Obama calls Kirk assassination ‘horrific,’ says nation in ‘political crisis’

Former President Obama said Tuesday the assassination of conservative advocate Charlie Kirk was “horrific” and representative of a national “political crisis.”

“Regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, what happened to Charlie Kirk was horrific and a tragedy,” Obama told an audience at the Jefferson Educational Society in Erie, Pa. 

“What happened, as you mentioned, to the state legislators in Minnesota, that is horrific. It is a tragedy,” he continued, referring to the fatal shooting of state Rep. Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband Mark in June. 

The former president said citizens deserve to have “contentious debates” without a “resort to violence.”

“Now, that does not mean ignoring very real differences, serious, deep divisions,” he told the audience. “Those we’ll always have, and we can talk about some of those and why it is that I think the country right now is going through sort of a political crisis of the sort that we haven’t seen before.”

Kirk was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University last week. Utah officials are seeking the death penalty in the case against 22-year-old suspect Tyler Robinson.

The assassination has sparked a new debate around political violence. Lawmakers and government officials on in both parties have pointed fingers at the other side for rhetoric they argue has sparked what Attorney General Pam Bondi called “hate comments.”

Trump administration officials have vowed to scan social media platforms for comments appearing to celebrate the death of Kirk and in some cases seek legal action.

In recent months, Obama has also criticized the Trump administration for charting “dangerous trends” with police federalization and militarization in cities such as Washington and Los Angeles. 

The former president said Tuesday the current climate shows the “guardrails” and “norms” once kept by past leaders “suddenly … no longer apply.”