Viral Claims About Charlie Kirk’s Words

Since the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk connected Sept. 10, societal media users person shared posts showing, quoting oregon paraphrasing remarks the posts property to the blimpish activist. Many readers person asked america to supply the facts connected whether Kirk, the laminitis of the younker governmental radical Turning Point USA, made respective of these comments.

We’ll reappraisal immoderate of the statements that our readers asked astir and close a viral societal media station that got what Kirk said wrong.

While helium did accidental galore of the statements, immoderate person been misrepresented oregon not presented with afloat context.

False Claim of an Asian Slur

A fashionable station connected X incorrectly claimed that Kirk utilized a slur for Asian people.

“That clip Charlie Kirk called an Asian pistillate successful the assemblage ‘c—-’ aggregate times,” the post reads, spelling retired the slur successful full, and accompanied by a montage video from TikTok. “He made millions disconnected of his racism and sexism.”

The video, however, does not amusement Kirk utilizing the slur. Rather, arsenic an X Community Note explains, Kirk was shouting astatine Cenk Uygur, a co-host of the Young Turks, a progressive online quality show, and utilizing his archetypal name. The 2 men were astatine Politicon, an yearly nonpartisan governmental convention, successful October 2018.

“I unrecorded similar a capitalist each azygous day, Cenk!” Kirk said angrily to Uygur, aft Uygur interrupted a statement Kirk was having with the Young Turks’ Hasan Piker astir what governmental views young radical should have. “Come on, Cenk, let’s go,” helium said later. 

The Washington Examiner reported on the speech astatine the time, and the Young Turks besides posted a clip to YouTube, on with the full debate.

In little than 2 days, the inaccurate station was viewed much than 16 cardinal times connected X.

Civil Rights Act

Multiple readers forwarded america a viral graphic that makes notation to things Kirk said astir the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Jewish people, cheery radical and the Second Amendment. We’ll get to the past 3 successful a bit.

Kirk did accidental that it was a “huge mistake” to walk the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As the National Archives explains, the instrumentality “prohibited favoritism successful nationalist places, provided for the integration of schools and different nationalist facilities, and made employment favoritism illegal.” 

According to a 2024 Wired story, Kirk made the remarks successful December 2023 during America Fest, Turning Point’s yearly conference.

“I person a very, precise extremist presumption connected this, but I tin support it, and I’ve thought astir it,” the communicative quoted Kirk arsenic saying. “We made a immense mistake erstwhile we passed the Civil Rights Act successful the 1960s.”

In Kirk’s view, the communicative explained, the Civil Rights Act has led to a “permanent DEI-type bureaucracy,” referring to diversity, equity and inclusion, that has constricted escaped speech.

The communicative besides quoted Kirk arsenic saying that Martin Luther King Jr. was “awful. He’s not a bully person. He said 1 bully happening helium really didn’t believe.”

Those comments are not disposable successful the recordings posted to YouTube of the league that year. The newsman who wrote the Wired story, however, confirmed to america that portion attending the lawsuit arsenic a journalist, helium had witnessed the remarks, which were made not connected the main stage, but successful a smaller league room.

Kirk besides did not quality the connection erstwhile he responded to an email from Wired the day before the communicative was published. Reading from the email, Kirk introjected to accidental that it was “true” that helium had described King arsenic “a atrocious guy” and “also true” that it was his “self-described very, precise extremist presumption that the state made a mistake erstwhile it passed the Civil Rights Act.”

When the email asked wherefore Kirk believes passing the authorities was a mistake, Kirk said, “Now, again, apparently, they don’t perceive to the show. Because we bash that astatine slightest erstwhile a week, right? Once a week, we speech astir wherefore the Civil Rights Act was a mistake.”

A fewer days later, Kirk released an 82-minute podcast occurrence titled, “The Myth of MLK,” which successful portion discusses “how the ‘MLK Myth’ keeps America shackled to destructive 1960s laws that person replaced the archetypal U.S. Constitution,” according to the summary description on the podcast’s website.

Later that year, Kirk echoed akin sentiments astir the Civil Rights Act. The legislation, he said on his podcast successful April 2024, “created a beast, and that beast has present turned into an anti-white weapon.”

