Former President Barack Obama is speaking out for the first time since the September 10 death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. During a speech to the Jefferson Educational Society’s 17th annual global summit on September 16, Obama called Kirk’s death “horrific and a tragedy,” saying that he mourns for the late conservative activist and his family. However, he called this moment in our country’s history an “inflection point,” adding that he’s concerned about the rise in political violence on both sides.
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Obama told the crowd that America is a place where people should feel free to express their opinions without having to worry that they’ll be met with violence.
“There are no ifs, ands or buts about it, the central premise of our democratic system is that we have to be able to disagree and have sometimes really contentious debates without resort to violence,” he told the audience.
Obama went on to praise both Governor Spencer Cox (R-UT) and Governor Josh Shapiro (D-PA) for how they’ve met the moment and engaged people with opposing political opinions without resorting to blame or name-calling. But Obama, who usually keeps his criticism of the current administration to himself, was not shy about sharing his opinion of how President Donald Trump – whom he believes should be doing what he can to help the country heal during times of tragedy – is handling the situation. According to Obama, Trump and his allies are further dividing the country and preventing people who disagree with his ideas from speaking their minds.
“When I hear not just our current president, but his aides, who have a history of calling political opponents ‘vermin,’ enemies who need to be ‘targeted,’ that speaks to a broader problem that we have right now, and something that we’re going to have to grapple with — all of us,” he said. “I think at moments like this, when tensions are high, then part of the job of the president is to pull people together.”
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