Charlie Kirk’s loss of life in Utah on September 10 has sparked an incredible quantity of political dialogue round “free speech” and “differing opinions.” Whereas the narrative put forth by some is that there was some mainstream jubilation and celebration by liberals due to the loss of life of the controversial right-wing persona, the reality is the overwhelming majority of individuals—even those that stood in direct opposition to almost each view held by Kirk—have condemned the killing as tragic and mindless. All people from Don Lemon to President Obama has spoken out towards homicide of any divisive determine for any purpose.
Curiously, its loud voices on the precise have discovered themselves in political crosshairs within the wake of Kirk’s loss of life. Two outstanding figures—Candace Owens and Nick Fuentes—have come underneath fireplace for various causes surrounding his passing.
Owens, for example, has floated conspiracy theories suggesting that Kirk was murdered as a result of he selected to not fall in line relating to Israel, making a rift between he and several other billionaires, like Invoice Ackman (who has since denied any and all accusations suggesting he had something to do with the loss of life of Kirk). Owens referred to Kirk as her “finest buddy,” after he handed; Owens and Kirk had been buddies and—at one level—colleagues at Turning Level USA. Owens, whose personal stance on Israel has typically put her at odds with many within the conservative motion, has been a trending matter because the passing of Kirk, mainly for his or her relationship however principally due to her perception {that a} conspiracy was at play in his loss of life.
Fuentes, then again, was an individual who felt that Charlie Kirk wasn’t fairly far-right sufficient. Fuentes, a white nationalist who has been labeled a “white supremacist” by the FBI, grew to become hooked up to the loss of life of Kirk as a result of the person accused of killing him—Tyler Robinson—could have had some adjacency to “Groypers,” a bunch aligned with Fuentes that discovered itself being blamed, partially, for creating animosity towards Kirk for allegedy not being conservative sufficient. Lots of Fuentes’ followers seen Kirk as a “faux” conservative, taking difficulty with a number of of his stances as not being far-right sufficient. At one level, Fuentes’ followers took it upon themselves to disrupt Turning Level occasions. Fuentes at one level famously dined with President Trump—sparking outcry from even the GOP—however now has turned towards Trump over a number of points.
Regardless of the variations, there have been some points associated to Black individuals, the place each Kirk and Fuentes had been critiqued.
For example, Kirk famously stated {that a} group of Black ladies, together with Michelle Obama and Ketanji Brown Jackson, had been DEI hires who took jobs rightly earned by white individuals. Fuentes—in an interview with Candace Owens—stated that Black individuals had been primarily naturally not sensible, and imperialism and colonization had been (paraphrasing right here) maybe the one means sub-Saharan Africans would have been launched to expertise of any type.
Although Fuentes was a visitor on Owens’ podcast in July 2025, the 2 had a falling out shortly after, with Fuentes referring to Owens as an Uncle Tom, token Black and DEI rent. “You’re a variety rent, you’re a DEI rent, you pander,” Fuentes stated of Owens. “She thinks she’s some type of boss b-tch. Yeah you’re a b-tch however you didn’t get that means since you’re some kind of tremendous sensible boss. You bought that means since you’re an excellent bitchy Black token. Like it’s, what it’s.”
He additionally included Jason Whitlock on this criticism—who solely grew to become notable due to the “grift of variety” and due to quotas.
Whereas a lot of the nation looks like it’s combating alongside ideological and political strains, even a number of the proper’s most seen personalities are being dragged into their very own infighting. What occurs subsequent could decide the course of the Republican Get together and its youthful voters within the post-Kirk period.