‘Jewish Money’

The viral graphic alleges that Kirk, who was a strong supporter of Israel but had been accused of antisemitism galore times during his career, “blamed ‘Jewish money’ for ruining American culture.” We did not instantly find instances of Kirk utilizing the circumstantial operation “Jewish money,” but helium repeatedly made akin remarks regarding the backing of wide causes oregon institutions.

Weeks aft the Oct. 7 onslaught connected Israel successful 2023, Kirk argued in an Oct. 26 occurrence of his podcast that Jews had funded antisemitism successful the U.S. by supporting wide causes.

“Jewish donors person a batch of explaining to do. A batch of decoupling to do,” helium said. “Because Jewish donors person been the No. 1 backing mechanics of radical, unfastened borderline neoliberal quasi-Marxist policies, taste institutions and nonprofits. This is simply a beast created by secular Jews. And present it’s coming for Jews, and they’re like, ‘What connected Earth happened?’ And it’s not conscionable the colleges. It’s the nonprofits, it’s the movies, it’s Hollywood, it’s each of it.”

About 2 weeks later, Kirk again made a akin argument. 

“Jews person been immoderate of the largest funders of taste Marxist ideas and supporters of those ideas implicit the past 30 oregon 40 years. Stop supporting causes that hatred you,” helium said connected his podcast. “Until you cleanse that ideology from the hierarchy successful the world elite of the West, determination volition not beryllium a harmless future. I’m not going to accidental Israel won’t exist, but Israel volition beryllium successful jeopardy arsenic agelong arsenic the Western children, children of the West, are being taught, with chiefly Jewish dollars, subsidizing it, to presumption everything done oppressor/ oppressed dynamic. Until you shed that ideology, you volition not beryllium capable to physique the lawsuit for Israel, due to the fact that they presumption Israel arsenic an oppressor.”

In different podcast 10 days aft that, Kirk returned to the taxable when defending Elon Musk from complaints of antisemitism, agreeing with portion of a arguable X station that Musk had called “the existent truth.” Kirk besides said helium agreed with blimpish commentator Tucker Carlson that Jewish Americans “have chiefly been financing taste Marxist ideas.”

“Some of the largest financiers of left-wing, anti-white causes person been Jewish Americans,” Kirk said. 

In the aforesaid episode, Kirk rejected complaints that helium was antisemitic, saying that successful earlier episodes helium had said helium was “glad that Jewish Americans are reconsidering their financing of taste Marxism, and radical misunderstood it intentionally and slandered america arsenic being antisemites.”

“Cultural Marxism” is considered by some, including the Southern Poverty Law Center, arsenic an antisemitic conspiracy theory. At its astir extreme, it refers to the thought that a tiny radical of Jewish immigrants successful the U.S. worked to subvert Christian civilization successful America and dispersed progressive values.

The operation sometimes is “a colloquial analogy for governmental correctness” and is “often used, without antisemitic intention, to picture liberals, progressive movements and others,” the Antisemitism Policy Trust, a U.K. nonprofit, explained successful a 2020 briefing. “However, successful reality, it is simply a shadowy word openly utilized by antisemites, neo-Nazis and others with nefarious intentions.” The radical “strongly recommends” that radical debar utilizing the phrase.

Gay People

The graphic goes connected to accidental of Kirk, “He said cheery radical are ‘destructive’ and endorsed having them enactment to death.”

The root is not clear, arsenic we couldn’t find thing applicable that utilized the “destructive” word. But portion of that assertion could beryllium a notation to thing Kirk said portion discussing comments astir passages successful the Bible made by Rachel Anne Accurso, amended known arsenic the YouTube property Ms. Rachel.

In a June 8, 2024, episode of his podcast (at astir the 1:00:00 mark), Kirk reacted to Accurso posting a video successful which she cited Bible scripture to explicate wherefore she had wished a “Happy Pride” that period to radical successful the LGBTQ+ community.

“My religion is truly important to me, and it’s besides 1 crushed wherefore I emotion each neighbor,” she said successful her video. “In Matthew 22, a spiritual teacher asked Jesus, what’s the astir important commandment? And Jesus says, to emotion God and to ‘love your neighbour arsenic yourself.’” “It doesn’t accidental emotion each neighbour except,” she went connected to say.

In his reply, Kirk said Accurso near retired thing other the Bible says. “She’s not wholly wrong,” Kirk said. “The archetypal portion is Deuteronomy 6:3–5. The 2nd portion is Leviticus 19. So you emotion God, truthful you indispensable emotion his law. How bash you emotion somebody? You emotion them by telling them the truth, not by confirming oregon affirming their sin.”

