The murder of Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and President Donald Trump’s ally, has divided America.
The founder of the political organisation Turning Point USA was shot dead at a university in Utah on Wednesday. The killing has left conservatives seething and blaming liberals. Social media reflected a stark divide, exposing America’s raw political pulse as some offered condolences while others vilified the activist in his final moments.
Kirk was infamous for his highly provocative comments on raging social and political issues in the US, ranging from abortion and gun control to immigration and foreign affairs. His unrelenting support for the Republican Party and Trump’s policies consistently sparked intense backlash and public debate.
None of it justifies his murder.
Here’s what Kirk said on five important issues.
‘America doesn’t need more people from India’
Charlie Kirk was vocal about US immigration policies and frequently spoke out against migrants — legal or undocumented — entering America.
His most controversial remark came during the US-India trade negotiations, which caused significant uproar in political and social circles.
While responding to a Fox News anchor’s post on X, the conservative media personality said, “Perhaps no form of legal immigration has so displaced American workers as those from India. Enough already. We’re full. Let’s finally put our own people first.”
Charlie Kirk on gun rights
Charlie Kirk stood unflinching in the aftermath of the Nashville school shooting which claimed six lives, including those of three children, and defended Americans’ right to bear arms despite mounting public support for stricter gun control laws.
“Having an armed citizenry comes with a price, and that is part of liberty,” he was quoted as saying. “So we need to be very clear that you're not going to get gun deaths to zero … But … I think it's worth it…”
He also drew a comparison between car deaths and gun deaths, saying that just as driving comes with a price, so too does the freedom to own a gun.
Ironically, it was while answering a question on mass shootings at the Utah college that Kirk was killed.
Charlie Kirk on abortion
In another exchange that went viral, Kirk was asked about his uncompromising stance against abortion and what his decision would be if his daughter became pregnant due to sexual assault.
“That’s awfully graphic,” Kirk said. “But the answer is yes, the baby would be delivered.”
Kirk had always maintained that his pro-life views stemmed from Christian teaching, which considers abortion to be murder. He called for abortion to be banned in its entirety without exceptions.
“There is nothing called moral abortion. Every abortion is wrong,” he was quoted as saying.
Charlie Kirk on Black Lives Matter
On the issue of race, Kirk sparked outrage during his ‘Exposing Critical Racism’ tour in 2021 when he addressed a crowd in Mankato, Minnesota. Referring to George Floyd, he said: “Floyd was a scumbag … unworthy of the attention.”
The remark came in a speech where he also claimed that the response to Floyd’s death was exaggerated and driven by “the most corrupt and disingenuous voices that any human being could find around anything”.
‘Deaths in Gaza are a fault of Hamas, not Israel’
The Israel-Palestine conflict and the continuing genocide in Gaza have been among the most contentious political issues in the US, with pro-Palestine protests and federal crackdowns on central universities reshaping the national debate.
Kirk was a vocal supporter of Israel, dismissing the deaths of women and children in Gaza as inevitable consequences of a war initiated by Hamas.
Justifying Israel’s retaliation, he said the objective in Gaza was to destroy Hamas and install a government that does not “embrace genocide.”