“CBS Mornings” host Nate Burleson asked former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Thursday whether the horrific assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk would be a good opportunity for Republicans to consider how they might be contributing to a culture of political violence.
Steve Guest shared video, along with the comment, “In the wake of Charlie Kirk being assassinated, CBS Mornings host Nate Burleson tells former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy that it’s REPUBLICANS that really need to watch their rhetoric.”
In the wake of Charlie Kirk being assassinated, CBS Mornings host Nate Burleson tells former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy that it’s REPUBLICANS that really need to watch their rhetoric:
“Speaking of this tragedy, is this a moment for your party to reflect on political… pic.twitter.com/qQvgUzO6Bk
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) September 11, 2025
“Not everyone took to his words or his rhetoric,” Burleson began. “You know, at times, they were offensive to specific communities. But with that said, this is not the time to focus on that; we are focused on this tragedy.”
The former NFL wide receiver then pivoted to effectively blame Republicans for the fact that people were shooting at them, saying, “Speaking of this tragedy, is this a moment for your party to reflect on political violence? Is it a moment for us to think about the responsibility of our political leaders and their voices and what it does to the masses as they get lost in misinformation or disinformation that turns in and spills into political violence?”
Cohost Gayle King attempted a rescue, interjecting, “I say both parties!”
“I don’t even say parties, I say a nation,” McCarthy pushed back. “There’s a moment that I want to look to, and I went back and I watched this again. When Robert F. Kennedy is running and he’s in Indianapolis, and he just got the news that Martin Luther King was killed. And he has to tell the crowd, because we don’t have social media at that time.”
“And it was remarkable the words he said,” McCarthy continued. “He said, ‘We have to ask as a nation, who are we? And how do we want to move forward?’ We have watched this political attack on both sides — we watched what happened in Minnesota. We watched what happened to President Trump.”
McCarthy went on to note that Kirk was not an elected official and was actively encouraging even those who disagreed with him to stand up and discuss their ideas.
“We do not want to go back to the 60s,” cohost Tony Dokoupil remarked, noting the violence that rocked the nation then as well.
