Obama on Kirk killing, political violence: U.S. at 'inflection point'

[Jilly_in_VA]

Former President Barack Obama called the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and other recent acts of political violence "horrific" during a speech on Sept. 16, while criticizing President Donald Trump for using the tragedy to stifle debate critical to democracy.

In his first public comments outside of social media about Kirk's killing at Utah Valley University last week, Obama, the two-term president who remains one of the most influential forces within the Democratic Party, said Americans should condemn political violence when it occurs but also be free to debate the ideas espoused by the victims of such violence.

"It is important for us at the outset to acknowledge that political violence is not new," he told Steve Scully, the Erie native and veteran broadcast journalist best known for his tenure at C-SPAN. "It has happened at certain periods in our history, but it is something that it is anathema to what it means to be a democratic country. And regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, what happened to Charlie Kirk was horrific and a tragedy. What happened, as you mentioned, to the state legislators in Minnesota ‒ that is horrific. It is a tragedy. And there are no ifs, ands, or buts about it."

Obama told a crowd of 8,000 people at the Erie Insurance Arena that a central premise of democracy is being able to disagree, and at times engage in "really contentious debate without resorting to violence."

"And then when it happens to somebody, 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 said.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/09/17/obama-erie-pa-charlie-kirk-killing-condemnation/86195895007/

Hr said it all.

[Initech]

1. No one should be murdered for their beliefs. Nobody.

But the way Fox News is handling this and fanning the fires in order to suit their sick and twisted narrative, it seems like they're desperately trying to ignite a civil war.

[Walleye]

3. Violence always inspires more violence. Never inspires peace.

[Walleye]

2. Politicians keep talking about on the "other side of the aisle"

Out here in the world, where most of us Americans live, there is no “aisle”. And party designation don’t mean anything anymore, there is only Maga and anti-Maga

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. Maddowblog-As Trump's abuses worsen, it seems Obama is increasingly fired up and ready to go

With increasing frequency, the former Democratic president is re-entering the political arena in unexpected and unsubtle ways.

In the spring, Barack Obama seemed to dip his toes into the political arena waters.

This week, as he dives in headfirst, I can’t help but get the impression that this guy is fired up and ready to go. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-09-18T17:23:10.100Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-abuses-worsen-seems-obama-increasingly-fired-ready-go-rcna232178

When thinking about Donald Trump’s most prominent and most vocal Democratic critics, Barack Obama does not immediately come to mind. That, however, is starting to change.....

In September, the former Democratic president seems even more fired up. NBC News reported:

Former President Barack Obama on Tuesday condemned the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the spate of political violence that has gripped the country while rebuking President Donald Trump and his allies’ for politicizing the shooting and not doing more to unite the country.

At the Jefferson Educational Society’s global summit in Pennsylvania, the Democrat did not mention Trump by name. He also didn’t have to: Obama drew sharp enough contrasts that were entirely unsubtle.

Obama: We have to recognize that on both sides there are people who are extremists 

But I will say that those extreme views were not in my White House. I wasn’t embracing them. I wasn’t empowering them. I wasn’t putting the weight of the government behind extremist views.

— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-09-17T20:01:20.240Z

.....For good measure, Obama condemned Charlie Kirk’s slaying as “horrific and a tragedy,” and categorically rejected the very idea of political violence, calling it “anathema to what it means to be a democratic country.” He also made it clear that he found some of the late conservative activist’s ideas abhorrent.

Obama: So we have to extend to people during their period of mourning

We can also at the same time say I disagree with the idea that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a mistake


I can disagree with the suggestion that my wife or Justice Jackson does not have adequate brain processing power.

— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-09-17T20:01:08.560Z

......Just two days before the end of his presidency, Obama hosted a White House press conference in which he said he expected the Trump administration and congressional Republicans to make their own determinations about the nation’s direction — and, by and large, he intended to stay out of it.

Obama acknowledged at the time, however, that there might be exceptions to the rule. “There’s a difference,” the outgoing president explained, “between that normal functioning of politics and certain issues or certain moments where I think our core values may be at stake.”

Nearly nine years later, I can’t help but get the feeling that Obama sees our core values in jeopardy with increasing frequency.

I am so glad that President Obama is getting involved. I love the fact that trump and the MAGA idiots are upset by President Obama making comments and arguments

[Johonny]

5. Feels past the inflection point

The question is how fast we go down hill, because the inflection point feels uphill from here.