The violence against Charlie Kirk and all political violence and threats are wrong and unacceptable. Full stop.
But that’s not the end of the conversation. Kirk's killing needs to be honestly discussed in the full context of the moment we are in–including addressing the way forward out of this spiral of attacks on people of both political parties.
Regrettably, that is the opposite of what Donald Trump did in his address to the nation after Kirk was killed. Instead of using this moment to unite the country in universal opposition to political violence—whether from the right or the left—Trump fanned the flames. He singled out the “radical left” for the shooting despite not knowing who was responsible. He is supposed to be the president of all of us– the United States, not the Divided States. No matter what facts emerge, countless millions of Americans should not be blamed for the actions of an individual criminal.
And yet Trump did just that – and made things worse by highlighting only incidents in which conservative figures were targeted, including himself. The truth is that political violence has targeted individuals of all political stripes, from the cold-blooded murders of Minnesota Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband to the attack on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, in 2022, and from the firebombing of the home of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family to the assault on our Capitol and our democracy on Jan. 6, 2021. Political violence threatens us all irrespective of political allegiance. Trump not only didn't talk about any of that, but he pardoned those involved in the insurrection.
Now the alleged shooter has turned himself in and questions are arising about whether he is a far-right individual who might have targeted Kirk for unconfirmed reasons. The evidence thus far includes engravings on unfired cartridges found with the alleged perpetrator’s weapon. All four messages are found within the alt-right online community. While we wait for more evidence –and I would bet more is on the way– the answers to our questions remain unclear. Despite that, the president’s remarks are looking even more dubious.
Irrespective of all that, we mourn the killing of Charlie Kirk separate and apart from whatever we thought of his views. And we also mourn each and every person who has been murdered senselessly by the gun violence epidemic in this country. Indeed, on the same day that Kirk was murdered, there was a school shooting in Colorado, leaving two students in critical condition. Just Thursday, multiple HBCUs were under lockdown because of terroristic threats, and the Naval Academy was placed under lockdown for a shooting threat.
These are not isolated incidents, but rather a tragic pattern in this country, from Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis to Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, to Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.
And if we are going to talk about undue violence and find actual solutions, we have to discuss the causes of the violence. That includes the gun policies that have been foisted on America (and that are opposed by the majority of the nation). This administration has not only repeatedly undermined our federal agencies in charge of regulating firearms by cutting their funding, but it has also thinned the law enforcement ranks responsible for investigating heinous gun crimes. It also eliminated gun laws that are meant to prevent dangerous individuals from acquiring firearms, endangering us all in the process.
I have spoken often in this column about the Roberts Court's role in enabling profound damage to our democracy, and gun violence is no exception. In D.C v. Heller, the Supreme Court in 2008 eviscerated D.C’s gun permit regulations and long-standing sound interpretations of the Second Amendment, setting the stage for an erosion of gun regulations in the United States. In 2010, in McDonald v. Chicago, the court further entrenched its ahistorical and wrong interpretations, allowing for a broader expansion of gun ownership, endangering us all. In 2022, the court restricted permitting laws in New York v. Bruen, making it even harder for states to limit gun ownership.
Another factor that must be addressed is our nation's lack of mental health support—made worse by the Trump administration. We have seen $11 billion cut by Trump from mental health programs while the mental health crisis continues to deepen, particularly among our youngest generations. In fact, a billion dollars was cut from schools to address mental health via grants passed in the aftermath of the tragic school shooting in Uvalde.
We must comprehend all of that as we mourn. When we commemorated 9/11 this week, I reflected on Coffee with the Contrarians about the best form of memorial. It isn’t just remembrance—it’s action. It’s building a big tent that renews the American ideal. That includes shaping and implementing policies that genuinely reflect the Constitution and common sense:
Of course, we might disagree on what those policies are (and I take the strongest exception to many of Kirk's views). But resorting to political violence is the opposite of the American idea and is rejected by virtually everyone in the country, irrespective of party. We are a nation that aspires to resolving policy differences peacefully through debate and discussion, at the ballot box, and through the peaceful transfer of power. When we face tragedies, we should face them together, not exploit them to scapegoat our perceived adversaries.
