Most people today don’t know much about the infamous ‘Reichstag Fire’ that propelled Hitler and the Nazis to full power in 1930s Germany. Britannica online states that “the burning of the Reichstag (parliament) building in Berlin on the night of February 27, 1933 [was] a key event in the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship.”
Though there is much dispute over whether this fire was a ‘false flag’ event that the Nazis secretly planned to help them seize control, or alternatively, Hitler and the Nazis ‘merely’ used and manipulated the event’s aftermath to cement their power, one thing is certain. It WAS a seminal event that greatly augmented the Nazi’s grip on Germany.
Fast forward to September 2025 in the United States. On September 10, conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk was shot and murdered while speaking at a Utah college campus — and the right-wing messaging machine sprang into action. Soon, hateful vitriol was gushing on both sides, left and right, with some on the left celebrating Kirk’s demise, and those on the right condemning those who refused to mourn his loss.
It didn’t take long for a central theme to emerge in the right’s public messaging: Kirk’s murder was a left-wing political assassination meant to silence conservative voices and undermine Trump’s MAGA movement. Mind you, this was before a suspect had been apprehended and any motives were known.
But such niceties didn’t matter to Trump or the right’s messaging machine. They saw their opportunity and ran with it. They knew this event could be the one that finally turned the tide and cemented their control.
Is Charlie Kirk truly a ‘Christian martyr’?
I just watched the lengthy (4.5 hours) memorial service honoring Charlie Kirk. Of course, he didn’t deserve to be shot down like a dog, and many people look up to or even revere this man. But I am examining this event, his memorial, as a political and social ‘turning point.’ And what I saw and heard was a very dangerous conflation of Christianity, ‘faith,’ politics, and fervent right-wing hate.
Of course, Kirk’s youth organization is named ‘Turning Point USA.’ But I witnessed a stark and frightening turning point during this highly choreographed ‘memorial.’ I heard speaker after speaker proclaiming Kirk’s holy intentions and his ‘crusade’ to ‘save’ our country. I heard him called a ‘Christian martyr,’ while liberals and leftists were described as ‘godless,’ anti-American traitors.
It was nonstop ‘Us vs. Them.’
Speaker after speaker said Kirk made the ‘ultimate sacrifice’ and “died for all of you” — just like Jesus. To them, Kirk was an unfairly persecuted thought leader, moral genius, and ‘strong Christian.’ (Sorry, but he was no ‘moral genius’ — though he was an ardent follower of Christ.)
I also heard several passionate statements describing our current administration and all its leaders as ‘anointed by God,’ who (in His infinite wisdom) placed them in power to vanquish the ‘enemies’ of the US — the enemies within who had killed Charlie Kirk — and restore our nation to greatness. “We are all Charlie!” cried many speakers.
This refrain was a constant underlying drumbeat. It implied, or sometimes insisted, that young people and conservatives in general should ready themselves for ‘battle’ to take back our nation. And there was plenty of anti-liberal, anti-’socialist,’ anti-media sentiment.
A cavalcade of right-wing incitement
The angry incitement to ‘keep fighting’ and vanquish America’s internal ‘enemies’ was omnipresent. I was even informed that Kirk’s mission was to ‘save Western civilization’, and that Americans must “fight back” and ‘save our civilization.’ The rage and patriotic fervor were palpable and at times overwhelming. And the central point was always framed as ‘fighting EVIL’ — in this case, other Americans.
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy and US homeland security advisor, gave a harsh, hateful speech — a real-time lesson in vitriol and demagoguery. He condemned the left and said over and over again that liberals and Democrats “have nothing, offer nothing, create nothing, and ARE nothing.” Over and over, he insisted that these folks are all ‘evil’ and need to be fought and destroyed. He was, in a word, terrifying.
Tulsi Gabbard, our Director of National Intelligence, said “We all need to be warriors like Charlie” and “fight for truth, freedom, and right.” Our Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, then chimed in with more patriotic and religious fervor, attacking various aspects of ‘woke ideology.’
Our Vice-President, J.D. Vance, proceeded to offer full-throated support for ‘Christian values’ and depicted Kirk as ‘kind-hearted’ and honest. He even claimed Kirk engaged in open-minded ‘Socratic dialogue,’ which is patently false. (I studied Plato and Socrates, and I know that Kirk’s combative debating style was far from ‘Socratic.’) He said Kirk would warn that “evil still walks among us” and would encourage Americans to ‘put on the armor of God’ and ‘fight for America.’
As Trump himself later put it — after repeating and emphasizing the Big Lie that leftists are much more violent than conservatives — we’re in an ongoing ‘war’ and “You’ve got to fight, fight, fight!”
