Former President Barack Obama said Tuesday that President Donald Trump was largely to blame for Charlie Kirk’s assassination, claiming the current White House’s “extremist views” has fueled political violence across the nation.
Speaking at the Jefferson Educational Society’s global summit in Erie, Pennsylvania, Obama called Kirk’s murder “horrific” and a “tragedy” before criticizing Trump and his policies. The 44th president said the country is at a dangerous “inflection point” regarding political violence.
“When I hear not just our current president, but his aides, who have a history of calling political opponents vermin, enemies, who need to be ‘targeted,’ that speaks to a broader problem that we have right now and something that we’re going to have to grapple with, all of us,” Obama said.
Obama claimed his own administration never embraced divisive rhetoric.
“Those extreme views were not in my White House. I wasn’t embracing them. I wasn’t empowering them. I wasn’t putting the weight of the United States government behind extremist views,” he said. “When we have the weight of the United States government behind extremist views, we’ve got a problem.”
The former president’s comments come exactly one week after Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed during a campus speaking event at Utah Valley University. Kirk was murdered in front of a horrified crowd while debating liberal students as part of his “American Comeback” tour. He leaves behind a wife and two young children.
Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah resident, was arrested after a 33-hour manhunt and charged with aggravated murder. According to authorities, Robinson allegedly told his transgender lover in text messages following the shooting that he “had enough of his hatred” regarding Kirk.
Obama acknowledged he disagreed with Kirk’s views while mourning his death. “I didn’t know Charlie Kirk. I was generally aware of some of his ideas. I think those ideas were wrong, but that doesn’t negate the fact that what happened was a tragedy,” Obama said.
During his 2008 campaign, Obama told supporters to “argue with them, get in their face” when confronting political opponents. As president, Obama backed the Occupy Wall Street protests and made controversial comments during the Trayvon Martin case that critics say inflamed racial tensions.
Obama’s administration included officials with radical backgrounds, including White House Communications Director Anita Dunn, who once cited Chinese communist leader Mao Zedong as one of her favorite political philosophers. The administration also embraced the Black Lives Matter riots.
The Obama presidency saw increased political polarization over issues including the Affordable Care Act, which passed without Republican support despite widespread opposition. When Republicans gained control of Congress in 2010 and 2014, Obama used executive actions to advance policies he had previously said exceeded presidential authority.
Obama, former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and other Democratic leaders have repeatedly labeled Trump supporters “fascists,” “Nazis,” and an “existential threat” to democracy in recent years.
During a 2011 budget speech, Obama invited House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan to attend, then publicly criticized Ryan’s proposals while he sat in the audience. Obama later said he regretted the incident and didn’t realize Ryan would be present.
“Even if you think they’re quote unquote on the other side of the argument, that’s a threat to all of us and we have to be clear and forthright and condemn it,” Obama said during Tuesday’s remarks.
The former president urged Americans to “extend grace” to those mourning Kirk’s death, even as some on social media have celebrated the assassination.
Kirk was a prominent conservative activist who mobilized young Republican voters through campus speaking tours. His death represents the latest incident in a series of political violence that has affected both parties, including two assassination attempts against Trump during the 2024 campaign and the murders of Minnesota Democratic state legislator and her spouse.
Robinson is being held without bail and is expected to face formal charges this week.