A new poll shows a sharp partisan divide over reactions to political violence, with Democrats more likely than Republicans to say it is acceptable to celebrate the death of a public figure.
A YouGov poll conducted on September 11 among 2,623 adults found that 11 percent of Democrats said it is “always” or “usually” acceptable to celebrate the death of a public figure they oppose, compared to six percent of Republicans.
Meanwhile, 71 percent of Democrats and 89 percent of Republicans said it is “usually” or “always” unacceptable.
Overall, nine percent of Americans say it is acceptable to celebrate such a death, while 78 percent said it is unacceptable.
Why It Matters
The survey comes just after the founder of right-wing youth organization Turning Point USA and a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, Charlie Kirk, was fatally shot in Utah on Wednesday.
Kirk’s death has provoked strong reaction online, with some prominent MAGA figures blaming the “radical left” for his death and even calling for “war”, while some critics of Kirk and his views have celebrated his death.
His shooting, and the mockery from some social media users, demonstrates just how divided American politics has become. It follows a string of attacks on prominent political figures, including Trump, who narrowly survived an assassination attempt in June 2024, while in June of this year, a Democratic lawmaker was shot dead in Minnesota.
What To Know
While the vast majority of reaction from Democrats and liberals has condemned Kirk’s death, some accounts have celebrated it. On X, Brandy Bryant, a self-styled transgender comedian with 21,000 followers on the platform, posted: “Breaking: Charlie Kirk loses gun debate.”
The post went viral, racking up over 45,000 reposts, 424,000 likes and 12 million views.
Bryant later added: “These people openly get off talking about eradicating trans people and y’all think I got any sympathy for them? Get the f*** out of here.”
Another X user shared a seven-second video of a man laughing while sitting next to a woman, with the caption: “charlie kirk, an advocate for the approval of guns, got shot in the neck.” This received over 940,000 views on the platform.
The TikTok user angelasrightofficial, who has 88,000 followers, shared a video of herself commenting: “Live by the sword, die by the sword. He did say that gun deaths were an acceptable side effect of gun rights.”
This clip was shared on X by the Wall Street Apes account, which added: “Liberals are celebrating Charlie Kirk’s death.” The post received over 3.6 million X views.
The original TikTok user appeared to be referencing comments Kirk made about gun deaths in April 2023, when he said: “I think it’s worth it. I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.”
YouGov polling from September 11 shows that 55 percent of Republicans agree with this point of view, compared to only 10 percent of Democrats.
The president-elect of the Oxford Union debating society in the UK has also come under fire after he posted comments in a WhatsApp group saying: “Charlie Kirk got shot, let’s f***ing go”, while another thought to have been posted on Abaraonye’s Instagram account read “Charlie Kirk got shot loool,” according to the Daily Telegraph.
But some commentators have condemned such reactions. British broadcaster Piers Morgan on X commented: “Seeing so many clips/posts of supposedly ‘kind tolerant’ liberals gleefully celebrating Charlie Kirk’s murder. They’re so utterly disgusting.”
New York Times columnist Ezra Klein wrote: “It’s ghoulish to mock or justify the shooting of Charlie Kirk. Rising political violence is a horror of our time. Unchecked it will lead to catastrophes none of us want to imagine. Deeply hoping he pulls through. We are all people, whatever we believe. That has to come first.”
Meanwhile, prominent MAGA-aligned figures have responded to the assassination of Kirk with combative and incendiary rhetoric, framing the killing as a politically motivated attack and casting it as a call to fight back against “the left.”
The shooter’s motive and political ideology remain unknown, and they are still being sought by the FBI.
Elon Musk saw it as an attack tied to “the left” and free speech. “If they won’t leave us in peace, then our choice is fight or die,” he said.
Trump issued an Oval Office video tribute, calling Kirk’s death a “dark moment” and blaming “radical left” rhetoric. Far-right activist Laura Loomer also blamed “lunatic leftists.”
“We must shut these lunatic leftists down. Once and for all. The Left is a national security threat,” she wrote on X.
Infowars host Alex Jones escalated the rhetoric further, framing the assassination as a call to “war,” while influencer and self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate called for “civil war.”
Amid the reaction, some have called for an end to political division and violence, including Utah’s Republican Governor Spencer Cox. “Our nation is broken,” he said, pleading that “all of us will try to find a way to stop hating our fellow Americans.”
But YouGov polling reveals a strongly polarized electorate. According to a September 11 survey, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say it is justified for citizens to resort to violence in order to achieve political goals.
The poll shows that 14 percent of Democrats hold that view, compared to six percent of Republicans. Meanwhile, 72 percent of Democrats and 81 percent of Republicans say it is never justified.
Republicans also see political violence as a bigger problem than Democrats do. According to the poll, 58 percent of Republicans and 68 percent of Democrats said political violence is a “big problem,” while 32 percent of Republicans and 22 percent of Democrats described it as “somewhat of a problem.”
The partisan divide deepens when asked about which side poses the greater threat. Sixty-six percent of Republicans said left-wing violence is the bigger problem for the U.S. today, while 62 percent of Democrats said right-wing violence is the bigger concern.
Research has consistently shown that right-wing political violence is more common in the United States. A University of Maryland study from 2022 found that right-wing extremist attacks are at least as likely as Islamist extremist violence. A study by the Anti-Defamation League found that between 2013 and 2022, 75 percent of extremist-related deaths were linked to right-wing terrorism.
What People Are Saying
Writer and podcaster Stephen Knight wrote on X: “Excuse-making and even open endorsement of violence in response to speech isn’t confined to clueless students. It runs through the so-called ‘liberal’ left at every level. It’s mainstream, and it’s shameful.
“Witnessing the grotesque reaction to Charlie Kirk’s murder will have changed decent people. Forever. The far-left has simply forced many reasonable people to wake up and pick a side. And it’s not going to be theirs.”
Conservative commentator Blaire White posted: “The people mocking Charlie Kirk’s murder are the same people who would film someone dying on a train instead of help. They live amongst us and larp as human beings.”
Former president Barack Obama said on X: “We don’t yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy. Michelle and I will be praying for Charlie’s family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children.”
Former vice president Kamala Harris wrote on X: “Let me be clear: Political violence has no place in America. I condemn this act, and we all must work together to ensure this does not lead to more violence.”
What Happens Next
Police are continuing to search for the shooter behind Wednesday’s attack on Kirk. The FBI will provide up to $100,000 for information that helps law enforcement identify and arrest the person or people responsible for the assassination.
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