The scope of this opinion is applicable to domestic political violence perpetrated to achieve or prevent some political goals and/or create or advance a culture of fear of speaking out on certain political topics. Government officials have a duty to condemn any and all political violence from either side.
The all-encompassing condemnation of the assassination of Charlie Kirk is correct. But, there is a contrast between the response to Kirk’s assassination and the assassination of Melissa Hortman.
People should be able to differentiate the celebration of these acts and condemning the acts while not viewing the victims favorably. Your opinion of the victim before their death is neither a defense for disrespecting the dead nor a reason to attack those with a different opinion than yourself.
As student journalists especially, freedom of speech is vital. You should not have to have your emotions regulated. That is a core idea of America, and the freedom of speech is one to be celebrated, as Kirk often did. That being said, with this freedom comes the understanding that actions still have consequences, and people should be made aware that what they say on social media can have negative impacts on their career prospects. If a business wishes to terminate an employee due to comments they made online that they find in poor taste, then that is their prerogative.
We believe that the levels of hypocrisy that are being seen are impractical on both sides. It is irresponsible to claim support of gun control and hold a stance against political violence but support violence against those who disagree with you. Additionally, the outcry must be just as loud for mass shootings as it is for public figures.
Just because these tragedies, no matter who they involve, are so frequent, does not mean it is acceptable to become desensitized.
The President holds great power over the culture of America and his responses to all situations have implications.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!” President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social on Sept. 10.
In a subsequent post, Trump wrote, “In honor of Charlie Kirk, a truly Great American Patriot, I am ordering all American Flags throughout the United States lowered to Half Mast until Sunday evening at 6 P.M.”
There is nothing wrong with these responses and tributes, though the response to acts of political violence needs a uniform response across party lines, no matter the victim.
Following the tributes paid to Kirk, Trump has been asked about the lack of a similar response to the death of former Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman.
A story from MSNBC written by Steve Benen includes Trump’s response when asked about the topic.
“In retrospect, given all of the moving ways that this White House has paid tribute to Charlie Kirk… do you think it would’ve been fitting to lower the flags to half-staff when Melissa Hortman, the Minnesota House speaker, was gunned down by an assassin as well?,” a reporter asked.
“I’m not familiar. The who?,” Trump said.
In the video, it does then appear Trump recalls the assassination, but rather than assert the assassination of a democratic politician calls for the same tributes as the assassination of a prominent right-wing figure such as Kirk, Trump deflects.
“Well, if the governor had asked me to do that, I would’ve done that. But the governor of Minnesota didn’t ask me. I didn’t, I wouldn’t have thought of that, but I would’ve if somebody had asked me. People make requests for the lowering of the flag,” Trump said.
In the case that there must be a request to lower the flag and one had not been made for Hortman, the logistics of the scenario are understandable, but the implications are worrisome. It appears either Trump knew about the assassination of Hortman and it never occurred to him to lower the flags to half staff, or he had such little knowledge of the assassination of a state representative that it did not seem important to him. If the argument is that Hortman’s former position as a state senator does not warrant the same national response, that should at least be clarified.
To make matters worse, Trump continued, “Oftentimes you have to say no because it would be a lot of lowering. The flag would never be up,” which is, at best, tone deaf and at worst, infuriatingly out of touch and exhibiting a lack of real empathy given the cycle of tragedies we live in.
