Victor Davis Hanson Dismantles Left's False Narratives About Charlie Kirk Assassination on Utah Campus
Enjoying this? Share it with someone who needs to see it.
Up Next
Victor Davis Hanson Reveals Charlie Kirk's Secret to Mobilizing Young Conservative Voters in America
6:24
Victor Davis Hanson on Western Civilization's Grassroots Awakening After Charlie Kirk's Death
8:09
Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty for Charlie Kirk Assassination as Chilling Text Messages Reveal Political Motive
29:20
Victor Davis Hanson Dismantles Left's False Narratives About Charlie Kirk Assassination on Utah Campus
Victor Davis Hanson methodically confronts what he identifies as deliberate falsehoods being spread about the assassination of Charlie Kirk on a Utah campus. He systematically rebuts claims that this is a "conservative George Floyd moment," exposes the radical leftist background of the assassin despite attempts to portray it as right-wing violence, and contrasts the peaceful conservative response with the violent riots that followed George Floyd's death. Hanson reveals evidence of the killer's Antifa affiliations, trans activism, and premeditated targeting of Kirk, while highlighting how the left exploited Floyd's death for political gain in ways conservatives have refused to do.
Victor Davis Hanson addresses what he characterizes as a coordinated campaign of misinformation surrounding the assassination of Charlie Kirk on a Utah campus. Speaking for The Daily Signal, Hanson systematically dismantles several narratives being pushed by the left in the aftermath of Kirk's death.
This Is Not a Conservative George Floyd Moment
The first and perhaps most significant falsehood, according to Hanson, is the claim that Kirk's assassination represents a "conservative George Floyd moment." He points out the stark differences in the responses to these two deaths.
Following George Floyd's death in 2020, Antifa and BLM led five months of violent protests that resulted in catastrophic consequences across America:
35 people killed
1,500 police officers injured
$2 billion in property damage
Historic churches torched
Police precincts burned
Federal courthouses attacked
An attempt to breach the White House grounds, forcing President Trump into the bunker
In stark contrast, the conservative response to Charlie Kirk's assassination has been entirely peaceful. Rather than riots and destruction, people have doubled down on Kirk's mission by subscribing to Turning Point USA in record numbers, discussing voter registration, and honoring his legacy through civic engagement.
Charlie Kirk Was Nothing Like George Floyd
Hanson addresses the false equivalency being drawn between Kirk and Floyd as individuals. While acknowledging that Floyd should not have died in police custody and calling his death a tragedy, Hanson emphasizes the profound differences between the two men.
George Floyd had an extensive criminal history. He was an eight-time convicted felon who had served prison time. His most serious offense involved staging a home invasion robbery where he held a knife to a young woman's abdomen. On the day of his death, Floyd was attempting to pass counterfeit currency, which prompted the store owner to call police. When officers arrived, Floyd was under the influence of both amphetamines and fentanyl, and he had COVID-19. He refused to comply with police instructions to get in the car and go to the station.
Charlie Kirk, by contrast, had never had a negative encounter with law enforcement. He was a devoted father of two children, had a loving wife, maintained a stable family, and dedicated his life to civic engagement and empowering young Americans. The two men could not have been more different.
The Assassin Was a Radical Leftist, Not a Conservative
Perhaps the most egregious lie being circulated, according to Hanson, is the attempt to frame Kirk's murder as "right-on-right violence." This narrative relies on the fact that the assassin, identified as Mr. Robinson, came from a Mormon family, as did his trans boyfriend or girlfriend with whom he lived.
Hanson systematically destroys this narrative with evidence of the killer's radical leftist ideology:
Robinson took deliberate steps to advertise his political motivations. He scrawled Antifa logos on the shell casings he used to murder Kirk, including messages in both Italian and English. He also inscribed trans activist messaging on the ammunition. The killer was an active participant in trans chat sites where radical users joked about killing Charlie Kirk.
People who knew Robinson reported that he was obsessed with Kirk's upcoming campus visit. He openly condemned Kirk at a family dinner. Acquaintances said he bragged about being an excellent shot and frequently discussed his far-left political views.
Hanson places Robinson in the context of other recent leftist assassins and would-be assassins, including Luigi Mangione, the Tsarnaev brothers, the perpetrator who murdered a Jewish couple at the Jewish museum in Washington DC, and the Bernie Sanders activist who attempted to assassinate Republican congressional leaders and nearly killed Steve Scalise.
The Conservative Response Versus the Left's Exploitation
Hanson highlights another crucial distinction: how each side has responded to these tragedies.
Following George Floyd's death, the left immediately weaponized the incident to push through radical policy changes. Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi knelt in the Capitol rotunda wearing Kente cloth. Military leaders including Mark Milley and Lloyd Austin used the moment to mandate radical DEI transformations throughout the armed forces and broader society. Academic institutions like the University of Chicago announced that their English department would only accept applicants who were concentrating in Black studies.
The conservative response to Charlie Kirk's assassination has been entirely different. There have been no calls for vengeance, no demands to go after specific individuals on the left, and no push for sweeping new protective legislation. While there is legitimate anger about the left's promiscuous use of terms like "Nazi" and "fascist" that lowered the bar of acceptable political discourse, conservatives have not attempted to exploit Kirk's death for political gain.
Instead, the movement to honor Kirk's memory focuses on one positive action: massive voter registration drives. Conservatives are working to register more young voters than ever before, with the goal of achieving unprecedented turnout in the upcoming November midterms. The objective is to overturn historical precedent by electing a conservative House and Senate that will advance the agenda Charlie Kirk spent his life promoting.
The Truth Must Prevail
Victor Davis Hanson's message is clear: the American people deserve the truth about what happened on that Utah campus. The assassination of Charlie Kirk was the act of a radical leftist who advertised his ideology on his weapons and in his online activity. The conservative response has been peaceful, focused on civic engagement rather than destruction. And any attempt to compare this tragedy to George Floyd's death or to frame it as anything other than politically motivated leftist violence is a deliberate distortion of reality.
