The shooting of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday at Utah Valley University prompted an outpouring of reaction from across the political spectrum, with some calling for prayers and others immediately casting blame.
President Trump, who considers Mr. Kirk is a close ally, wrote on his Truth Social platform, “We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!”
Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director and a former right-wing podcast host, wrote on X that the F.B.I. was “closely monitoring” the situation.
“Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected,” he wrote. “Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.”
Others immediately focused on what larger political issues were to blame for the shooting. Elon Musk declared on X that “The Left is the party of murder.”
Harrison Smith, an InfoWars host, blamed the “fostering of extremism, the encouraging of the most radical and violent elements of the Democratic Party, constantly telling this swath of mentally ill people that they’re under attack, that fascism is coming, that they have to stand up and fight and arm yourselves — and this is almost the inevitable outcome.”
Though a motive for the attack was not immediately known, several politicians denounced political violence, including some previous victims.
Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, who was a victim of a politically motivated arson attack at the governor’s mansion earlier this year, condemned the attack in a statement. “We must speak with moral clarity,” he said. “The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society.”
Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman and a Democrat who nearly died in a 2011 assassination attempt, said on social media that she was “horrified” to hear that Mr. Kirk had been shot. “Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence,” she said.
Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, wrote: “Political violence is NEVER acceptable. My thoughts and prayers are with Charlie Kirk and his family.”
Mike Baker, Devlin Barrett, Kate Conger, Maggie Haberman and Bernard Mokam contributed reporting.
Richard Fausset, a Times reporter based in Atlanta, writes about the American South, focusing on politics, culture, race, poverty and criminal justice.
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