‘Civil war’ rhetoric surges after Charlie Kirk shooting

The shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a public appearance in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday, triggered an unprecedented surge in online rhetoric invoking civil conflict. According to an analysis by The New York Times, mentions of the phrase “civil war” appeared more than 129,000 times on X within hours of the attack and rose to at least 210,000 the following day, compared with a daily average of about 18,000 in recent months. Many of the posts spread to Truth Social, TikTok and Instagram.

Daily mentions of “civil war” on X had rarely surpassed 20,000 in recent months, making the leap into six figures particularly stark. While similar increases have occurred during major political flashpoints, especially those involving Donald Trump, the spike after Kirk’s killing was one of the largest yet recorded.

Jen Golbeck, a computer science professor at the University of Maryland, reviewed more than 3,000 posts on X and the pro-Trump forum Patriots.Win in the 24 hours following the shooting. She found expressions of grief intertwined with violent rhetoric. One user wrote, “The entire Democrat party needs to fucking hang now!” Another declared, “This is the Reichstag Fire,” while a third posted, “It’s time to end democracy.”

President Donald Trump addressed the nation from the Oval Office in the wake of Kirk’s death, saying, “My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it.” The following day, speaking to reporters at the White House, he condemned the attack but also stated, “we just have to beat the hell out of radical left lunatics.” Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin declared on X that “the gloves are off,” while White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller described the killing as the product of “an ideology at war with family and nature … that leads … to violence.”

Right-wing media personalities carried the framing further. On his War Room podcast, Steve Bannon called Kirk “the America First martyr” and declared, “We cannot back off. We cannot flinch.” Fox host Jesse Watters told viewers, “Whether we want to accept it or not, they are at war with us. And what are we going to do about it?” Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes urged Trump to declare martial law during an appearance on Alex Jones’ show.

Several national leaders responded by condemning the attack while also urging calm. Former President Barack Obama said, “We don’t yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy.” California Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the attack as “disgusting, vile and reprehensible” and called on Americans to “reject political violence in EVERY form.”