Family Research Council President Tony Perkins published a commentary Friday describing Charlie Kirk’s assassination and other violence in American life as evidence that “America is reaping what it has sown.” Perkins seemingly placed blame on the separation of church and state, though he did not use those exact words:
This is an incredibly charged moment for our country, but that should not distract from the fact that America is reaping what it has sown. Since the 1960s, a “long march through the institutions” sought to drive God, His word, and His authority from public life. The aim was to relegate faith to the private corners of society, never to influence the classroom, courtroom, or public square. Charlie Kirk and the movement he sparked stood up to the Left’s assault on college campuses, working tirelessly to challenge the godless influence on this generation.
Perkins argued that “returning civility to our nation” requires “confronting the spiritual decay at the heart of our crisis.” To Perkins’ credit, he urged people not to resort to violence in response to Kirk’s murder. “If our nation is to heal, we cannot let our righteous indignation at this unspeakable tragedy rule. We must not answer anger with anger or bloodshed with more bloodshed.”
Perkins cited Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a figure who showed Americans a better way by preaching and living out his belief in the redemptive power of love.
Perkins’ choice to quote King may reflect the wide respect that is shown the slain civil rights leader from across the political spectrum. Notably, Charlie Kirk did not share that respect, at least since December 2023 when his rhetoric shifted from calling MLK a “hero” and icon” to describing King as “awful” and “not a good person.”
Kirk’s public attack on King was part of a strategy to undermine support for the historic civil rights legislation passed in the 1960s, which Kirk labeled “a huge mistake.” Kirk told the audience at Turning Point USA’s 2023 America Fest that King “said one good thing he actually didn’t believe.”
Kirk followed his speech with social media attacks calling King “a false ‘god’ of race-obsessed modernity’ and dedicated a chunk of his "Charlie Kirk Show" program on the Jan. 15, 2024 King holiday to a denunciation of the “revolutionary” MLK.
Scholar Jonathan Rauch told WIRED that Kirk and TPUSA’s attack on King and the Civil Rights Act was an example of how “the fringe moves to the center at the speed of light” in right-wing politics.
“These guys are very good at moving the Overton window,” Rauch said. “That's what they do. They push and push and get things into the dialog that, until the day before yesterday, were unthinkable.”