He continued: “And it says, by the way, Ms. Rachel, mightiness privation to ace unfastened that Bible of yours, successful a lesser reference, portion of the aforesaid portion of scripture is successful Leviticus 18, is that thou shall laic with different antheral shall beryllium stoned to death, conscionable saying. So, Ms. Rachel, you punctuation Leviticus 19, emotion your neighbour arsenic yourself. The section earlier affirms God’s cleanable instrumentality erstwhile it comes to intersexual matters.”

After backlash from Kirk supporters, the writer Stephen King, who had posted connected X connected Sept. 11 that Kirk had “advocated stoning gays to death,” retracted his assertion and apologized. King said, “What [Kirk] really demonstrated was however immoderate radical cherry-pick Biblical passages.”

Second Amendment

Finally, the graphic says, “He said the 2nd amendment is worthy the outgo of ‘some weapon deaths.’”

Kirk did accidental that astatine a TPUSA Faith event successful Utah connected April 5, 2023. The lawsuit was held days aft 3 children and 3 adults were killed successful a school shooting successful Nashville.

Video from the lawsuit shows Kirk being asked by an assemblage subordinate however to marque the constituent that protecting the Second Amendment is important. Kirk responded that the amendment “is there, God forbid, truthful that you tin support yourself against a tyrannical government.” But “having an equipped citizenry comes with a price, and that is portion of liberty,” helium said.

“You volition ne'er unrecorded successful a nine erstwhile you person an equipped citizenry and you won’t person a azygous weapon death,” Kirk aboriginal said. “That is nonsense. It’s drivel. But I americium — I deliberation it’s worthy it. I deliberation it’s worthy to person a outgo of, unfortunately, immoderate weapon deaths each azygous twelvemonth truthful that we tin person the Second Amendment to support our different God-given rights. That is simply a prudent deal. It is rational. Nobody talks similar this. They unrecorded successful a implicit alternate universe.”

Paul Pelosi Attack

Another scholar asked, presumably based connected different online posts, “When Nancy Pelosi’s hubby was attacked with a hammer, did Kirk promote his assemblage to lend to bail retired [the] attacker?”

Yes, helium did. In the Oct. 31, 2022, episode of his amusement (at astir 53:00 successful the video), Kirk said the onslaught connected Paul Pelosi was “awful” and “not right,” but helium said that idiosyncratic should bail retired the assailer, David DePape, due to the fact that cashless bail policies successful definite cities allowed different radical to perpetrate crimes and beryllium released from custody pending trial.

“And wherefore is helium inactive successful jail? Why has helium not been bailed out?” Kirk asked. “By the way, if immoderate astonishing patriot retired determination successful San Francisco oregon the Bay Area wants to truly beryllium a midterm hero, idiosyncratic should spell and bail this feline out. I stake his bail’s similar 30[,000] oregon 40,000 bucks. Bail him out, and past spell inquire him immoderate questions.”

“I’m not qualifying it. I deliberation it’s awful. It’s not right,” Kirk said astir the onslaught connected Pelosi, who suffered a skull fracture aft being deed successful the caput with a hammer. “But wherefore is it that successful Chicago you’re capable to perpetrate execution and beryllium retired the adjacent day? Why is it that you’re capable to trespass, second-degree murder, arson, endanger a nationalist official, cashless bail. This happens each implicit San Francisco. But if you spell aft the Pelosis, oh, you’re [not] fto retired immediately. Got it.”

After the onslaught connected Oct. 28, 2022, DePape was arrested and placed connected a national hold. He was aboriginal convicted connected assault- and kidnapping-related charges successful abstracted federal and state trials, and was sentenced to 30 years successful situation by a national justice and beingness successful situation without parole by a authorities judge. DePape told officers helium intended to apprehend past Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was not astatine her San Francisco location erstwhile DePape broke in.

As for cashless bail successful Chicago, we’ve written that an Illinois instrumentality that went into effect successful September 2023 eliminated currency bail for each offenses, but inactive allows judges to detain a idiosyncratic due to the fact that of the quality of the crime, oregon due to the fact that the idiosyncratic is considered a formation hazard oregon poses a menace to “any different idiosyncratic oregon the community.”

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