A lot of people on the liberal side of the American political spectrum, in recent days, have struggled to articulate their feelings in the aftermath of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. These are people who strongly disapprove of political violence and of the killing of Kirk, specifically, while at the same time having strong disagreements with statements Kirk made during his life and career, while objecting to some of the crackdowns from the political right that have followed Kirk’s death.
Leave it to Barack Obama to articulate all of that, much better than other people can.
The former president spoke this week at the Jefferson Educational Society in Erie, Pa., and discussed the assassination of Kirk, as well as that of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman.
Every American needs to watch what Obama just said about the Kirk assassination.
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) September 17, 2025
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“There are no ifs, ands or buts about it: the central premise of our democratic system is that we have to be able to disagree and have sometimes really contentious debates without resorting to violence,” Obama said. He also called on Americans to “respect other people’s right to say things that we profoundly disagree with.”
But he also criticized the recent behavior of the Trump Administration.
“And so when I hear not just our current president, but his aides, who have a history of calling political opponents ‘vermin’, enemies who need to be ‘targeted,’ that speaks to a broader problem that we have right now and something that we’re going to have to grapple with, all of us,” Obama said.
Also in the speech, per Politico, Obama spoke more directly about the killing of Kirk.
“I didn’t know Charlie Kirk. I was generally aware of some of his ideas. I think those ideas were wrong, but that doesn’t negate the fact that what happened was a tragedy and that I mourn for him and his family,” the former president said.
Obama: So we have to extend to people during their period of mourning and shock.
At the same time, we can also at the same time say I disagree with the idea that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a mistake — that’s not me politicizing the issue. It’s making an observation about… pic.twitter.com/Wdpw5qNSc5
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 17, 2025
“We can also, at the same time, say that I disagree with the idea that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a mistake… I can say that I disagree with the suggestion that my wife or Justice Jackson does not have adequate brain processing power. I can say that I disagree that Martin Luther King was awful.”
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
