Kirk, 31, was shot and killed on 10/9 while speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. In a social media post about Kirk's death, former President Donald Trump called the political activist "a legend." "He was loved and admired by all who knew him, especially me," he wrote.

The shooting of Kirk has sparked deep concern, exposing the alarming reality that political violence is no longer an isolated phenomenon but is becoming the "new normal" in American politics.

Charlie Kirk on the campus of George Washington University in Washington, D.C., in 4/2018. Photo: *Politico*

Kirk was one of the most prominent conservative activists and media personalities in the US. In 2012, at the age of 18, he co-founded Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a student organization that promotes conservative ideology at liberal-leaning universities.

He became known for staging outdoor debates at college campuses across the country. He had about 5.3 million followers on X and hosted a popular program called *The Charlie Kirk Show*. He also recently co-hosted *Fox & Friends* on Fox News.

Kirk's daily social media posts and podcasts often featured clips of him debating students on issues such as gender transition, climate change, faith, and family values.

The son of an architect and a mental health counselor, Kirk grew up in the affluent Chicago suburb of Prospect Heights. He attended a community college near the city before dropping out to pursue political activism. He applied to West Point but was not accepted.

Kirk often made self-deprecating remarks about not having a college degree when debating students and academics on complex topics like postmodernism.

His role at TPUSA grew significantly after President Barack Obama's re-election in 2012. The non-profit organization's mission is to organize students to "promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government." TPUSA now has chapters at more than 850 universities.

Kirk traveled the country speaking at Republican events, many of which were popular with members of the ultra-conservative Tea Party movement. According to CBS News, his daily radio talk show had millions of followers on social media.

A passionate speaker, Kirk addressed the Oxford Union, the oldest student society at the University of Oxford, earlier this year and authored the 2020 best-selling book *The Maga Doctrine*, related to former President Trump's "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) campaign.

Kirk hands out MAGA hats before speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on 10/9. Photo: *AP*

TPUSA played a key role in efforts to get voters to support Trump and other Republican candidates in last year's election. Kirk was widely credited with helping to bring tens of thousands of new voters to the Republican Party and tipping the balance in Arizona toward Trump. Kirk attended Trump's inauguration in Washington in January and was a frequent guest at the White House.

The former president and his aides valued Kirk for his ability to communicate political ideas to the MAGA base. He spoke at numerous Republican conventions, and last year, Trump reciprocated Kirk's support by speaking at a TPUSA conference in Arizona.

Earlier this year, he traveled to Greenland with Donald Trump Jr. At the time, Trump was pushing the idea of the US owning the world's largest island.

Perhaps the greatest praise for Kirk's contributions to Republican politics came from Trump himself, in a clip played at the beginning of Kirk's podcast.

"I want to thank Charlie, he's an extraordinary person, with a spirit, a love for our country. He's done a fantastic job building one of the most powerful youth organizations ever," Trump said.

Kirk discussed a wide range of political and social issues at events and on his podcast, including gun control. He was a strong supporter of American gun ownership rights and argued that the high number of gun deaths in the US each year was a "necessary price" to pay to protect this right.

"The price of a few gun deaths a year is worth it to have the Second Amendment," he said a few months ago, referring to the amendment that protects the right of citizens to own and bear arms.

Some of Kirk's political views were controversial. According to CBS, he espoused anti-transgender views and was skeptical of the Covid-19 pandemic. Kirk publicly supported Trump's claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent.

He also promoted the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory, a far-right belief that white people in the US are being gradually replaced by immigrants and minority groups.

Charlie Kirk speaks at the TPUSA-sponsored AmericaFest 2024 conference in Phoenix, Arizona, last December. Photo: *Reuters*

"It's ironic that he was talking about gun control when he got shot," said Raydon DeChene, who witnessed Kirk being shot. The gunman reportedly fired a single shot at Kirk from the roof of a nearby building. Police are conducting a large-scale manhunt, but no suspect has been apprehended.

In response to the assassination, many emphasized that Kirk valued differing ideas and encouraged people to debate them.

"His entire project was built on wanting to bridge divides and use words, not violence, to solve problems!" William Wolfe, executive director of the Baptist Center for Leadership, posted on X.

Vu Hoang (According to *BBC, AP, Reuters*)