Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) on Friday urged the public not to focus on the political alignment of the suspected Charlie Kirk shooter but to focus on mental well-being instead.
“What f****** difference does it make if this murderer was left or right. Pull yourself together, read a book, get some exercise, have a whiskey or walk the dog or make some pasta or go fishing or just do anything other than let this algo pickle your brain and ruin your soul,” Schatz posted on the social platform X.
He later quoted a post from Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R), who referred to social media as a “cancer.”
“I know this guy is a Republican and all but I swear you could win all the electoral votes with this message in 28,” Schatz wrote in a follow up post on X.
Online discourse has fermented with theories about the motive behind Kirk’s shooting and graphic footage of his death.
Police said Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old resident of Utah, is being investigated as the alleged gunman in the fatal shooting of the Turning Point USA founder.
Prior to Kirk’s death, Robinson shared disdain for Kirk’s rhetoric with family members at dinner, according to law enforcement officers.
Robinson is currently registered as an unaffiliated voter in Utah, but allegations about his political alignment has been publicly debated by Democrats and Republicans in recent days.
“Radical left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives. Tonight, I ask all Americans to commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived and died,” Trump told the public on Wednesday.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker later addressed reporters telling them, “The president’s rhetoric often foments” violence in the country.
However, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) condemned divisive statements blaming either party for recent threats against elected officials.
“If the left is going to blame the right, and the right is going to blame the left, and we’re going to continue to say ‘It’s your fault,’ and we’re not collectively going to try to bring it down together, then this cycle is just going to continue to go on,” he told Fox News Digital.
