Brandon Tatum on Charlie Kirk's Assassination, Israel Obsession, and the Fractured State of the Right

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Brandon Tatum on Charlie Kirk's Assassination, Israel Obsession, and the Fractured State of the Right

Brandon Tatum joins Dave Rubin to discuss the devastating loss of Charlie Kirk two weeks after his assassination in Utah. The former police officer and Turning Point USA partner opens up about his personal relationship with Charlie, the conspiracy theories plaguing the movement, and the racist attacks he's faced for his support of Israel. Tatum also addresses the parasitic mindset consuming some on the right, the jockeying for influence in Charlie's absence, and whether there's hope for MAGA's future under JD Vance. From policing in Chicago under Brandon Johnson to the awakening happening in black communities, this conversation covers the competing forces threatening to tear apart the coalition Charlie Kirk helped build.

Categories: Analysis
October 4, 2025

The Heartbreak of Losing Charlie Kirk

Brandon Tatum's voice cracks when he recalls the moment he learned Charlie Kirk had been shot. Fox News called him first, asking him to come on air before he even knew what had happened. When his team showed him the distant video footage, Tatum felt a surge of optimism—it looked like Charlie had been shot in the shoulder and might survive. Then came the close-up footage.

"That's one of the most terrible, heart-wrenching moments or things that I've ever seen in my life, even in law enforcement," Tatum says. As a former police officer, he'd seen his share of violence, but watching Charlie Kirk's assassination unfold on camera was different. "I've seen some of the craziest things that you ever seen. But to see what happened to Charlie in front of the world was one of the worst things that I've ever seen."

Tatum had worked with Turning Point USA since 2017, first as the urban ambassador and then in partnership doing campus events. His relationship with Charlie was built on mutual respect and unwavering loyalty. "There's never been a time that Charlie has ever reached out to me and asked me to do something for him or for Turning Point and I never said no. He's the only person in the movement that I've never said no to because I respect him. I loved him as a brother."

The first time Tatum's wife ever saw him cry was on his show when he broke down over Charlie's death. His initial instinct was revenge—he wanted to drive to Utah immediately. "The guy in me said, 'Brandon, slow down a minute. That's not how we fight fire with fire. Charlie Kirk wouldn't have wanted this. You need to compose yourself, be the voice of reason for the people in a time like this.'"

Conspiracies, Attacks, and the Betrayal of Charlie's Legacy

What followed Charlie's assassination has been, in Tatum's view, a betrayal of his memory. The conspiracy theories, the attacks on Erica Kirk, the accusations against Turning Point USA—it's all "so inappropriate and so nonsensical."

"I don't understand why people are coming up with these conspiracies. They're coming after Erica. They're coming after Turning Point USA. It's just mindboggling to me," Tatum explains. He's watched as people he trusted for years have jumped on the conspiracy bandwagon, claiming Charlie's lapel mic exploded or that Turning Point was somehow involved. These same people who had 25,000 views before are now getting over a million views per video.

"These people don't need to prove anything," Tatum observes. "That's the thing of conspiracies. You just throw out stuff to the wind and say allegedly my sources say I heard this. It could not be true."

The attacks have extended beyond conspiracies. Tatum has received racist abuse for his support of Israel, including being called a monkey by a mainstream conservative figure. People are leaking Charlie's private text messages for clicks. Meanwhile, Tatum has his own messages from Charlie but refuses to share them out of respect.

"The day he died, the day after he died at his funeral, the day the memorial happened, you have people sharing intimate conversations with him," Tatum says with disgust. Instead of capitalizing on tragedy, Tatum spent the first six days after Charlie's death working to raise money for Erica Kirk, with a goal of reaching one million dollars.

The Israel Question and the Parasitic Mind

Tatum's support for Israel has made him a target. He describes himself as a Zionist and has been accused repeatedly of being paid to hold that position. The obsession some on the right have developed with Israel baffles him.

On Piers Morgan's show, Tatum debated Dave Smith, who has built much of his platform around criticizing Israel. Tatum laid out his position clearly: Hamas needs to be eliminated, the two-state solution is a fantasy because Palestinians don't want it, and Israel has tried giving Gaza autonomy only to see it turned into a launching pad for terrorism.

"They removed Jews from Gaza and gave it to them. And what did they do in return? They elected a terrorist organization that extracted funding and resources from them to build tunnels to create terrorism against Israel," Tatum argued on the show.

But beyond the specific policy debate, Tatum is troubled by what he calls a "parasitic mind" that has infected some conservatives. "Once they go down that path, they don't end the path reasonably. They go off of a cliff," he explains. "It's reasonable for people like you and I to question things. But for some reason these people are not acting in good faith and asking real questions. They consume themselves."