The crucial context: silencing Trump’s critics and crushing dissent
In politics, especially today’s heated political moment, context is crucial. And the central theme of the weeks leading up to Kirk’s murder has been silencing or punishing Trump’s critics and crushing dissent.
We’ve seen Trump and his regime use our National Guard to invade Democratic-led cities governed mainly by Black mayors, supposedly to clamp down on crime — even though violent crime rates had already dropped substantially. We’ve seen Trump and his surrogates go after colleges and universities, suing them for embracing ‘wokeness’ and stripping away their federal funding — essentially blackmailing them into surrendering their academic freedom.
Time after time, we’ve seen the Trump regime stomp on academic, media, and press freedoms. He sued the New York Times for defamation. He’s in an ongoing, heated battle with Harvard University. He’s called for late-night TV hosts to be fired (and lo and behold, that exact thing just happened to Jimmy Kimmel). Now, Trump is aiming his anti-woke bullying at remaining late-night hosts Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon.
Folks, the tyrannical patterns that are emerging couldn’t be clearer. Trump wants and demands total control — and the MAGAfied, spineless GOP is supporting his dictatorial ambitions all the way. He wants ultimate power, they want ultimate power and control — and now the murder of Charlie Kirk has provided the perfect pretext to consolidate their power.
. . .
The most recent salvo fired by Trump (on 9/20) has elicited ‘grave concern’ and much hand-wringing from Democrats and a few Republicans. On Saturday, Trump directly asked our Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to go after Trump’s enemies and “bring them to justice.” In a Truth Social post that was extreme even by Trumpian standards, he said she is falling down on the job and letting him down as well. The way to correct this, he said, is to prosecute and convict anyone who ever worked to indict him or impeach him. Trump wants to use the DOJ as his own personal vengeance machine.
Trump’s ‘enemies list’ is vast — truly tremendous. It includes many prominent Democrats, media companies, prosecutors, and even a few conscientious Republicans. Clearly, Trump’s sense of his own power and invulnerability is growing, and his rapid-fire attempts to control and punish his ‘enemies’ are becoming more audacious.
Since the Civil War, the American republic has never faced a greater threat.
Criticism of Charlie Kirk is now ‘verboten’
Now, back to the current (dire) situation, which may well become America’s ‘Reichstag Fire.’ In the aftermath of Kirk’s murder, Trump and the right wing in general went bonkers, started screaming about ‘leftist violence’ — despite NO evidence it was perpetrated by a ‘leftist’ — and began actively attacking and silencing liberal voices.
All around the US, people who publicly spoke against Kirk’s politics or public messaging have been silenced, kicked out of schools and colleges, and even fired from their jobs. Even people who privately sent messages critical of Kirk have faced backlash and harsh institutional or corporate punishment (after being ratted out by right-wing snitches).
These were usually not messages that incited or promoted violence, though some were in poor taste and were highly offensive to conservatives — or, in their eyes, to Kirk himself and his ‘great legacy.’
Yet, right-wing messaging portrayed all of them as subversive, violence-promoting, and dangerous. Any attitude toward Kirk and his Turning Point USA movement that was not fawning or positive was immediately attacked and condemned. Overt or even indirect criticism immediately became verboten.
Trump is itching to drop the hammer on us
Meanwhile, the drumbeat of conservative outrage keeps growing, and online cries for ‘civil war’ keep mounting as well. At Kirk’s memorial service — which was much more a religious revival merged with political theater — the warlike ‘fight!’ energy was pervasive.
In truth, this ‘memorial service’ was one part memorial, one part Christian revival, and two parts aggressive, semi-hysterical political rally. Our nation is now in a precarious and dangerous political moment — very much like Germany after the Reichstag Fire.
Trump and MAGA seem determined to milk this tragic event for all it is worth — and to keep fanning the flames of partisan hatred. Trump is a cunning demagogue, and he knows exactly how to rile up his base and indirectly incite violence and/or insurrection. He knows how to smear, persecute, and ‘go after’ people — in this case, the entire left wing of our political spectrum. He is clearly and deliberately inciting anti-left violence.
. . .
I can assure you: no good will come of all this. Trump is itching to grab more power, and he could easily use this situation or any further acts of violence as a perfect excuse to declare martial law and ‘temporarily’ suspend the Constitution. Both his words and actions point unerringly in this direction. And we’ve got to remember: He wants to be a total dictator and strongman. Declaring martial law is something he wants and aspires to, not something he wishes to avoid.
Very scarily for the US, the Charlie Kirk murder and its aftermath may provide Trump and his loyal MAGA followers and sycophants with all the ‘moral justification’ they need. They’re poised and ready to drop the hammer. All they’re waiting for is one more intense spark and violent flashpoint, and then… WHAM.
Bye-bye, freedom and semi-democracy.
—
This post was previously published on The Left Is Right.
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