It can’t really be surprising that after Donald Trump declared war on U.S. cities,[1] and that even though Charlie Kirk’s assassin’s political leanings appear ambiguous,[2] Trump has declined to call for unity in the wake of the shooting, choosing instead to threaten retribution against the “radical left,”[3] a category that includes just about everyone who disagrees with him on anything.[4] And Democrats are uniformly condemning the horse that left the barn quite a long time ago, political violence, which, even according to a right-wing (capitalist libertarian) source, is much more of a phenomenon of the right than of the left,[5] which is to say, again unsurprisingly, that Democrats are useless mealy-mouths.
From what I’m seeing, a lot of experts think Kirk’s assassination will lead to yet more political violence. Certainly, a lot of folks on the right are talking about war—as if they were the ones under siege,[6] as if they weren’t the ones with their identities wrapped up in their guns.
We’ve certainly seen the right rise up violently before—the coup attempt on January 6, 2021, and for that matter, the Confederacy of the Civil War, all too obviously come to mind—and I’m fearful we will see it again. These are violent people, whose identities are wrapped up not only in their guns, but in their cruelty, their hatred, and their bigotry. They will be seeking our annihilation and they will enjoy it.
I don’t know how we respond to this. We are, generally speaking, not the ones with the guns. But we’re going to need to come up with something.
[1] David Benfell, “Donald Trump goes to war with U.S. cities,” Not Housebroken, September 8, 2025, https://www.disunitedstates.org/p/donald-trump-goes-to-war-with-us
[2] Casey Tolan et al., “What we know about Charlie Kirk shooting suspect Tyler Robinson,” Cable News Network, September 13, 2025, https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/12/us/tyler-robinson-charlie-kirk-shooting-suspect-invs
[3] Susan B. Glasser, “Did Trump Just Declare War on the American Left?” New Yorker, September 11, 2025, https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/did-trump-just-declare-war-on-the-american-left; Ben Johansen, “Trump says ‘we have to beat the hell’ out of ‘radical left lunatics’ after Kirk killing,” Politico, September 11, 2025, https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/11/trump-says-we-have-to-beat-the-hell-out-of-radical-left-lunatics-after-kirk-killing-00559170
[4] David Benfell, “I cannot yet dance on Charlie Kirk’s grave,” Not Housebroken, September 11, 2025, https://www.disunitedstates.org/p/i-cannot-yet-dance-on-charlie-kirks
[5] Alex Nowrasteh, “Politically Motivated Violence is Rare in the United States, Laissez-Faire, Laissez-Passer w/ Alex Nowrasteh & David Bier, September 11, 2025, https://www.alexnowrasteh.com/p/politically-motivated-violence-is
[6] Will Steakin, “After Charlie Kirk’s killing, MAGA world mourns, but some say ‘we’re at war,’” ABC News, September 12, 2025, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/after-charlie-kirks-killing-maga-world-mourns-war/story?id=125483603