The floor of the U.S. House of Representatives became a battleground over Charlie Kirk’s tragic death, marking the beginning of a heated partisan clash between Republicans and Democrats. The debate rapidly escalated as both sides placed blame on one another for the latest high-profile shooting in the nation. Tensions soared further after former President Barack Obama weighed in on the matter, stating on Wednesday that he “doesn’t know” what motivated the killer behind Kirk’s death. His comments immediately drew sharp criticism from conservative figures.
“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,” Obama wrote in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter). However, his words did little to quell the growing anger on the right. OutKick founder Clay Travis, appearing on Fox News, launched a scathing attack on Obama, accusing him of contributing to national instability with years of rhetoric that painted former President Donald Trump and his supporters as Nazis and fascists.
“You can’t call the president of the United States Adolf Hitler for 10 years, and you can’t say he’s a fascist dictator,” Travis vehemently declared, responding to Obama’s post. “You cannot say that anyone who voted for Trump or supported him, like you, me, Riley, and Charlie Kirk, are Nazis, and then when someone tries to kill us, suddenly say, ‘Oh, we condemn this violence.’ You caused it!”
Travis’s remarks were filled with palpable frustration as he continued: “Look at me right now! You caused this! When you tell people that someone is Hitler, you are telling crazy people: Go kill them. And I am sick of pretending that this isn’t exactly what they’re doing.”
The tension didn’t stop with Travis’s comments. He reminded the public of the troubling context surrounding Obama’s past remarks. In 2016, Obama privately called Donald Trump a “fascist” during a phone conversation with Tim Kaine, who was Hillary Clinton’s running mate in that year’s presidential election. Clinton herself echoed Obama’s sentiment during a campaign event, stressing the need to “keep a fascist out of the White House.” These words, along with Obama’s more recent comments, were used by Travis and other conservatives to argue that the left’s inflammatory rhetoric has only contributed to the climate of division and violence in the country.
Travis then referenced the case of Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old man who was arrested after attempting to assassinate Trump in West Palm Beach. Routh reportedly told authorities that he believed Trump was akin to Hitler, further underscoring Travis’s point about the dangerous effects of inflammatory political rhetoric.
“This is what they do. This left-wing violence—it’s out of control. And Charlie Kirk bore the brunt of that left-wing violence,” Travis said, his voice thick with emotion. His words reflect a deepening frustration over what he perceives as a pattern of rhetoric from the left that incites violence and undermines national stability.
The debate over the responsibility for Kirk’s death, and the broader issue of political violence, continues to escalate, with each side accusing the other of stoking division and endangering public safety. As the partisan war of words intensifies, it remains unclear whether the national conversation will lead to any meaningful action or simply further entrench the divisions that are already tearing at the fabric of American society.