DO YOU THINK THIS IS THE LEADERSHIP AMERICA DESERVES?

Charlie Kirk was assassinated. A horrible, indefensible act no matter where you stand politically. In times like these we look to leadership to show us the path forward. From the Oval, President Trump blamed the shooting on “the radical left” and vowed to “find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country.” The storyline immediately began that “the Left” was responsible for the shooting. Right-wing social media called the Democratic Party “a domestic terror organization” and declared “WAR.” Elon Musk posted: “The Left is the party of murder.” Without basis, the WSJ reported that “[a]mmunition engraved with transgender and antifascist ideology was found inside the rifle authorities believe was used in Kirk’s shooting.” Bomb threats targeted Democratic politicians—primarily Black politicians—and HCBUs. FBI response was chaotic. Patel and Bongino, former MAGA influencers without law enforcement experience, seemed most interested in posting knee-jerk reactions. Just hours after the shooting, Patel’s personal social account posted a picture of himself and Kirk. Minutes later, Patel’s official FBI account posted that the shooter was already in custody. Then, an hour and a half later, said the suspect had been released. Trump announced on Fox that “they have the person that they wanted.” That person turned out to be 22-year-old Utah native Tyler Robinson, who turned himself in. Robinson’s parents are registered Republicans. He was not affiliated with a political party and was an inactive voter. Robinson appears to have admired the “Groypers,” who complain that more mainstream organizations like Kirk’s are not “pro-white” enough. The group had publicly harassed Kirk in the past. Almost as soon as Robinson was identified, the tone of MAGA leaders changed. Nancy Mace, who had used a slur to refer to the shooter as pro-transgender, posted: “We know Charlie Kirk would want us to pray for such an evil, and lost individual like Tyler Robinson to find Jesus Christ. We will try to do the same.” Trump seemed to have lost interest in Kirk even earlier. A reporter asked Trump how he was holding up after the loss of his friend. “I think very good. And by the way, right there, you see all the trucks, they just started construction of the new ballroom for the White House, which is something they've been trying to get, as you know, for about 150 years, and it's going to be a beauty. It’ll be an absolutely magnificent structure. And I just see all the trucks. We just started so it'll get done very nicely and it'll be one of the best anywhere in the world, actually. Thank you very much.” There is little question how we got to this dark place in America.