This is an adapted excerpt from the Sept. 15 episode of “Morning Joe.”
In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, talk of a “civil war” brewing in America has been circulating online. In the hours after Kirk’s shooting in Utah, before a suspect or possible motive was even identified, Elon Musk declared on X, “The Left is the party of murder.” In a separate post, the billionaire wrote that “If they won’t leave us in peace, then our choice is fight or die.”
Political violence, unfortunately, isn’t a new phenomenon in America. During the presidential campaign last year, Donald Trump was the victim of two assassination attempts. But these same figures calling for retribution for Kirk certainly didn’t push for a civil war after a Democratic legislator and her husband were slaughtered in their home by a man with an extensive “hit list” full of other Democratic politicians. It’s baffling that people could seem so disinterested when the violence is targeted toward “the other side.”
It’s divisive rhetoric, and it’s not reflective of the country as a whole. Every American I’ve actually spoken to in person since this terrible tragedy has been horrified at what happened to Kirk, and they’ve all asked the same question: “When is this going to end?”
The country needs to come together. We need to stop and we need to ask ourselves, What kind of nation have we become when a person can’t go to a college campus and debate politics without being fatally shot? What kind of nation have we become when a president can’t campaign without having two assassination attempts on him? What kind of nation have we become when a state lawmaker can’t go to bed with her husband at night without fears of being killed in their home? We’ve got to do better. Our leaders have to do better. People in the media have to do better. Everybody has to do better. We should debate and debate aggressively, but we should never let it cross the line into violence. And if it does, we have to stand shoulder to shoulder as a nation and condemn it in its strongest terms, whether it happens in Utah, in Minnesota or in Pennsylvania.
Former Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Fla., is co-host of MS NOW's "Morning Joe" alongside Mika Brzezinski — a show that Time magazine calls "revolutionary." In addition to his career in television, Joe is a two-time New York Times best-selling author. His most recent book is "The Right Path: From Ike to Reagan, How Republicans Once Mastered Politics — and Can Again."
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.
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