Obama Uses Charlie Kirk’s Death To Attack Donald Trump
Former President Barack Obama on Tuesday described the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as “horrific and a tragedy,” while also warning that political rhetoric from the current administration has fueled division in the country.
Obama delivered his remarks at the Jefferson Educational Society’s 17th annual global summit in Erie, Pennsylvania, one week after Kirk was shot and killed during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University.
“Regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, what happened to Charlie Kirk was horrific and a tragedy,” Obama said.
The former president told the audience he had not known Kirk personally but acknowledged his prominence in national politics. “Obviously I didn’t know Charlie Kirk,” Obama said. “I was generally aware of some of his ideas. I think those ideas were wrong, but that doesn’t negate the fact that what happened was a tragedy and that I mourn for him and his family.”
Obama cautioned that the country faces “a political crisis of the sort that we haven’t seen before,” suggesting that the tone set by the current White House was contributing to the problem.
“Those extreme views were not in my White House,” Obama said. “I wasn’t empowering them. I wasn’t putting the weight of the United States government behind them. When we have the weight of the United States government behind extremist views, we’ve got a problem.”
He also argued that recent efforts to clamp down on commentary following Kirk’s death reflect a dangerous trend. “When I hear not just our current president, but his aides, who have a history of calling political opponents ‘vermin,’ enemies who need to be ‘targeted,’ that speaks to a broader problem that we have right now, and something that we’re going to have to grapple with — all of us,” Obama said.
Former President Barack Obama starts listing out the things he disagreed with Charlie Kirk on before pointing blame at the Trump White House for political division.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 17, 2025
Obama also patted himself on the back, claiming his White House never had "extreme views" like Trump's does.
What… pic.twitter.com/0s34smYUWC
The White House issued a swift rebuttal on Wednesday, accusing Obama of hypocrisy.
“Barack Hussein Obama is the architect of modern political division in America — famously demeaning millions of patriotic Americans who opposed his liberal agenda as ‘bitter’ for ‘cling(ing) to guns or religion,’” spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
“Obama used every opportunity to sow division and pit Americans against each other, and following his presidency more Americans felt Obama divided the country than felt he united it,” Jackson continued. “His division has inspired generations of Democrats to slander their opponents as ‘deplorables,’ or ‘fascists,’ or ‘Nazis.’ If he cares about unity in America, he would tell his own party to stop their destructive behavior.”
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot on Sept. 10 while speaking to a crowd of several thousand at Utah Valley University. Prosecutors say the suspected gunman, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, climbed onto a campus rooftop, fired a single round, and struck Kirk in the neck. Robinson was arrested days later and charged this week with aggravated murder and related crimes. Prosecutors have indicated that the case may qualify for the death penalty under Utah law.
Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was widely recognized as a leading conservative activist and credited with helping to mobilize younger Republican voters. His death has drawn tributes from political allies, including President Donald Trump, who posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Obama weighed in shortly after the shooting. In a Sept. 10 post on X, he wrote: “We don’t yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy. Michelle and I will be praying for Charlie’s family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children.”
The exchange between Obama and the Trump White House highlights how Kirk’s assassination has quickly become a political flashpoint. Democrats such as Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker have linked the tragedy to rising extremism and rhetoric nationwide, while Republicans have focused on the radicalization of the shooter due in part to overheated rhetoric about conservatives purportedly being “fascists.”
