By Cliff Potts
Charlie Kirk is dead. And if you expected me to dress that up in euphemisms, you’re reading the wrong publication. He spent his life playing the carnival barker of the Christian right, a man who mistook performance for substance and volume for truth. And now, in a twist of fate that his followers will no doubt brand as martyrdom, his voice is permanently silenced.
The media will tell you he was a “provocative conservative activist,” the founder of Turning Point USA, a “rising star” among young Republicans. They’ll talk about his reach, his podcasts, his debates on college campuses, his embrace of Trumpism. They’ll describe him in political terms—MAGA, Christian nationalist, culture warrior. But that’s the polite language of journalism. The unvarnished truth is simpler: Charlie Kirk was a jackass.
The Jackass Factor
This isn’t about his Christianity. Plenty of Christians live humble, sincere lives. It isn’t even about MAGA, though he wrapped himself in that banner. What defined Kirk was his absolute jackassery: the juvenile arrogance of someone who thought “owning the libs” was a political philosophy, the sneering cruelty of a man who believed mockery was policy, and the endless self-promotion of a grifter who knew outrage sells.
For years, Kirk’s brand was less about ideas than about theater. He didn’t build a movement of thinkers; he built a crowd of hecklers. His message was never about solving problems but about scoring points, dunking on opponents, and fueling resentment. And in that sense, he was perfect for this era of politics—a loud, empty vessel in a nation addicted to noise.
The Media Martyr Machine
Now that he’s gone, watch the media spin. The right will elevate him to sainthood, a victim of the “radical left,” no matter the facts of his death. The left, meanwhile, will hedge their words, afraid to be accused of “speaking ill of the dead.” But let’s be honest: Charlie Kirk’s absence doesn’t leave a vacuum of ideas. It leaves a quieter room.
We can already see the outlines of the martyr myth taking shape. The same way the Nazis turned Horst Wessel, a street thug killed by his own comrades, into a propaganda symbol (Evans, 2003), the American far right will plaster Kirk’s name on banners and rallies. They’ll pretend he was more than what he was: a hustler with a microphone and a knack for cruelty.
The Danger of Forgetting What He Really Was
And here’s the danger: if we buy into that myth, if we treat Kirk as some towering figure in American politics, then he wins even in death. What we need to remember is that he wasn’t important. He didn’t create MAGA. He didn’t invent white Christian nationalism. He was just another Christian jackass feeding off both.
His career proved one thing: that a grinning, self-righteous huckster can amass power in a culture that confuses cruelty for strength. His death proves another: none of it lasts.
So Mote It Be
So let’s not mince words. Charlie Kirk is gone. And while his followers weep and his enemies hesitate, the world keeps turning. The legacy of men like him isn’t greatness—it’s noise. And now, finally, the noise is gone. So mote it be.
References
Evans, R. J. (2003). The Coming of the Third Reich. New York: Penguin.
Peters, J. W. (2019, December 22). How Charlie Kirk built Turning Point into a powerhouse. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/22/us/politics/charlie-kirk-turning-point.html
Miller, C. (2020, July 17). Charlie Kirk has a college dropout problem. Politico. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/17/charlie-kirk-college-dropout-364940
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