Partisan Clash Erupts Over Charlie Kirk’s Death and Political Rhetoric

A floor dispute in the U.S. House over the assassination of Charlie Kirk sparked sharp partisan clashes between Republicans and Democrats regarding responsibility for the nation’s latest high-profile shooting.

The debate intensified after former President Barack Obama stated Wednesday that he “doesn’t know” what motivated Kirk’s killer, drawing swift criticism from the right. Obama posted on X, “We don’t yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy.”

OutKick founder Clay Travis, speaking on Fox News, fiercely criticized Obama, accusing him of fueling political instability by reinforcing rhetoric that has portrayed Donald Trump and his supporters as Nazis and fascists for over a decade.

“You can’t call the president of the United States Adolf Hitler for 10 years, and you can’t say that he’s a fascist dictator,” Travis said. “You cannot call anyone who voted for Trump or supported him Nazis, and then when someone tries to kill us, suddenly say, ‘Oh, we condemn this violence.’ You caused it!”

Travis also referenced Ryan Wesley Routh, the 58-year-old arrested for attempting to assassinate Trump, who claimed he acted because he equated Trump with Hitler. “This left-wing violence is out of control, and Charlie Kirk bore the brunt of it,” he concluded.

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