Live updates: Charlie Kirk shot dead on Utah campus; shooter still at large

Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated yesterday during a speaking engagement at a Utah college, embodied the Republican Party’s newfound populist conservatism in the social media age and sought to galvanize young voters to support President Donald Trump.

Trump and the American dream: In 2024, Kirk said marriage and home ownership were elusive for too many young Americans, and faulted former President Joe Biden.

“Under Biden, our young people own nothing and they are miserable. Donald Trump refuses to accept this fake, pathetic, mutilated version of the American dream,” he said. “Donald Trump is on a rescue mission to revive your birthright, one your grandparents and those before them gave everything to hand down to you.”

Gun violence: Kirk was an outspoken advocate for gun rights.

He said in 2023 that “you will never live in a society when you have an armed citizenry and you won’t have a single gun death.”

But, Kirk added, “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.”

Religious themes: An evangelical Christian, Kirk embraced more religious themes in recent years and often spoke about politics in apocalyptic terms.

On the campaign trail with Trump in Georgia last year, Kirk referred to the contest against then-Vice President Kamala Harris as “a spiritual battle” and said the election was “civilizational defining.”

Debate: Kirk championed right-wing ideas in fiery, on-camera clashes with left-leaning students and progressive academics that then exploded on social media, especially on X.

“I’m trying to be proactive about encouraging dialogue between people who disagree,” he told a CNN reporter in 2021.