Trump’s regime is using the killing of the far-right figure to impose a chilling atmosphere of repression and fear, yet liberals are failing to offer any serious resistance, argues John Clarke

The fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, as he spoke at an event at Utah Valley University on 10 September, has had a remarkably potent, if largely orchestrated, impact on US politics. The killing of this infamous Trump supporter and right-wing ‘influencer’ has been seized upon as a means of furthering the regressive and authoritarian agenda of the administration.

There is much about the shooting and the motives behind it that remain unclear and it is hard to separate real evidence from the determined effort to present the incident as an act of violence for which Trump’s opponents and the political left must carry responsibility.

A suspect in the killing, Tyler Robinson, has been arrested and charged, according to the Independent, ‘with seven counts, the most serious of which are aggravated murder and felony discharge of a firearm.’ His political motivations have not been firmly established, though his family appears to have connections to the Republican Party and pictures ‘on social media show Robinson dressed in a Trump costume for Halloween in 2017.’

The reality is that, regardless of the facts that emerge as to motivations and political sympathies, we may expect Trump and his allies to continue to utilise this killing in order to further their objectives. ABC News reports that the FBI is actively investigating ‘the possibility of accomplices’ and that a large number of people that Robinson dealt with on an online messaging platform are, according to FBI Director Kash Patel, ‘very much in our ongoing posture of investigation.’

The federal law-enforcement agency, moreover, is playing its own part in whipping up a climate of outrage and recrimination over the killing. Patel has proclaimed that the ‘entire FBI mourns the loss of Charlie Kirk. We will not rest until justice is served, and our investigation into this assassination will continue until every question is answered.’

Trump weighs in

It was immediately apparent that the Trump administration would pull out all the stops in its response to Kirk’s killing. His body was flown home to Arizona on the vice-president’s plane and JD Vance himself was on the flight. As reported by CBS News, ‘Vance praised Turning Point USA’s role in organizing pro-Trump events last year and credited Kirk with some of the Trump administration’s personnel decisions.’

The vice-president also stated that: ‘So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene. He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.’ Doubtless, a very large measure of exaggeration is at play in such pronouncements but this only confirms the degree to which a posthumous cult of Charlie Kirk is being generated by Trump and the political forces close to him.

Trump attended the 21 September memorial service for Kirk that was held in Glendale, Arizona and left no room for doubt that the memory of the assassinated man had become a political asset for his administration. The speech he delivered to the tens of thousands of followers in attendance gave some striking clues as to the purpose that this cult will serve.

In declaring that Kirk would be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Trump stated that: ‘He’s bigger now than ever before. And he’s eternal.’ CNN reports that the president delivered ‘a speech that both honored Kirk’s life and delivered many familiar lines from the president’s political rallies, delving into claims about violence from left-wing extremists that most speakers stayed away from Sunday.’

Trump dubiously claimed that Kirk ‘was a missionary with a noble spirit and a great, great purpose. He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them.’ At this point, Trump seemed to go off script and added, that’s ‘where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent,’ he said. ‘And I don’t want the best for them.’

This message was further emphasised by Trump’s ever-venomous deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, who spoke of the need to quash enemies and ‘channel all of the anger that we have over the organized campaign that led to this assassination to uproot and dismantle these terrorist networks.’

This ominous theme of impending retribution was augmented by a major effort by the ‘MAGA establishment,’ to present Kirk as the slain champion of a noble cause. Right-wing podcaster, Benny Johnson, declared that: ‘You cut down a martyr, his power grows. And that’s what we see. The power of martyrdom, this is how God and Christ always advances his kingdom, and he’s doing it right now with Charlie Kirk.’

Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, echoed the religious message, labelling Kirk ‘a warrior for country, a warrior for Christ.’ For his part, Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, went even further and drew a direct comparison. He told the crowd that both Jesus Christ and Charlie Kirk had ‘changed the trajectory of history.’

It is important to keep in mind that this extraordinary outpouring didn’t take place at some fringe gathering of obscure fanatics. This is the ideological position of an authoritarian right-wing movement that holds state power in the US and its political agenda is being implemented with relentless determination on a range of fronts. While immigration raids are sweeping the country, every effort is being made to create an unaccountable and dictatorial presidential power. Kirk’s death, along with the cult of martyrdom that has been fashioned out of it, is being pressed into service to advance this agenda decisively.

Liberal capitulation

We must also note that the ability of Trump and his allies to use the memory of their martyr in this way is being greatly facilitated by the capitulation of the liberal establishment in the US and by the governments of other countries anxious to appease Trump.

On 19 September, the Republican-controlled House passed a resolution honouring Kirk that claimed that he ‘personified the values of the First Amendment, exercising his God-given right to speak freely, challenge prevailing narratives, and did so with honor, courage, and respect for his fellow Americans.’ Yahoo News reports that no less than 95 Democrats voted to support this outrageous initiative.

Just prior to the passing of this resolution, a Conservative MP rose in the Canadian House of Commons to describe Kirk as ‘an outspoken advocate for faith, family and freedom.’ This led to the sad spectacle of a parliamentary standing ovation.

As The Muse correctly points out, ‘Charlie Kirk did not advocate for the freedom of Muslims to practice their faith. He wanted mass deportation for immigrants, especially Muslims, using vile rhetoric to paint them as an urgent threat to “Western civilization”.’

Kirk, moreover, ‘was constantly talking down to the Black community, using false or misleading crime statistics to create the impression of a violent, criminal culture. He was against the freedom of women to control their own bodies. He called transgender people “an abomination to God”.’ The parliamentary honouring of Kirk was ‘at minimum, an erasure of the hateful rhetoric he spread,’

We are still at a relatively early stage in Trump’s second term in office and the speed and determination with which he and his allies have moved to impose their reactionary agenda is quite astounding. There is absolutely no doubt that the killing of Charlie Kirk has created the means to advance that agenda considerably.

Despite the unfounded claim that Kirk was a champion of free speech, Trump’s enforcers have taken every opportunity to pounce on anyone who sounds a note of criticism with regard to the role he played and the political positions he advanced. Reports have come in from across the US of the persecution of such critics.

A 19 September article in the Guardian shows how extensive this crackdown has been. Among the examples it provides, we learn that the ‘Texas Education Agency reported that it was investigating about 180 complaints against teachers accused of posting inappropriate remarks online about Kirk’s death.’

Secretary of State, Mario Rubio, has also made sure to employ the killing of Kirk as a means of increasing the level of the attack on people without US citizenship. He announced that ‘“visa revocations are under way” for individuals in the country on visas who are “cheering on the public assassination of a political figure”.’ He darkly warned that visa holders who have dared to oppose Kirk’s political views should: ‘Prepare to be deported. You are not welcome in this country.’

With an emboldened Trump administration weaponising the death of Charlie Kirk, a very dangerous situation has emerged. The Democrats and the liberal establishment are, at best, offering an ineffective opposition, where they are not actually capitulating. The need for serious working-class resistance, mass action and popular struggle is absolutely critical in the face of a Trump onslaught that can only intensify.