That is what we stand for here at the Contrarian, as I think you'll see when you look at our rundown of this week’s extraordinary coverage that you make possible through your paid subscriptions (which also support my pro-democracy litigation activities, over 125 legal matters and counting).
Political Violence Under an Authoritarian Regime
Andrew Weissmann on the FBI's response to the Charlie Kirk assassination
As the former General Counsel for the FBI, Andrew Weissmann has unparalleled experience dealing with catastrophe and the subsequent response by the agency. He joined Jen to discuss the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk assassination and Kash Patel’s dismal showing as the agency’s leader.
Adam Kinzinger on the current climate of political violence in America
Why was the flag put to half-staff after the killing of Charlie Kirk but not Minnesota politician Melissa Hortman? Why did Trump make a personal video for him but not for her? Former Congressman Adam Kinzinger joined Jen to discuss the violent rhetoric spewing out of far-right pundits and how political violence is the antithesis of democracy.
The day after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, multiple Historically Black Universities and Colleges (HBCUs) around the country received violent threats. The threats were so numerous and extreme that multiple universities went under lockdown and canceled classes. Lodriguez Murray of the UNCF joined April to discuss the horrendous threats, the lack of support from the federal government, and how an attack against one HBCU is an attack against all African Americans.
The Supreme Court Greenlit Racial Profiling
So racial profiling is legal now? Leah Litman on SCOTUS' unhinged immigration ruling
Leah Litman spoke with Jen about the Supreme Court’s unsigned order this week to lift a federal judge’s ruling that banned racial profiling in immigration stops, Kavanaugh’s absurd rationalization, and why Congress is completely absent in this fight. “"The Supreme Court is not engaged in anything remotely resembling law or judicial decision-making."
The Supreme Court's brazen approval of racial profiling
Erwin Chereminsky also cut to the chase in his unsparing appraisal of SCOTUS’ latest decision: “The Supreme Court abandoned basic constitutional principles in allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to engage in blatant racial profiling.”
The shadow docket strikes again
Shalise Manza Young wrote on the Court’s ongoing abuse of the “shadow docket,” as the conservative majority feeds case after case into the mill of their politicized ethos, rolling back civil rights. “Can we even call them conservative anymore? What’s five steps more intolerant than conservative?”
Democracy Movement—Threats and Fronts
Even Federal Court Judges Know the MAGA Justices are Out of Control
Jen Rubin praised lower court federal judges for their “admirable spine in knocking down Donald Trump’s grossly unconstitutional moves,” even as the Roberts Court makes ever more obvious the need for serious judicial reform.
Judges must address Trump's radical constitutional refashioning
Austin Sarat looked at the administration’s bizarre lawsuit against all federal judges in Maryland–which cried “judicial overreach” in response to a standing order that addressed executive overreach on immigrant deportation–as more evidence that the administration isn’t playing on the terrain of the existing Constitution. “Judges across the country should be challenging the looming threat of Trump’s unconstitutional executive actions.”
The blackboard and the ballot box
Jeff Nesbit wrote on Oklahoma’s new education initiative: a manufactured “woke” crisis in the guise of a proposed screening test for new teachers. “The strategy is clear: replace evidence-based curricula and critical inquiry with a sanitized, nationalist narrative. It’s an attempt to create a generation of students who are taught what to think, not how to think.”
RFK Jr.'s 'disastrous hearing' and protecting voting rights
On The Contrarian Pod this week, Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) joined Jen to discuss RFK Jr.'s disastrous anti-vax hearing, disenfranchisement through re-districting, how the Democratic Party can go beyond being just the ‘anti-Trump’ party, and more.
The Contrarian covers the Democracy Movement
This week we saw thousands at the Saturday Free DC march (among whom were Contrarians-in-chief Norm Eisen and Jen Rubin) and major protests in Chicago against ICE and militarization, as well as other protests in Portland and California, an anti-genocide protest in Mexico, and more. Get help organizing from Indivisible, find protests in your area at mobilize.us, and send us your protest photos at submit@contrariannews.org.
Is the Economy Great Yet?
Economically Tone Deaf and Selectively Outraged
Jen Rubin wrote on MAGA's oligarchic revelry in the face of what a healthy margin of Americans know to be true, despite all Trump’s fired experts and ignored numbers: the economy is getting worse. “So much for Republicans’ economic populism—or their political antennae.”
