Fears of Escalating Political Violence After Charlie Kirk’s Murder

WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

The Wall Street Journal

Society & Culture, News

4 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 11 September 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Can Democrats and Republicans rise to the occasion after the murder of Charlie Kirk and tone down the rising vitriol of political discourse? Kirk leaves behind a legacy of civil debate with those he disagreed with, but can President Trump and others encourage a more positive way forward without resorting to violence? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Energy demand is rising, and the infrastructure we build today will provide affordable energy for generations.
0:06.5	When America builds, America wins.
0:08.9	Read API's plan to secure America's future at permitting reform now.org.
0:13.0	Pay for by the American Petroleum Institute.
0:17.6	From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Potomac Watch.
0:23.4	The murder of conservative political leader, Charlie Kirk, as he spoke at a college campus in Utah, marks another dark turn towards political violence in the United States.
0:35.6	Charlie Kirk was a 31-year-old father of two and a prominent political
0:40.8	movement leader having formed Turning Point USA, a group of young people that was an ally of
0:49.0	Donald Trump and tried to promote the mega movement on campus and across the country. So what is Charlie
0:56.0	Kirk's legacy and what effect will his assassination have on American politics and social stability?
1:03.0	That's our sad subject for today. Welcome to Potomac Watch, our daily podcast on Wall Street
1:08.9	Journal Opinion. I'm Paul Gie Go, and I'm here with
1:11.4	Kim Strassel and Kyle Peterson. First, the latest on what we know about the shooter. It looks
1:17.3	as if he was someone who fired from a rooftop on the Utah Valley University campus, some 200
1:24.9	yards away from where Charlie Kirk was speaking, then ran off.
1:29.2	Authorities say they have retrieved the rifle that they believe the suspect used.
1:33.9	The shooter was, they say, of college age and used a high power bolt action rifle,
1:40.8	which they retrieved in a nearby forested area, according to Bow Mason head of the Utah
1:47.2	Department of Public Safety.
1:49.0	Kosh Patel, the FBI director, had leapt on Twitter Wednesday night to say a suspect was in
1:54.3	custody only to have to say that, in fact, that was not true.
1:58.7	That is not a good look for the FBI.
	...

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