Former President Barack Obama said conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death was "horrific and a tragedy," while also taking a veiled shot at President Donald Trump for accusations of sowing political division. (Erin Hooley/The Associated Press )
Kirk, 31, was killed after suffering a gunshot wound in the neck during his American Comeback Tour at Utah Valley University Sept. 10. The shooting suspect, Tyler Robinson, was charged Monday with aggravated murder, along with other charges.
The assassination comes a year after two attempts to take the president’s life.
While Obama admitted that extremists are present at both ends of the political divide, he distanced himself and his administration from far-left ideologues.
"Those extreme views were not in my White House," Obama claimed. "I wasn't empowering them. I wasn't putting the weight of the United States government behind them. When we have the weight of the United States government behind extremist views, we’ve got a problem."
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at LaGuardia Airport, Sept. 11, 2025, in New York. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press )
"Barack Hussein Obama is the architect of modern political division in America — famously demeaning millions of patriotic Americans who opposed his liberal agenda as ‘bitter’ for ‘cling(ing) to guns or religion,’" White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a Wednesday statement. "Obama used every opportunity to sow division and pit Americans against each other, and following his presidency more Americans felt Obama divided the country than felt he united it."
"His division has inspired generations of Democrats to slander their opponents as ‘deplorables,’ or ‘fascists,’ or ‘Nazis,'" Jackson said. "If he cares about unity in America, he would tell his own party to stop their destructive behavior."
Obama previously weighed in to express his condolences to Kirk’s family immediately after the shooting.
"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," Obama said in an X post Sept. 10. "Michelle and I will be praying for Charlie’s family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children."
Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/obama-calls-charlie-kirks-death-horrific-blames-trump-fueling-division