The right-wing profile Charlie Kirk was shot to death during Wednesday evening, Swedish time, while he was speaking at Utah Valley University. He began building his following of millions of people on social media as an activist already in his teens. In 2012, he founded the organization Turning Point USA, which, among other things, educates and organizes students to promote the free market and limit government influence.
He had really become a leader within conservative politics during the Trump years, says Christopher Galdieri, political scientist at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire.
Kirk was a big Trump supporter and was involved in the president's election campaign in 2024.
He had a significant role in modern Republican politics, says Galdieri.
Escalated violence
The murder of Kirk is part of the escalated political violence in the US, including the assassination attempt on Trump in 2024, the attack on former Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's husband in 2022, and the murder of Democrat Melissa Hortman and her husband in their home in June this year.
The Trump administration will use this case to justify tougher action against crime or political opponents, Galdieri assesses.
I think they will use this as an opportunity to justify more of the kind of revenge tactics we've seen with the military in Washington and Los Angeles. I do not know how they will act, but I would be shocked if they did not respond to the attack.
Unclear motive
Galdieri does not believe that there will be any attempts from the Republican side to prevent further polarization in the country.
Democrats have not justified this in any way, but I think the White House will try to find some obscure post from some small actor on social media that praises the deed and say that "this is what all liberals think" - just to have an enemy they can oppose and to justify whatever measures they put in place.
It is still unclear what the perpetrator's motive was.
Generally, people who commit this type of murder do not have normal, understandable political motives. For my students, I always use the example that a man shot Ronald Reagan in 1981 to impress Jodie Foster.
