Former President Barack Obama said the assassination of Charlie Kirk was a “horrific” and “evil act” and called all acts of political violence a “threat to all of us” during an interview on Tuesday.
“Regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, what happened to Charlie Kirk was horrific and a tragedy,” Obama said. “The central premise of our democratic system is that we have to be able to disagree, and have sometimes really contentious debates, without resort to violence.”
The former president discussed the problem of political violence across the United States in a sit-down interview with reporter Steve Scully, calling the issue “anathema to what it means to be a Democratic country.”
Obama previously took heat online from conservatives upset with his original statement following Kirk’s murder, which started with the phrase “we don’t yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk.”
“We don’t yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy. Michelle and I will be praying for Charlie’s family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children,” Obama said on X.
Prominent conservative voices like Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Laura Loomer condemned Obama’s initial reaction, saying it was wrong to lead off with that phrase.
“Please. We all know what motivated Charlie Kirk’s MURDER. Apparently you will never learn,” Mace wrote on X.
Obama told Tuesday’s crowd in Erie, Pennsylvania that the United States is at an inflection point when it comes to political violence. He also pointed to and condemned the act of political violence against Minnesota state lawmakers in June, which killed State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark.
“When it happens to somebody,” Obama said, referring to political violence, “even if you think they’re ‘on the other side of the argument,’ that’s a threat to all of us, and we have to be clear and forthright in condemning it.”
The former commander in chief said that he disagreed with several of Kirk’s political beliefs.
“I didn’t know Charlie Kirk. I was generally aware of some of his ideas. I think those ideas were wrong. But that doesn’t negate the fact that what happened was a tragedy and that I mourn for him and his family. He’s a young man with two small children and a wife… and a huge number of friends and supporters who cared about him. So we have to extend grace to people during their period of mourning and shock,” Obama said.
Obama emphasized that Americans have to hold true in the process of free and honest debate and “respect other people’s right to say things that we profoundly disagree with.”
UTAH GOV. SPENCER COX’S REMARKS ON CATCHING CHARLIE KIRK’S ALLEGED KILLER: FULL TRANSCRIPT
Obama also noted how much he respects Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT) and admires the way he has responded to the assassination.
Utah prosecutors said on Tuesday they would seek the death penalty for Kirk’s suspected shooter, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, and filed seven felony charges against Robinson.