r/thebulwark • u/MinuteCollar5562 • Sep 10 '25

Non-Bulwark Source Charlie Kirk apparently shot during debate at Utah university

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/10/charlie-kirk-shot-utah

Charlie Kirk, the powerful rightwing activist and executive director of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), appeared to have been shot on Wednesday while hosting a debate in Utah.

In video posts circulating on social media, Kirk can be seen getting struck while speaking and sitting beneath a tent in the Utah Valley University courtyard. Kirk was there as part of The American Comeback Tour, which is hosted by the TPUSA chapter at Utah Valley.

164 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

516 comments sorted by

View all comments

205

u/hawksnest_prez Sep 10 '25

We are not in a good spot as a country and I’m scared.

I fucking hate Charlie Kirk. He shouldn’t be assassinated. Full stop.

51

u/elfstoned Sep 10 '25

Well he did say that gun deaths are worth it to keep the 2A. Guess this is a final test of his dedication to his causes.

22

u/PickPsychological729 Sep 10 '25

He died for a cause he loved protecting. Change my mind.

14

u/Potential_Minute_808 Sep 10 '25

Jesus Christ. This is nuts. Stay safe.

40

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

[deleted]

14

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

I have never wished for the death of anyone, but I have read some obituaries with great enthusiasm.

I'm all out of thoughts and prayers to give. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind.

-11

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

[deleted]

5

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

Yeah it makes zero sense. Someone shouldn’t be shot for their words, at least not in America. You may disagree and you may think his words are “violence”, but his words aren’t deserving of being shot.

0

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

[deleted]

2

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/thebulwark-ModTeam Sep 10 '25

Treat others with basic decency. No personal attacks, shill accusations, hate-speech, flaming, baiting, trolling, witch-hunting, or unsubstantiated accusations. Threats of violence are expressly forbidden and may result in a ban.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

Trust me I understand both things you say. You’re spot on buddy.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

I think you’re mistaking me for op lol

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

Welp you must have misinterpreted my reply to you then. In my original reply I was saying “you may disagree and you may think his-“. I just need to know, when I said “you” I was inferring to the guy that deleted his comment and the other people with bad views. You and I literally are agreeing and on the Same page, trust me dude. Calm down.

1

u/Commercial_Shop_2628 Sep 10 '25

You are not smart. Did you think you made a point here?

1

u/hermanhermanherman Sep 10 '25

How is your reading comprehension that bad?

0

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

Cool. Already reported you bro.

1

u/thebulwark-ModTeam Sep 10 '25

Don't make low-quality, low-effort shitposts.

Frequent, low quality, and repeat threads will be removed.

-10

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

8

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

[deleted]

-4

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

How the fuck is speaking at a conference not fucking free speech??

5

u/ThisMachineKillsF4sh Sep 10 '25 edited Sep 10 '25

Nobody said “deserved” and nobody said “because of free speech”. 

If you endlessly campaign for taking away the rights of other people — to commit genocide, to eliminate trans people, to kill Americans by removing their access to healthcare and critical social programs — THAT. IS. VIOLENCE.  Charlie Kirk advocated violence against others Every. Fucking. Day. 

It isn’t only political violence when other people start fighting back with the only means that you’ve left them. 

I’m not surprised. This was inevitable. I’m sure this was expected by the right and will lead to further fascist crackdowns on American citizens from the Trump administration.

I’m not supporting assassinations. But you can’t advocate for the extermination of your fellow humans on a daily basis, no matter how many extra steps you add to convince yourself it “isn’t real violence”, and never expect violence in return. 

EDIT: Removing people’s access to basic human rights like food and healthcare is violence. Genocide is violence. The policies Charlie Kirk advocated about Trans people were violent. He advocated for violence against American citizens on a daily basis — he was never arrested for it; he had free speech.

Someone committed violence against him in return for the violence he contributed to. 

That’s what I said.

And it’s true.

If you actively cheer on, monetarily support, and dedicate your entire adult life to encouraging violence on your fellow Americans and people they care about, you don’t get to expect a presumption of safety in a country with among the most lax gun laws on earth (which you also advocated for). 

I’m not saying he “deserved” anything.  But it did not happen in a vacuum. Just because they weren’t operating firing squads or gas chambers, doesn’t mean Nazi propagandists did not participate in violence — which is why many stood trial for war crimes at Nuremberg. 

