Victor Davis Hanson: ‘Anti-Fascist’ Violence Just Claimed Charlie Kirk. Where Does America Go From Here?

The Daily Signal

News, Government, Politics, Daily News

4.6 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 12 September 2025

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Charlie Kirk shaped modern conservatism and reached youth in ways no one else could—and that’s precisely what made him so dangerous to the Left. The trailblazing 31-year-old activist and commentator who founded Turning Point USA was regularly smeared as a “fascist,” a “Nazi,” and a “threat to democracy” by the Left. It was only a matter of time until a crazed person put those words into action. On today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words,” Hanson pays tribute to Kirk and explains how his death is more than just a personal loss; it signals a dangerous new era where political violence is becoming normalized. “ He connected with people. He had a podcast. He was an extemporaneous speaker. He could ad lib. He wrote columns. He was fearless. He was—he registered voters. He might have been more responsible for winning key states than any other political activists in the 2024 election. I don't think anybody in our generation—I'm speaking my generation—could have done what he did. “ We are legitimizing political violence. If you call someone day after day after day, "white, white, white, white"; "racist, racist, racist"; "fascist, fascist, fascist"; "Nazi, Nazi, Nazi"—we hear that from Joy Reid. We see it on "The View." We see it on MSNBC. Even just seconds after Charlie died, we had Matthew Dowd go on and basically said that he got what he deserved because he was an extremist, etc., and he and you "live by the sword, die by the sword" sort of argument he used.” 👉Don’t miss out on Victor’s latest videos by subscribing to The Daily Signal today. You’ll be notified every time a new piece of content drops: https://www.youtube.com/dailysignal?sub_confirmation=1 👉If you can’t get enough of Victor Davis Hanson from The Daily Signal, subscribe to his official YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@victordavishanson7273 👉He’s also the host of “The Victor Davis Hanson Show,” available wherever you prefer to watch or listen. Links to the show and exclusive content are available on his website: https://victorhanson.com (0:00) The Assassination of Charlie Kirk (0:46) Remembering Charlie Kirk's Impact (2:13) The Rise of Political Violence (3:35) The Left's Reaction to Political Violence (5:01) The Dangerous Normalization of Violence (7:59) Final Thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:30.6	Charlie Kirk, a friend of all of ours, was shot and killed in Utah. This is a turning point.
0:36.9	In the United States, we don't kill media people.
0:39.7	It's not occurring in a vacuum.
0:41.6	I know that both sides have extremists,
0:43.8	but when you look at the Steve Scalese shooting,
0:46.3	and then you look at two near-successful assassination attempts on Donald Trump,
0:51.8	and then you have these spin-off things.
0:53.8	Brian Thompson, the CEO of United Health.
0:57.3	He's, what, gunned down and assassinated by Luigi Mangione?
1:01.6	Was there outrage from the left?
1:03.4	No.
1:03.6	We are legitimizing political violence. Hello, this is Victor Davis-Hans for the Daily Signal.
1:20.5	Tragically, Charlie Kirk, a friend of all of ours, was shot and killed in Utah.
1:29.8	This is one of the great losses to the American political and media scene, not just
	...

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