The jobs numbers are safe for now, but the labor market might not be
Ryan Cummings wrote on how, after Trump having fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics to replace her with an unqualified loyalist, the Bureau’s 2,000+ civil servants are pushing back to protect the integrity of the agency and its world-critical data. With job numbers getting worse, “the administration indeed might have something to fear from hearing the truth.”
An Open Letter from Former CEA Chair Jared Bernstein to President Trump
Jared Bernstein informed Trump of the “series of big own-goal kicks” he’s been making in the economy throughout his term—his trade war and the safety-net-slashing Big Beautiful Bill, for starters—and how he could actually start reversing them, with the right moves. Here’s hoping for the world’s unlikeliest Contrarian to come around!
Warrior Wannabes
ICE trains for the camera, not the field
Brian O’Neill observed that from obstacle course stunts to vanished age caps, ICE’s new training pipeline swaps rigor for theater, requiring only a whopping 47 days of training before agents are sent into the field. “ICE isn’t simply skipping a crucible; it’s stripping away the foundation.” (Take it from O’Neill, an Army Ranger School graduate.)
Words & Phrases We Could do Without
Jen Rubin wrote on the absurd and deliriously costly overhaul represented by Trump’s proposal to rename DoD the “Department of War.” “Let’s dispense with the ‘rebranding’ gibberish, and explain what Trump is up to: trying to turn our armed forces into his cartoon version of a military.”
Will We Learn Anything From History?
We can again be the country we were after 9/11
Tom Malinowski gave us a lucid essay on the communitarian spirit that suffused the country after 9/11, and how even the worst decisions to come out of that tragedy—courtesy of the Bush administration—revealed not only the lessons of failure but “another strength: the ability of our democratic institutions to correct themselves.” “My biggest worry on this anniversary of 9/11 is that America is no longer as equipped as it was 24 years ago to meet such a grave challenge.”
Visit Anne Frank's Recreated Annex in the U.S. to Immerse Yourself in Her Reality
Culture columnist Meredith Blake recommended a visit to Anne Frank The Exhibition, currently on display at the Center for Jewish History in New York City and including a painstaking replica of the Frank family’s Amsterdam hideaway. “Without clobbering visitors over the head, the parallels to our current nightmare are hard to ignore.”
Cartoons & Fun Stuff
Our cartoonists took on this week in deplorable spins, evasions, and outright lies from the Trump administration: the DoD rebrand (Battle plans, RJ Matson) RFK’s brain worm-fueled testimony (As the worm turns, Calder Robinson), the Epstein file saga (Ep-ocalypse now, Nick Anderson), and the totally-not-running-on-fumes job market ('Fake news', Michael de Adder).
Emily Beyda explained why granola is one of the ultimate bridge-building foods due to its adaptability. A good granola recipe can be modified to suit pretty much any personal or political palate, making it the perfect snack for building community and bridging divides.
Culture recs: Downton Abbey Comes to An End -- For Real This Time
Meredith Blake gave us the latest updates on all things entertainment. At the top of this week’s menu is the final Downton Abbey film in its trilogy: Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. If you’re not sated after that, Meredith also recommended Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television, Secret Mall Apartment, and the Emmys!
This week’s Pet of the Week is Ellie Copeland, an 8-year-old Silky Terrier who loves to eat turkey sandwich meat, going for extra-long walks to catch all the new smells, and getting belly rubs from the whole house.
It was another tumultuous week, but we got through it together. Thanks for being there with us, and please join us at 9:15 AM ET on Monday for Coffee with the Contrarians as we catch you up on the weekend and prepare for the week ahead. In the meantime, Don be safe out there.
Warmly, Norm
Nope, sorry, I can't find it in myself to mourn Kirk's death. I mourn gun deaths in general, but not his. He was an absolutely horrible person who even claimed a few gun deaths a year is the price to be paid for the 2nd Amendment. Live by the gun, die by the gun.
Wow. Thank you for this incredibly comprehensive and valuable column - your own summary at the beginning and the links to significant words & exchanges of others on vital relevant topics. I will share with my "reliable information" mailing list across the country. Grateful for this and all you dedicated Contrarian patriots.