In the end, news ending the two-day manhunt with the capture of the Charlie Kirk killing suspect – Tyler Robinson – could not escape threats of partisan recriminations, religious overtones and the apparent daily requirement to lavish praise on Donald Trump.
Rather than feeling relief that a gunman had been caught, we were left with open threats of more violence by one half of the country or the other against the other half.
Trump’s raw emotional kinship for Kirk, a magnet for rightist causes, prompted White, Christian righteousness and the need for the spotlight to overshadow what should have been routine, if self-congratulatory announcements of the arrest — something that should have provided enough drama itself.
In the end, it was not some hard work or magic of FBI investigation, it was family and a family friend who basically turned in the suspect, believed and charged as acting alone. So far, there are state charges, with federal counts undoubtably to follow.
Instead, we had Donald Trump preempting any FBI or Utah law enforcement by blurting out partial truths on a Fox and Friends morning tv show, skipping over the niceties of any pending trial to call for the death penalty.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox slathered prayer and Christian faith references over what seemed a minority call for civility in “a country where politics feels like rage.” FBI Director Kash Patel, who should have been apologetic about his own job performance this week, had to once again schmear praise for Trump over the press conference about an arrest.
Importantly, the motivation of shooting suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, remains unclear. Even as authorities listed physical evidence, including “Hey fascist! Catch!” writing on bullets still in the rifle, just what his politics might be was confused.
Nevertheless, it was impossible to miss that Trump World holds political opponents to blame for the killing. Certainly no one was talking about gun limits — which may not have applied in this case anyway.
Promises of Recrimination
The rising tide of further recrimination and a dictatorial tone among MAGA speakers advocating attacks against the Left could not be ignored.
MAGA voices were calling for “war” (Jesse Waters) or attacking anyone who “glorified” the slaying (Laura Loomer). Secretary of State Mario Rubio said visas should be pulled of anyone who appeared to “celebrate” the death in online posts.
Trump doubled down on blaming the “radical left” for much of the political violence in the country, most on the extreme right were driven there because “they don’t want to see crime.” Trump told his tame Fox interviewers that “we have radical left lunatics out there and we just have to beat the hell out of them.”
Though Trump invoked Kirk’s memory to urge supporters to refrain from retaliatory violence, he said his aim is an end to a movement bent on the destruction of the American way of life — anyone he calls a “radical leftist,” apparently.
Dangerously, Trump said — with no question asked — that he wants to push the legal system to more quickly prosecute those accused of crimes, saying that the United States should become more like China. “We have to have quick trials,” he said.
Of course, Trump said the opposite when he faced criminal charges, seeking as much delay, appeal and legal maneuvering as humanly possible for himself. It is a hypocritical blurt of the worst of authoritarian rule, and one oblivious to his own history of calling for the death penalty years ago of the exonerated Central Park Five.
Interestingly, the Supreme Court in Brazil upheld guilty rulings for former president Jair Bolsonaro, 70, for conspiring and conducting a Jan. 5, 2021-like election coup that mirrored Trump’s allegations. Bolsonaro is going to jail for 27 years. Trump is talking about summary trials for political foes.
“FREEDOM OF THE PRESS IS NOT JUST IMPORTANT TO DEMOCRACY, IT IS DEMOCRACY.” – Walter Cronkite. CLICK HERE to donate in support of our free and independent voice.
