Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro said that the killing of influential conservative Charlie Kirk is the “worst political assassination in a half century in this country.”
Shapiro, speaking with Daily Wire host Michael Knowles about the tragic death of Kirk, said that “the actual full-scale murder of a 31-year-old superstar like Charlie for the great crime of saying things on college campuses that people didn’t want to hear” shows that “something needs to change.”
“There have been assassination attempts on presidents. Obviously, Ronald Reagan was shot, there was an attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Both of them lived,” Shapiro said, adding that Kirk’s assassination is “impossible to process.”
“This is the end of outdoor events, in terms of political events. It’s over,” the Daily Wire editor emeritus said. “We saw the president of the United States almost shot in the head during an outdoor public event. We saw Charlie Kirk murdered in front of all of us at an outdoor public event. That’s over. … Something is deeply, deeply broken in this country for somebody like Charlie Kirk to just be assassinated for the great crime of speaking what used to just be known as traditional conservative values.”
Shapiro argued that those who disagreed with Kirk need to step up and push back on violent responses to opposing views.
“I don’t believe I’m exaggerating when I’m saying this shakes the foundations of the country,” he said. “Because if we cannot trust each other to have normal conversations in public about basic issues, about governance and policy and values, how the hell are we supposed to have a country together? It’s not possible.”
Kirk gained prominence after founding Turning Point USA in 2012 at just 18 years old. In recent years, he would often go viral for his debates on college campuses, when he would respectfully engage with leftist students and challenge their worldview. In 2024, Kirk helped push President Donald Trump over the finish line, registering students to vote and advocating for Trump’s policies.
In a post on social media, Shapiro said he was “utterly stunned and heartbroken and sick to my soul today.”
“It is unimaginable to write these words,” Shapiro added. “I met Charlie Kirk when he was 18 years old, a young man so eager and determined that I immediately turned to a friend and said, ‘That kid is going to be the head of the RNC one day.’ Charlie became even bigger and more important than that. It was a privilege to watch this principled man stand up for his beliefs and create the single most important conservative political organization in America. But more importantly, Charlie was a good man, a man who believed in right and wrong, who stood by his Biblical values. All of us will miss him, and I can’t imagine the pain of his beautiful young family, and we must all pray for them. And we must pick up the baton where Charlie left it, fighting for the things he believed in so passionately. And we must fight for a better America – an America where good people can speak truth and debate passionately without fear of a bullet. I weep for Charlie’s family, and I weep for my country today. Most of all, I weep for Charlie.”
Like all of you, I am utterly stunned and heartbroken and sick to my soul today. It is unimaginable to write these words. I met Charlie Kirk when he was 18 years old, a young man so eager and determined that I immediately turned to a friend and said, “That kid is going to be the…
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) September 10, 2025
