The analogy became clear to me the following morning as I let off steam that had disturbed my sleep that night, to Martina the following morning. Neither of us had slept well.
Clarlie Kirk was answering a question about mass shooting in America, when he was shot, and killed. Rattled by this news that broke into the UK night, I looked up his biography – found on Wiki, a relatively impartial and democratically checked source.
He was a talker, he wanted to engage with people, took part in live debates, he would take on anyone who would disagree with him. He went to left leaning colleges, opened up beyond the the echo chamber ‘Rage Bait’.
At the young age of 18 he became an activist and formed Turning Point Faith—aimed at mobilizing religious communities on conservative issues. He was a key alley of Trump. Some commentators say, Trump would never have been elected were it not for Kirk mobilising the young conservatives. Pioneer for a certain type of influencer.
Clarlie Kirk espoused a variety of controversial views, especially regarding his opposition to gun control, abortion, LGBQ rights. He played a important role in the Donald Trump campaign during the 2024 United States presidential election. Not only controversial, but he promoted a range of falsehoods and conspiracy theories:
- 2018, Kirk falsely claimed that protesters in the French yellow vest chanted “We want Trump”. These false claims were later repeated by President Trump himself.
- He spread falsehoods about voter fraud, as well as the covid 19 view from trump.
- He falsely stated that, during the H1N1 swine flue pandemic it “took President Obama ‘millions infected and over 1,000 deaths'” to declare a public health emergency. In fact less than 280 cases of H1N1 infection cases reported in the U.S.
- He spread false information about COVID-19 on social media and sharply criticised the Democrats’ criticism of Donald Trump’s withdrawal of WHO funding and referred to COVID-19 as the “China virus”, which was retweeted by Trump.
- Kirk alleged that the WHO covered up information about the COVID 19 pandemic.
- He was briefly banned from Twitter after falsely claiming that hydroxychloroquine had proved to be “100% effective in treating the virus”
- He alleged that Gretchen Whitmer, the Democratic governor of Michigan, threatened doctors who tried to use the medication.
- Kirk described the public health measure of social distancing prohibitions in churches as a “Democratic plot against Christianity”
- Kirk promoted misleading claims about the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines.
Trump, rather than giving the usual line of unity, conciliation to all condem political violence, he demonised the radical left. Blaming them for Kirks murder. He then went on to list other republicans who had their lives threatened, no mention of democrats. Full partisan.
“The flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset”
This man was young, with a young family. His views, which were extreme, upsetting for many, were honest, direct and gracious in his charasmatic delivery. He was able to take a message out, enjoy with mirth people mocking him.
Why did I feel so disturbed by this news breaking in to the UK night? Will this be the lever, the reason for Trump to become even more authoritarian? With the economy, the platform Trump boasts to excel at, while this fails, distract, flood the zone with fear, bring in the military.
Kalikellett 