Every issue—from Charlie's death to the cost of goods to Trump's actions—somehow gets traced back to Israel. "Everything is Israel's fault and that's not normal and I think that's what's happened to people. They have a parasitic mind."

The Right Is Fractured and Jockeying for Position

Trump created an incredibly robust big tent coalition, but the pressures within it are showing. Without Charlie Kirk as a unifying figure who could talk to different factions, the cracks are widening.

"Unfortunately I think that the right is divided tremendously and there's a fraction of the right that have come out as the stupidest most ignorant folk I ever seen in my life," Tatum says bluntly. People who voted for Trump three times are now calling him "bought and paid for by Israel" or a "warmonger." Appointees like Kash Patel, Pam Bondi, and Dan Bongino—previously beloved—are now being called deep state operatives.

"We're cannibalizing the very people that have been fighting for the same movement that we've been fighting for for over a decade," Tatum laments.

He believes part of the problem is people jockeying to fill the vacuum Charlie left behind. "There's a vacuum and people are trying to find their identity to be the next Charlie Kirk or to absorb that audience that's hungry to hear something. That's why people are going to the conspiracy."

Some are doing it overtly, others covertly, but the competition for influence is undeniable. And the algorithm rewards the most outrageous takes, creating a perverse incentive structure.

Policing, Brandon Johnson, and Weaponized Empathy

As a former police officer, Tatum has strong opinions about what's happening in blue cities like Chicago under Mayor Brandon Johnson. The politicians claim to speak for black communities while those same communities are plagued by violence.

"Majority of the black community said, 'No, we want police. We need police. We want safe environments for our children,'" Tatum points out, referencing polling done during the defund the police movement. "It's the politicians, Dave."

Brandon Johnson constantly talks about hiring more black people and funding black businesses, but Tatum sees through the performance. "He is putting on a front to attract the low IQ emotional black people in his community and the white liberal who suffers from white guilt."

"Nobody cares about how many people in the government are a certain color or gender or sexual orientation. Is the government producing?" Tatum asks. Johnson, like Lori Lightfoot before him, represents identity politics without results. "What has he accomplished? Why are we still talking about racism, prejudice, discrimination, violence, the education system failing in our communities?"

Tatum describes politicians like Johnson as using "emotional manipulation, weaponized empathy" to maintain power while failing to deliver actual improvements. If Johnson removed his security detail and did a food drive in the community, Tatum suggests, "Brandon Johnson will get shot in the head."

The Black Vote, Truth Receptors, and Being Activated

Trump doubled his support among black men in the last election, but the overall numbers are still relatively small. Tatum believes something deeper is happening than simple party switching.

"There's a lot of people waking up. I think more so than changing, being activated is more of a term," he explains. Growing up in Texas, Tatum didn't know any black people who weren't conservative in how they lived their lives—believing in God, going to church, structuring families traditionally. But they voted Democrat out of tradition and emotional appeals tied to the civil rights movement.

"The activated voters in the black community are driven by emotionalism by and large and traditions and Martin Luther King and all other civil rights movement and it has been co-opted," Tatum says. Now those same people are realizing they've been on the Republican side all along.

At Turning Point USA events on campuses, Tatum saw this awakening firsthand. "The human brain has truth receptors," he explains. "Some people have been brainwashed to a point to block the receptors so they can't receive truth. But most genuine people are just looking for truth."

When students hear facts, data, and arguments without emotionalism, something clicks. Some immediately want to start campus chapters. Others go home to think about it, and seeds are planted that grow over time.

Hope, Skepticism, and the JD Vance Future

Tatum is personally optimistic—he's hiring more people, making investments, living the American dream. But for the country as a whole, he's less certain.

"I am not as hopeful although I do have remnants of hope," he admits. "I'm leaning towards thinking it's going to get worse but I also don't want to believe in a reality with people like you and I out there that it can go south without us putting up a fight."

The MAGA frenzy will eventually subside. The investigation into Charlie's death will conclude, and the conspiracy theorists will be proven wrong. But what comes next?

Tatum sees JD Vance as the future. "When Donald Trump leaves office, JD Vance will be the new spark for a different direction for America. When I say different, I mean going down the same street, but at a different speed."

Vance is more polished, represents the future, and can deliver compelling speeches in a measured way. The contrast was visible at Charlie's memorial service. "JD Vance's speech was on point. It was measured. It was heartfelt. Donald Trump went on a rant," Tatum recalls with affection but honesty.

Vance may not have Trump's juice—the merchandise, the hats, the rock star energy—but he offers something else: a chance for the country to take a breath and reassess. "That's the only optimism that I see," Tatum concludes, before adding with a smile, "The Bible says in the last days it's going to get worse. I'm hoping that the last days are a thousand years from now."

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