Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker blamed Charlie Kirk's assassination on President Donald Trump's "rhetoric" and claimed that he was responsible for "fomenting" political violence, Breitbart reported. The 31-year-old conservative star was gunned down during an appearance at a Utah college on Wednesday.
America was left reeling after Kirk was apparently shot in the neck by a sniper's bullet and later pronounced dead. The graphic video made the rounds on social media as many in the conservative movement expressed their deep sorrow and sympathies for Kirk's wife and children.
As of Thursday, authorities were still unsure of the motive and had not taken anyone into custody. Nevertheless, many on the left began their ghoulish business of celebrating the murder, including Pritzker.
He was asked for his remarks about Kirk's death while speaking to reporters, and Pritzker took the opportunity to take a shot at the president, even though it was unclear who the shooter was and what the motive might be. The Illinois Democrats are just one of many who took the opportunity of Kirk's death to smear Republicans.
Pritzker's answer to a reporter's question about Kirk's death was absolutely disgraceful. The governor started with a short word of condolence for Kirk's family before launching into his reprehensible rhetoric. "Charlie Kirk has become a target for somebody," Prtizker said.
"I don’t know whether it’s political violence, because I don’t know who did it. But I will say that political violence, unfortunately, has been ratcheting up in this country," Prtizker remarked.
"We saw the shootings, the killings in Minnesota. We’ve seen other political violence occur in other states. And I would just say it’s gotta stop," Pritzker said, referring to the murder of Minnesota’s Democratic House Speaker, Rep. Melissa Hortman, and her husband, earlier this year.
"And I think there are people who are fomenting it in this country. I think the president’s rhetoric often foments it," Pritzker claimed. He then went on to repeat the narrative about the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. "We’ve seen the January 6th rioters who clearly have tripped a new era of political violence," he claimed, though the only person killed in that attack was an unarmed woman shot by a Capitol Police officer.
JB Pritzker uses the assassination of Charlie Kirk to blame President Trump and talk about J6: "Political violence has been ratcheting up in this country. I think the president's rhetoric often foments it."
Despicable. pic.twitter.com/fkHanokers
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) September 11, 2025
Pritzker was quick to blame Trump for Kirk's killing, but the governor has actively encouraged the people of his state to resist federal and National Guard troops sent in to clean up the crime in Chicago. "To any federal official who would come to Chicago and try to incite my people into violence as a pretext for something darker and more dangerous, we are watching, and we are taking names," Pritzker said late last month.
This was deliberately misleading about the reason for their presence, namely, stopping the hundreds of murders that happen in the Windy City every year. He also made a veiled threat on social media, promising, "If you hurt my people, nothing will stop me — not time or political circumstance — from making sure you face justice…"
Still, Pritzker wasn't the only leftist to pin the murder of a conservative pundit on Republicans. As the New York Post reported, MSNBC's Matthew Dowd blamed Kirk after previously speculating that it could have been a bullet from a "supporter shooting their gun off in celebration," the author and political analyst said on air as the tragedy unfolded.
"You can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and then not expect awful actions to take place. That’s the unfortunate environment we’re in," Dowd claimed.
Kirk's assassination was one of the most harrowing tragedies to befall a political figure in recent times. While decent people mourn the loss of a man who was a husband, father, and beloved public figure, the dregs of society on the left took the opportunity of Kirk's death to debase him and themselves.
