BRIEFING ROOM

Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10, were killed at their Catholic school while practicing their faith. Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman was murdered because of her public service and efforts to improve the lives of Minnesotans. Israeli Embassy staffers Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim were targeted and killed out of hatred toward Israel. Each of them was a bright light — already working to make the world better, or at least hoping to someday.

Yet no flags were lowered for them. No Presidential awards were given. The President never addressed the nation about their loss. Their families never even received a phone call of condolence. These were unjustified victims of political violence, just as much as Charlie Kirk. Their deaths were equally senseless, equally tragic, and their loved ones grieve no less deeply.

But Trump chose to honor Kirk — Kirk, who built a movement based on divisive rhetoric about race, immigration, and culture. His rise was no accident. A network of supporters propelled it, none more influential than Trump himself — the same man who defended white-nationalist protesters in Charlottesville as having “very fine people on both sides.” The same man whose words and actions helped incite the January 6th insurrection, and who has taken no steps to calm the storm since. Instead, he keeps raising the stakes, making our politics even more dangerous.

Even now, at this critical moment when we are all feeling scared and vulnerable, Trump had a chance to urge unity, calm, and a different path for the nation. Instead, he chose division. He used the power of the Oval Office to blame Kirk’s death on Democrats, the left, and the media, all of which stir up his base. He chose to inflame rather than heal.

Ironically, we marked the 24th anniversary of the Twin Towers' fall just a day after Kirk’s death. During that dark and frightening moment, a Republican President worked to unite a shell-shocked country. Everyone set aside their ideological differences and came together as Americans. It was a brief moment, but it gave us hope that we could be the best version of the United States of America. 

That moment, born from political hatred across the oceans, changed us forever. But not enough to alter where we have ended up today, where political hate is homegrown and nurtured.

We can stop this spiral we are living in. We can change courses. But it will take bold and brave leaders on all sides and citizens who demand nothing less and who are willing to work toward that common goal.

Elections have consequences.