Episode 418, The Andrew Parker Show: Kirk Assassination, Media, and the Erosion of Democracy

In this urgent episode of The Andrew Parker Show, Andrew Parker pauses his planned commentary on Hamas leadership in Qatar to confront breaking news: the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. At just 31 years old, Kirk’s murder raises troubling questions about political violence in America.

Andrew examines:

• The rise in political assassinations and assassination attempts.
• The media’s role in fueling division, hatred, and irrationality.
• The troubling “new normal” of political discourse defined by vitriol instead of ideas.
• Comparisons to past tragedies and the dangerous implications for democracy.
• How foreign influence, particularly from Qatar, further destabilizes the conversation on Israel, Hamas, and antisemitism in the U.S.

This episode challenges listeners—Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives—to ask: How have we come to this point? And how do we step back from the brink?

Visit theandrewparkershow.com to subscribe to our weekly emails, share your thoughts, and stay connected.

Transcript

Welcome to the Andrew Parker show. This is episode 418. I was going to talk today about the targeting of Hamas leadership in Qatar.

⁓ Earlier this week.

But my comments have been interrupted by the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

happening earlier today on the day that I am recording this episode.

And I stopped to comment about this tragic, horrific event. Not because I agree with Charlie Kirk or disagree with Charlie Kirk, the 31 year old.

who in large part is not just a confidant and supporter of President Trump, but carries a message that has a significant impact in a particular voting group that is... ⁓

college-age students and a few years beyond in Again, Kirk was 31 years old and he was murdered.

earlier today.

How have we come to this point? And is it just the Kirk assassination that causes us to pause and say how have we come to this point? No, there have been other shootings, both sides, terms of Democrat, Republican, blue team, red team sort of thing.

⁓ but certainly.

Not at the measure.

that has occurred recently, the last year.

Being in Minnesota, we know that the murder of a state legislator and her husband occurred just a few months ago. ⁓ She was a Democrat, a Democratic leader.

And of course, President Trump, two assassination attempts on the president.

⁓ And now the assassination of Charlie Kirk and one would say could probably say although we don't know the motives of the individual yet

But the fact that Charlie Kirk is a staunch, overt, open, and ⁓ loud supporter.

of the president.

really turns this into something even a little more different, a little bit different, because it's arguably another assassination of Trump or his allies, as it were. Kirk being one of his, again, most vociferous allies.

How is it that we have come to this point?

⁓ It is really troubling.

And.

anyone, whether a Democrat, a Republican, a liberal, a conservative, a progressive, should pause and ask that question. Not just now, they should have been asking it over the, what could be described as the myriad of examples creating the new normal. And hopefully it's not a new normal.

But the way the media covers Donald Trump, cannot be surprising. Can it?

covers that president different than any other I would argue.

and certainly since the divider in chief was in the oval office that is barack obama

⁓ the messaging has cut to the core.

and drawn out hate.

on either side. You remember the words of, well, even Kamala Harris during the George Floyd.

riots. That's what they were. Riots. They were not peaceful protests. And to call them that is an outrage. Yeah, there might have been peaceful protests. Fine. But there were many, many riots.

and they were not quelled the way they must be. And now when Donald Trump tries to quell crime,

he gets accused of being a fascist, of engaging in Hitler tactics.

How many times has he been accused of being a racist? Charlottesville, for example, the big lie of Charlottesville, and it is a lie, people, very smart people, still believe it. The coverage by the media of this president and his supporters and his allies.

The deplorables as Hillary Clinton called them.

really makes you stop and wonder how is it that we got to this new normal? Well, that appears to be a potential path right there. As the media, as the Democratic Party called ⁓ Donald Trump out as Hitler. Seriously.

as a fascist, but more so specifically as Hitler.

Hitler tactics.

And now the media uses language.

It might as well be the same.

And, you know, when ice goes and carries out a raid.

and arrests a number of people who have violated the law. And when ICE enforces the law,

When the national guard are deployed in Washington DC, or if they get employed, deployed in other cities and are enforcing the law, it's called fascist, fascist actions, fascist conduct, fascism taking over democracy being challenged.

and in fact will be destroyed by this man.

He's a dictator. Autocrat.

his tyrannical regime.

