OPINION: US Correspondent Logan Church reflects on the impact Charlie Kirk, shot dead in front of a crowd on a university campus in Utah yesterday, has had on America.
I couldn’t tell you how many videos of Charlie Kirk I’ve seen online in recent years.
Hundreds? Thousands?
You’d be hard pressed to find a political activist who was able to engage with young people more effectively than Kirk – whether they loved or hated him.
His tours of college campuses included lively debates with students, while his online shows and videos were streamed to millions.
US Correspondent Logan Church reflects on the impact of Charlie Kirk’s death, shot dead in front of a crowd on a university campus in Utah. (Source: 1News)
Employing rhetoric that has been described as everything from "speaking the truth" to "filled with hate", the strength of people’s reactions resulted in these videos being liked, stitched, and shared over and over... and over.
They’ve been a textbook example of how to remain in the forefront of the digital consciousness.
"He had a huge influence online, particularly among young people, young conservatives, and college students, which is really where he found his online fame by travelling around American colleges, setting up a ‘Prove Me Wrong table’, which was filmed and went viral," said Anna Rawhiti-Connell, head of audience at The Spinoff.
"But he was also incredibly influential offline, and I think that's really important to note that he was a really big player in terms of garnering the youth vote for Trump."
What made his content so attention-grabbing?
Well, a lot of his language targeted minorities, and inflamed opinions against them.
This came from his self-titled show in May 2023 on African-Americans:
“Happening all the time, in urban America, prowling Blacks go around for fun to go target white people, that’s a fact. It’s happening more and more.”
Abortion rights – a major issue for the political-right in America – also came under his scrutiny. This from April 2024:
“We need to have a Nuremberg-style trial for every gender-affirming clinic doctor. We need it immediately.”
He was also a big supporter of Americans’ right to own guns.
“I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the second amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational.”
The clip of him saying this – from April 2023 – has gone viral once again on social media in the last 24 hours, shared by his critics.
"We know that the algorithm, or the algorithms, across social media platforms, respond, or are particularly fired up by anger and outrage," said Rawhiti-Connell.
"One of the things that drives [that], whether or not the algorithm favours you on most social media platforms now is the act of sharing content – and he had a capacity to speak for people... a disillusioned young core of the population.
"He seemed to be able to really capture the way that certain people were feeling, and they would share his content as a means of essentially speaking for them," she said.
Ugly reality of politics in the US and a war for the narrative
The assassination of Charlie Kirk has resulted in a furious response across America, including from the US President himself.
“Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives,” Donald Trump said from the Oval Office hours after Kirk was pronounced dead.
Moment Charlie Kirk shooting suspect jumps off roof, flees scene, watch on TVNZ+
It’s important, however, to put the current situation in the correct context – as the list of leaders who have suffered politically motivated violence is long and varied.
On January 6, 2021, a violent mob of Trump’s supporters smashed their way into the US Capitol, sending lawmakers fleeing for their lives.
In the 2024, Trump was nearly assassinated on the campaign trail in Butler, Pennsylvania.
There have been several more attempts on the President's life – even if they didn't manage to get as close as the shooter in Butler did to killing him.
This year, Democratic Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman was assassinated in her home in Minneapolis.
Two aides at the Israeli embassy were assassinated on the streets of Washington DC.
The home of Pennsylvania's Democratic Governor was firebombed.
Now, Charlie Kirk has been assassinated.
Right-wing commentators have described Kirk’s death as the opening salvo in a much wider "war", using some combative language.
US correspondent Logan Church said emotions were running high as political violence intensified across the country. (Source: Breakfast)
"We have to have steely resolve. Charlie Kirk is a casualty of war. We are at war in this country. We are," said Steve Bannon, a former White House adviser of Trump’s.
"They are at war with us. Whether we want to accept it or not, they are at war with us," said Fox News host Jesse Watters.
But Republicans and Democrats have both been the victims of horrific acts of violence – a fact acknowledged by a group of lawmakers today from both sides of the political aisle.
"We're just here as a group to say, America cannot govern itself this way," said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
Regardless, the fight over the narrative is only expected to get worse.
– additional reporting by Katie Stevenson.
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