The Wrath of Republican Cancel Culture

President Trump’s first remarks after the assassination of Charlie Kirk were not exactly peaceable, but they were considerably less opportunistic and inflammatory than one might have expected, given that Kirk was not just a longtime ally and adviser but a personal friend to the Trump family. Responding to questions in front of the White House, the President did launch his reaction in partisan terms, blaming the “lunatics” of the “radical Left”, without knowing the shooter’s actual relation to the radical Left at the time, but he also urged his supporters to respond to the killing of this MAGA standard-bearer with non-violence. He didn’t dwell on the murder as a galvanising partisan event. He didn’t play to the reflex of revenge that MAGA partisans were airing on various media. He didn’t say “war”. He didn’t say what he, being himself, might have said.