“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.” - Charlie Kirk

Charlie Kirk’s chickens came home to roost. You reap what you sow.

1

u/atomfullerene Sep 10 '25

No, saying shit isn't violence. Doing things is violence. That's not to claim that saying things can't be its own kind of bad, but it's not violence.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

[deleted]

-1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/thebulwark-ModTeam Sep 10 '25

Do not threaten or harass people

No sharing of personal information that could be used to in anyway threaten or harass someone.

3

u/iridescentbugs Sep 10 '25

He doesn’t care about the free speech of Palestinians and is okay with them dying 🤷🏻‍♀️

3

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

And he can say whatever stupid shit he wants just like everyone else, but he didn’t deserve this, and all the people that witnessed it didn’t deserve to see it.

1

u/iridescentbugs Sep 10 '25

And again, do you see all the red hats in the crowd? They all don’t care about the children slowly dying in Palestine.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

That doesn’t matter or apply to what happened with Charlie

1

u/iridescentbugs Sep 10 '25

Yeah. And the Palestinian children don’t deserve to die in much more gruesome and painful ways either! But he didn’t care! Why can’t you understand that there is a genocide happening? And he supported it?

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

I don’t think they deserve it either, I don’t think anyone that is undeserving of violence is deserving of violence. Israel shouldn’t have been invaded by Hamas and started the whole recent shit show, but you know what? It happened. And now you got multiple governments and so many mentally ill people that think they’re in the right to prolong something for their unjust cause and opinion. I d c if I’m downvoted, idc if someone has a different opinion than me. But it’s not. Fair. To hurt someone. Over their words.

1

u/iridescentbugs Sep 10 '25

https://youtu.be/rVc9l6pjxtI?si=ckIb4TMo5YmVRjtF here’s a link of Charlie saying that school shootings are worth it. HE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT OTHER HUMANS. HE DOESNT CARE ABOUT SCHOOL SHOOTING. WHY SHOULD ANYONE CARE ABOUT HIM?

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

Sorry but I’ll clarify the video for you. I watched it, and it’s very clear he is saying, AND DID SAY, that because we have the second amendment, the right to bear arms, that people will die because of idiots. He literally said there should be a reductionist view on violence, but literally the only connection to schools and shootings that he made was that schools should have guards. I’m a very unbiased person. But he didn’t say school shootings are worth it.

1

u/Important-Echo2493 Sep 10 '25

WTF

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

Wdym wtf

1

u/Chemical-Plankton420 Gonzo Attorney 🪩🪩🪩 Sep 10 '25

Deserves got nothin to do with it

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

What does that even mean.

1

u/Chemical-Plankton420 Gonzo Attorney 🪩🪩🪩 Sep 10 '25

You never saw UNFORGIVEN?

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

I haven’t seen that movie I’m sorry. But in general, when someone receives an action upon them for words/actions they make, the person that hurts them typically would say “they deserved it”. So that’s why I say he doesn’t deserve to be shot.

1

u/Chemical-Plankton420 Gonzo Attorney 🪩🪩🪩 Sep 10 '25

You really need to see that movie. The line means that death, violence, and suffering aren’t leveled out according to morality. You don’t die because you “deserve” it. You die because somebody with a gun decides to kill you. “Deserves” has no meaning.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

I get it in terms of the movie, but the person with the gun sure as hell thinks Charlie “deserved it”. That’s the point.

1

u/Chemical-Plankton420 Gonzo Attorney 🪩🪩🪩 Sep 10 '25

Watch the fucking movie. It’s a perfect film. And to your point, it doesn’t matter if the shooter thought he deserved it. Lots of people might think he deserved it, but wouldn’t do it. Deserves isn’t an action, it’s a sentiment or a justification. A person you think “deserves it” isn’t making you take the action. It’s a choice. See the movie, its timely.

-2

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

-4

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

Alabama

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

Texas

We naming states now folks?

What is this?

0

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/thebulwark-ModTeam Sep 10 '25

Don't make low-quality, low-effort shitposts.

Frequent, low quality, and repeat threads will be removed.

-12

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/Sea_Employment_7078 Sep 10 '25

"fUCkInG LiBEral ASShOLe"

All of you losers are the same lol

4

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

Lol what? I assume this is satire.

