Victor Davis Hanson: Charlie Kirk Assassination Did Not Occur in a Vacuum

Charlie Kirk shaped modern conservatism and reached youth in ways no one else could—and that’s precisely what made him so dangerous to the Left.

The trailblazing 31-year-old activist and commentator who founded Turning Point USA was regularly smeared as a “fascist,” a “Nazi,” and a “threat to democracy” by the Left. It was only a matter of time until a crazed person put those words into action. On today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” Hanson pays tribute to Kirk and explains how his death is more than just a personal loss; it signals a dangerous new era where political violence is becoming normalized.

“ He connected with people. He had a podcast. He was an extemporaneous speaker. He could ad lib. He wrote columns. He was fearless. He was—he registered voters. He might have been more responsible for winning key states than any other political activists in the 2024 election. I don't think anybody in our generation—I'm speaking my generation—could have done what he did.

“ We are legitimizing political violence. If you call someone day after day after day, "white, white, white, white"; "racist, racist, racist"; "fascist, fascist, fascist"; "Nazi, Nazi, Nazi"—we hear that from Joy Reid. We see it on "The View." We see it on MSNBC. Even just seconds after Charlie died, we had Matthew Dowd go on and basically said that he got what he deserved because he was an extremist, etc., and he and you "live by the sword, die by the sword" sort of argument he used.”

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(0:00) The Assassination of Charlie Kirk
(0:46) Remembering Charlie Kirk's Impact
(2:13) The Rise of Political Violence
(3:35) The Left's Reaction to Political Violence
(5:01) The Dangerous Normalization of Violence
(7:59) Final Thoughts