In the wake of conservative leader Charlie Kirk's assassination, and especially the killer's message scrawled on a shell casing, "Hey fascist! Catch!," President Donald Trump and the Republican Party accuse Democrats of doubling down on radical rhetoric, rather than uniting to condemn violence.
Since the day Kirk was killed while speaking at a college campus, Washington has turned into a rhetorical battleground.
Republicans argue the killing should unite both parties against political violence, but instead, in their telling, Democrats have "embraced an extreme, far-left playbook," RNC national press secretary Kiersten Pels said in a Tuesday press release to Newsmax.
Republican messaging centers added that 118 House Democrats refused to condemn Kirk's assassination, framing the silence as complicity.
Pels also spotlighted Virginia Democrats Abigail Spanberger, Rep. Eugene Vindman, and Sen. Tim Kaine for continuing to support Jay Jones, a candidate for the state's attorney general whom Republicans accuse of "fantasizing about murdering his political opponent" and forcing his wife to watch their children die and of saying that killing police "is OK to prove a point."
Next, the GOP charges that Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, declined to address a separate Dallas ICE attack where "ANTI-ICE" was written on a shell casing, and that Reps. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., Crockett, and Mark Pocan, D-Wis., still label Republicans as "fascists."
For Republicans, such remarks confirm that Kirk's assassination wasn't a shock to be met with unity; it was a signal that Democrats see political violence as a tool, not a crisis.
Democrats reject the GOP accusations.
They note that some members did condemn the killing, and they argue that the push to portray all dissenting speech as violent rhetoric is a dangerous tactic to suppress opposition.
They further observe that the resolution to honor Kirk passed with Democrat support, though with notable internal dissent, indicating that even within the party, the reaction was not solid.
Independent analysts note that heated language on all sides is concerning, but establishing a direct link between political rhetoric and acts of violence is complex.
The Trump administration has indicated it may use Kirk's death to reshape domestic security policy.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called for investigations into what he described as 'radical organizations' that promote violent rhetoric — language that critics say politicizes the tragedy.
On Tuesday, Trump posthumously awarded Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, portraying him as a martyr in the struggle against domestic extremism.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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