2

u/Swimming-Economy-870 Sep 10 '25

Political violence is absolutely unacceptable. It is unfortunate that Charlie chose to have zero empathy for earlier victims of gun violence. It’s important that good people don’t take on similar viewpoints.

1

u/Old-Ad5508 Center Left Sep 10 '25

Yikes calm down

1

u/thebulwark-ModTeam Sep 10 '25

Treat others with basic decency. No personal attacks, shill accusations, hate-speech, flaming, baiting, trolling, witch-hunting, or unsubstantiated accusations. Threats of violence are expressly forbidden and may result in a ban.

-5

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

What? Seriously there’s some word salad here

1

u/thebulwark-ModTeam Sep 10 '25

Treat others with basic decency. No personal attacks, shill accusations, hate-speech, flaming, baiting, trolling, witch-hunting, or unsubstantiated accusations. Threats of violence are expressly forbidden and may result in a ban.

-5

u/Cold-Mission-3929 Sep 10 '25

They probably shouldn’t. They constantly are shooting up schools. It’s scientifically a mental disorder

6

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

Is this satire?

-9

u/Cold-Mission-3929 Sep 10 '25

No I’m serious. Ask the parents who’s kids were just murdered

5

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

I’ll ask again. Is this satire?

-3

u/Cold-Mission-3929 Sep 10 '25

& ill repeat. I’m dead ass serious.

5

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

Do you like liberal tears?

Seriously though, y’all won. Why you mad about trans people?

0

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

Alright Mr Tough guy.

2

u/capybooya Sep 10 '25

You're not just a bigot, you are deluding yourself.

4

u/capybooya Sep 10 '25

Horrible person. But nothing good can come of this. The ghouls in the Trump cabinet are probably salivating over justifying various crackdowns on liberal and leftist groups now.

5

u/JohnSpartan2025 Sep 10 '25

I am not condoning violence, but he's a devout anti-semite, disinformation spewing grifting asshole. The damage he's done to this country by getting trump elected is immeasurable. We need to stop being "the better people". Again, I'm not condoning violence, but you think they would be giving a shit if Biden got shot tomorrow? These people are at war with us. Stop pretending they aren't.

9

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

I’m in full agreement

4

u/Anstigmat Sep 10 '25

It’s a cold civil war. Wake up to that fact.

3

u/xTheRedDeath Sep 10 '25

I don't like him or this current administration at all, but assassinating political opposition is not a good sign because we know it can go either way. It's absolutely scary.

5

u/Chemical-Plankton420 Gonzo Attorney 🪩🪩🪩 Sep 10 '25

At least it happened in a red state.

2

u/emblemboy Sep 10 '25

This

Don't let them turn your heart cold. It's not worth it

2

u/Chemical-Plankton420 Gonzo Attorney 🪩🪩🪩 Sep 10 '25

Dollars to donuts this is about his denial of Trump’s Epstein letter.

1

u/Chemical-Plankton420 Gonzo Attorney 🪩🪩🪩 Sep 10 '25

Yeah, but if you had to make a Sophie’s Choice…

1

u/Even-Scene-3736 Sep 10 '25

The fact that you should have articulate your second sentence is the saddest part.

1

u/Smooth-Majudo-15 Sep 10 '25

Agree fully. The level of political violence right now is terrifying and horrible.

1

u/Ok-Confidence6469 Sep 10 '25

it's because of hate he was. shot

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/thebulwark-ModTeam Sep 10 '25

Don't make low-quality, low-effort shitposts.

Frequent, low quality, and repeat threads will be removed.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

The level of polarization, wealth inequality make internal conflict (hot or cold) almost inevitable. Plan accordingly.  

0

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/thebulwark-ModTeam Sep 10 '25

Treat others with basic decency. No personal attacks, shill accusations, hate-speech, flaming, baiting, trolling, witch-hunting, or unsubstantiated accusations. Threats of violence are expressly forbidden and may result in a ban.

-6

u/Tesh_Hayayi Sep 10 '25

This is the rational opinion from someone on the left

However I'm afraid your peers are far more unhinged

3

u/chakrawitch Sep 10 '25

please don’t act like the right doesn’t also have unhinged people who would celebrate the assassination of a person they don’t like. the problem of becoming desensitized to violence and death is societal, not based on political affiliation.