Former US President Barack Obama has finally weighed in on the Charlie Kirk conversation following the far-right commentator's death last week, offering his assessment of the current political climate across the nation.
It would almost be harder to find a major politician in America who hasn't yet offered their thoughts following the death of 31-year-old Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk last Wednesday.
Names like Elon Musk were quick to offer their reaction and response to the influencer's assassination, alongside repeated updates from current President Donald Trump, alongside many of his close cabinet members and political allies.
While there have equally been many contrasting views offered, including a noteworthy three-word comment by a famous Hollywood star, many have been waiting for a figure as significant as Barack Obama to offer his own thoughts on the state of the nation.
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As reported by the New York Post, the former president offered his first public remarks surrounding Charlie Kirk during the Jefferson Educational Society's global summit on Tuesday night, and was specifically asked about whether the country is at an 'inflection point' following last week's killing.
"Even if you think they're quote unquote on the other side of the argument, that's a threat to all of us and we have to be clear and forthright and condemn it," Obama asserted in response to the question.
"But I'll say this — those extreme views were not in my White House," he added, perhaps criticizing decisions that Donald Trump has made during his two terms as president. "I wasn't empowering them. I wasn't putting the weight of the United States government behind them.
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"And so your original question was, 'are we at an inflection point?' We're at an inflection point in the sense that we always have to fight for our democracy and we have to fight for those values that have made this country the envy of the world."
Obama has also heavily criticized the recent decision to 'indefinitely' suspend late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel following comments that he made surrounding Charlie Kirk during a recent episode of his TV show.
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"After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn't like," Obama wrote on X.
He also added that "this is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent — and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating to it.
"This commentary offers a clear, powerful statement why freedom of speech is at the heart of democracy and must be defended, whether the speaker is Charlie Kirk or Jimmy Kimmel, MAGA supporters or MAGA opponents."