wannabe Hitler — all those things are like not necessarily saying ‘Go out and hurt somebody.’”
Actually, to enough crazies out there, it completely does say that. In a related story, Charlie’s killer, Tyler Robinson, had inscribed, “Hey Fascist! Catch!” on the rifle he used. Words have consequences.
Finally, we had Chris Cuomo on NewsNation alleging that Kirk was part of a “hate for profit” crowd in an interview with Charlie’s close friend Benny Johnson, who rightly exploded at the insensitive and reckless charge.
“Charlie Kirk has NEVER advocated violence..ever! Charlie Kirk was ONLY a nonviolent, peaceful debate!” Johnson correctly retorted. “You’ll never be able to chew me out Chris, because I’ll never dehumanize.”
Good for him.
Not to be outdone was Rep. Dan Goldman in an appearance on CNN, who decided to lecture “right-wing podcasters” on civil discourse.
“It is incredibly dangerous … I would really urge the president … to speak out against that … And I hope these far-right podcasters come to their senses & recognize that this is not war”
The hypocrisy is beyond rich. Here’s Goldman in an interview with MSNBC’s Jen Psaki on what needed to be done about then-candidate Trump.
“It is just unquestionable at this point that that man cannot see public office again. He is not only unfit, he is destructive to our democracy, and he has to be, he has to be eliminated,” Goldman declared in 2023 as Psaki nodded along.
The 9/11 attacks, 24 years ago this week, was one of the darkest days in American history.
But what we saw in the weeks and months after was an inspired country that came together as one.
DAVID HARSANYI: CHARLIE KIRK EPITOMIZED THE BEST OF OUR CIVIC TRADITION
Unfortunately, in 2025, our leaders and those paid to report and analyze the news profoundly disappointed us once again to the point of no return.
Rest in peace, Charlie Kirk. The massive movement you created as a teenager will only grow stronger and bigger than ever.
