‘The endless liberal catastrophising has to stop, and it has to stop now', says Matt Goodwin

I had hoped our paths would cross when he recently visited GB News for an interview but in the end the timing just didn’t work out.

Yet I was, I am, a big supporter of Charlie Kirk.

Earlier this week, I was jogging around my local park, trying to make sense of the brutal murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska.

Who did I turn to?

Charlie Kirk.

As I listened to his thoughts, I remember thinking how utterly fearless, intelligent, quick, courageous, patriotic, and insightful this 31-year-old man was.

And then, only a few hours later, Charlie would be murdered, assassinated, while doing the very thing he committed his life to and what democracy asks of us.

He was in the public square.

He was meeting his fellow citizens.

He was debating in good faith with people who held different beliefs and opinions.

And, above all, he was encouraging young people to engage with the political process and take responsibility for their lives.

He was, in many respects, an ideal citizen –somebody who understood and cherished the importance of deliberation, dialogue, free speech, and, yes, healthy disagreement.

I’ve struggled to sleep since this assassination: thinking about Charlie Kirk, his young children, his family, and where America goes next.

So, I started reading in the middle of the night and eventually came across one line that brought me, and might bring some of you, some comfort.

“They tried to bury us”, it begins, “but they didn’t know we were seeds”.

Let me SAY that again.

They tried to bury us, but they didn’t know we were seeds.

Doesn’t that speak powerfully to what Charlie Kirk was all about?

A man who chose to spend his time on this earth moving from one college campus to another, one debating tent to another, one college stadium to another, planting seeds among the young people of America, among his fellow citizens?

And doesn’t it speak powerfully to what will now surely be Charlie Kirk’s remarkable legacy – all those seeds, in the years and decades ahead, growing into something that is truly powerful, influential, and long-lasting, a legacy that his family, his children, and their children can look at with an immense sense of pride?

Charlie Kirk was a believer in democracy.

He was a citizen, a patriot, and above all a father, husband, and man of faith.

He will be missed by many millions of people around the world.

And while he only had 31 years to do his work he still managed to leave a legacy that will continue to shape America and indeed the West for many, many more years to come.

Good news came earlier today, though, as a suspect was finally detained. 22 year old Tyler Robinson has been detained by authorities after his own father tipped off police.

We now know that Kirk’s killer engraved "hey fascist - catch!" onto one of the bullet casings… but why is this so significant?

Language is powerful, and can be dangerous. So let me say something few others today are willing to say.

For the last decade, the Left have openly derided conservatives and common sense freedom fighters as fascists, Nazis, and far-right agitators

The very same people who tell us dangerous rhetoric could fuel violence against minorities have themselves indulged in dangerous rhetoric about their political rivals

They have whipped their supporters into a frenzy, comparing Donald Trump to Hitler, Nigel Farage to the Nazis, and warning hysterically that we are witnessing the end of democracy. This is, put simply, absurd. It is utterly absurd.

This endless liberal catastrophising has to stop. And it has to stop now. Otherwise, many people on the Left will soon have even more blood on their hands

Rest in Peace Charlie Kirk.

Our condolences to your family and your loved ones, and our thoughts to all of our American viewers who will no doubt be feeling an even greater sense of alarm and concern about the current state and future direction of their country.