Obama calls Charlie Kirk Death “horrible” while criticizing the division

Former President Barack Obama said the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk was “horrible and a tragedy”, while taking a veiled blow to President Donald Trump with accusations of political division in the country while the nation faces an unprecedented “political crisis”.

“No matter where you are on the political spectrum, what happened to Charlie Kirk was horrible and a tragedy,” Obama told the 17th annual World Summit of the Jefferson Society in Erie, Pennsylvania on Tuesday evening.

“Obviously, I did not know Charlie Kirk,” said Obama. “I was generally aware of some of his ideas. I think these ideas were false, but that does not deny the fact that what happened was a tragedy and that I cry for him and his family.”

Obama, who said on Tuesday that the nation was facing a “political crisis of the genre that we have never seen before”, did not mention Trump by name in his remarks.

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Former President Barack Obama said the death of the conservative activist Charlie Kirk was “horrible and a tragedy”, while taking a veiled blow to President Donald Trump for the accusations of sowing the political division. (Erin Hooley / The Associated Press)

Kirk, 31, was killed after suffering from a gunshot in the neck during his American return tour at the University of Utah Valley on September 10. The firing suspect, Tyler Robinson, was accused Monday of aggravated murder, as well as other accusations.

The assassination occurs a year after two attempts to take the life of the president.

While Obama admitted that the extremists were present at the two ends of the political fracture, he distant himself and his administration of distant ideologists.

“These extreme views were not in the White House,” said Obama. “I would not empower them. I did not put the weight of the US government behind them. When we have the weight of the US government behind extremist views, we have a problem.”

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Charlie Kirk distributes hats before speaking at the University of Utah Valley in Orem, Utah, September 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley / The Deseret News via AP)

In addition, Obama pointed out that the current White House was trying to “silence the discussions” when Kirk died, the comments coming while Trump officials and the administration have sworn to take action against those who applauded Kirk’s death on social networks and blamed the “radical left” for recent political violence.

“When I hear not only our current president, but his aids, who have a story of calling the vermin of political opponents, enemies who need to be” targeted “, which testifies to a wider problem that we have at the moment, and something we are going to have to tackle – all of us,” said Obama.

In response, the White House said Obama is “the architect” to create a political division in America.

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President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Laguardia airport on September 11, 2025, in New York. (Alex Brandon / The Associated Press)

“Barack Hussein Obama is the architect of modern political division in America – degrading millions of patriotic Americans who opposed his liberal agenda as” bitter “to” hang on firearms or religion “,” said the White House spokesperson, Abigail Jackson, in a Wednesday press release. “Obama took advantage of all the opportunities to sow division and put the Americans against each other, and after his presidency, more Americans thought that Obama divided the country than he felt united.”

“His division inspired generations of democrats to slander their opponents as” deplorable “or” fascists “or” Nazis “,” said Jackson. “If he cares about unity in America, he would tell his own party to stop their destructive behavior.”

Obama previously weighed to express his condolences to the Kirk family immediately after the shooting.

“We do not yet know what motivated the person who killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of contemptible violence has no place in our democracy,” said Obama in an X Post on September 10. “Michelle and I pray for Charlie’s family this evening, especially his wife Erika and their two young children.”