MSNBC political analyst Matthew Dowd suggested on Wednesday that Charlie Kirk’s rhetoric made him a natural target for violence.
Kirk was shot during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, and the suspect is in custody, according to school officials. Dowd argued on “Katy Tur Reports” that Kirk’s “hate speech” inevitably led to him being shot.
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“[H]e’s been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups,” Dowd said. “And I always go back to: hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions.”
“And I think that’s the environment we’re in. People just, you can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place,” he continued. “And that’s the unfortunate environment we’re in.”
Video from the campus courtyard shows Kirk clutching his neck as the audience scatters; security rushed him from the scene. A source in contact with Kirk’s colleagues told the Daily Caller that he was still alive in the hospital, but he lost a substantial amount of blood.
The Caller also obtained an eyewitness account from a local college student who was located near the back of the crowd. As Kirk discussed the Latter-day Saints faith and moved closer to attendees, “all of a sudden, out of nowhere, there was this loud bang, just one shot, bang. And I saw him hit in the neck, and I saw red gushing blood out of it,” the student said.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for prayers for Kirk after the shooting in a Truth Social post.
“We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot,” Trump wrote. “A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!”
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