What Democrats Say About Charlie Kirk, They Think About You

They say Charlie Kirk was a racist bigot and white supremacist because of his beliefs on race in America. They say he was a misogynist and male chauvinist because of his opinions about gender roles. They say Kirk was a fascist and white Christian nationalist because of his opinions on immigration and the LGBT movement. 

From prominent American politicians, pundits, and celebrities to the hordes of anonymous chairborne social media activists, all of them said these things about Kirk for years before his assassination, and they have said these same things in the days since his death. They said these things about him because he was one of the most outspoken and rhetorically gifted conservatives of the last decade, antagonizing (and embarrassing) thousands of leftists across this nation (and others). But don’t let that fact lead you to believe that’s the only reason Democrats treated him with such scorn. If you agree with any of Charlie Kirk’s politics, then what the left is saying about him, they think about you too.

The True Character of Leftist Culture

No one should be surprised that obscure or anonymous social media posters would say terrible, hateful things about Charlie Kirk only minutes after his death. There are online subcultures that express vitriol for puppies, babies, and even the Miami Marlins (I know, it’s shocking). But what has been particularly arresting since Kirk’s assassination is how many prominent Americans have attacked him and even expressed blatant lies about him.

Media analyst and former GOP political strategist Matthew Dowd of MSNBC, shortly after Kirk’s shooting, accused him of engaging in “hate speech.” Former Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah quite blatantly doctored a quotation of Kirk’s to make it seem like he believed black women are inherently stupider than other demographics (she has refused to cop to this since being fired). “Comedian” Jimmy Kimmel tried to claim that Kirk’s accused assassin, despite being an outspoken leftist in a relationship with a trans-identifying person, is somehow MAGA, seemingly implying that Kirk was somehow responsible for his own violent death. 

Political commentator Keith Olbermann has suggested Kirk is burning in hell. Author Stephen King claimed (falsely) in a now-deleted X post that Kirk had once advocated for stoning gays to death. The list of public figures being fired for attacking Kirk since his death is long (and growing). And what is most startling about all of it is how “mainstream” these people are. 

If there is any takeaway from the ubiquity of the left’s censure for the now-deceased Kirk, it is that disdain and hatred for him and what he represents are widespread across left-wing America. Though some Democrats have enough political sense to avoid publicly vilifying a brutally murdered father and husband, we have plenty of evidence to demonstrate that the left despised him and his political opinions. And that should give pause to anyone who was sympathetic to any of the opinions Kirk held, be it on “systemic racism,” relations between the sexes, immigration, sexual identity, or religion. 

Not Particularly Controversial Positions

Undoubtedly, Kirk was a firebrand whose inflammatory language offended many. Commenting on Taylor Swift’s recent engagement to Travis Kelce, he last month exhorted her to “submit to your husband, Taylor. You’re not in charge.” He called the 1964 Civil Rights Act “a huge mistake” and attacked affirmative action policies. He argued that women impregnated via rape should bring those babies to term and that medical professionals who promoted transgender experiments on minors should be prosecuted. None of this language is acceptable in “polite society.” Even those who agreed with Kirk often hesitated to say these things over lunch with coworkers, at a neighborhood barbecue, or on the bleachers of their kid’s little league game.

Then again, the positions underlying Kirk’s rhetoric were largely uncontroversial on the right. Millions of Christian Americans believe men are the spiritual heads of their households and, following St. Paul’s words, that wives should submit to their husbands (Ephesians 5:22). Christopher Caldwell, one of the most eloquent and respected journalists in America, wrote an entire book expertly explaining how the Civil Rights Act effectively created a second Constitution that governs the lives of all Americans in ways that are antithetical to our nation’s founding. And the pro-life cause for more than half a century has argued that life in the womb, however it is conceived, is worthy of legal protection. 

How the Left Views You

The fact that Kirk’s actual political beliefs are (and have been) dominant on the right for decades should clarify how we interpret the left’s virulent vitriol for him. Large numbers of conservatives affirm traditional gender roles, oppose affirmative action, and say abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. For arguing such things, Kirk was widely hated and ultimately murdered. A surprising number of our fellow citizens not only didn’t mourn him but celebrated his death, as Peachy Keenan’s recent Federalist article terrifyingly highlighted.

What does that say about how these people view their conservative fellow citizens? If your coworker, neighbor, or fellow parent on your kid’s sports team knew you held most of the same positions as Charlie Kirk, what would they think of you? What would they say about you, either to your face or behind your back? Would they call you a bigot, a white supremacist, a misogynist, a fascist? Would they think your continued existence is a threat to democracy? 

I’d like to think that for those Democrats who know us, those with whom we’ve shared a meal or coordinated on fundraising for our children’s extracurricular activities, learning of our political beliefs would not provoke the kind of censure they’ve directed at Kirk. Then again, Democrats are ending friendships in increasing numbers because of differing political opinions. At a recent t-ball game, one of the players on my 5-year-old son’s team turned to me and, unprovoked, declared: “Trump is evil!” I think I know where he heard that.

What would that kid’s parents think of me if they knew my politics? After Charlie Kirk’s death, I fear I know the answer.

Casey Chalk is a senior contributor at The Federalist and an editor and columnist at The New Oxford Review. He has a bachelor’s in history and master’s in teaching from the University of Virginia and a master’s in theology from Christendom College. He is the author of The Persecuted: True Stories of Courageous Christians Living Their Faith in Muslim Lands.