You know, all of this, the constant drum beat of it. You don't think you're going to get some crazies that are going to pull out a gun and shoot?

I'm just calling it the way I see it. You know, maybe those on the left think it's okay. We never said pull out a gun and shoot. So, you know, it's not our fault. And by the way, it's happened on the other side. It happened with your state representative here in Minnesota. It happened with a Congresswoman Giffords down in Arizona.

Yes.

But are there differences? What is it? Because of policy differences, ⁓ people are shot?

and we're now reaching that level.

I would suggest that the squad has been a part of the problem, the language that they're using.

Elected officials like Maxine Waters saying, you know, talking about violence.

and the accusations that are simply over the top in comparison to Hitler, fascism.

but it's true what they're saying people will chime in

Well, no, you know, no it isn't.

and the class warfare that was.

promoted.

with vitriol by President Obama has just been elevated ever since.

And you just, I don't know, I just don't see the same sort of comparisons. I haven't heard Republicans or conservatives trot out Hitler when referring to.

Policies on the left now certainly they could they could conjure it up people try to all the time It's it's a ⁓ it's an offensive comparison On either side if it were used it's offensive. It shouldn't be ⁓ Unless it's real which it isn't I guess the the one time where it was October 7th was a comparable in a small fashion to

Nazi tactics used in World War Two.

the systematic killing of Jewish civilians.

and the manner in which it was done. Nazi life.

That would be the closest example.

⁓ Certainly not something that 77 million people voted for is an example of that at all. And now Charlie Kirk is dead.

someone who was out engaging in the democratic process as well or better than anyone.

doing what democracy calls for.

rallying groups to come out and vote for one idea versus another. A battle of ideas in the public square.

Murdered. Shut up. Shut down.

That's what democracy is truly all about. Donald Trump wins if Donald Trump loses.

It will be over a battle of ideas.

Yes, he'll have his somewhat childish name calling.

and temper tantrums that may not be coming of a president.

He may have references and phrases that are not used normally by presidents as he comes at politics in a totally different way than the tradition.

Other presidents in our history have as well, by the way. He doesn't stand alone in that regard. But even if he did, so be it.

We should be challenging with vigor in the public square policy ideas.

and not shutting them down with a gun or threats, but in this case, actual bullets.

I shouldn't have to say that and I really don't have to. I am hopeful.

We all know it.

But the media churns that pot boy. They, ⁓

Stir it up.

With again, a constant drumbeat attack, 80 to 95 % of all stories about Donald Trump are negative. Some of them ferociously negative.

on most of the bra and virtually all of the broadcast networks and most of cable news

I mean it's blatant, overt.

And it has been constant for nearly 10 years.

A decade of it.

and the hatred of Donald Trump, the Trump derangement syndrome that we hear about.

Is that what has caused these assassination attempts and the assassination today?

It sure could have.

I've talked to people who I have known my virtually my entire life. We're very smart. And we get along well, still. And they disagree with me.

without question.

And they repeat over and over again, factual support for their hatred of Donald Trump, which is provably false, which is based on inaccurate facts. Again, Charlottesville is a great example of it, but there are many others.

and it becomes irrational. And when things become irrational.

our moral construct, our moral fabric.

becomes torn and tattered.

laws, rules, norms thrown out the window.

because the hatred, the vitriol resulting from the drum beat.

falsities.

catapults it out the window.

Fabric torn. Burned.

then you get assassinations.

and assassination attempts.

over politics.

because the irrational come out.

at drum beat and it is in large part, not solely, but in large part.

coming from the left.

coming from those that want anarchy, those that want chaos, and yes, I believe it is funded.

I don't know if you can say it's funded in the shadows, but I believe it is funded.

cannot tell me that college campuses protests and

Seeing the same people across the country from L.A. to New York, from Houston to Chicago, same protesters showing up day after, know, one day later, across the country.

And it's happening. And they are seeking anarchy and chaos.

It is a sad day. It's a difficult day.

On our next episode, I am going to talk about Hamas. I am going to talk about the war between Israel and Hamas and the supporters of Hamas, whoever they are and wherever they are.

Cutter is said to be an ally of the United States. I beg to differ.

The moral structure, the moral foundation of Qatar is far different than the United States. While there may be some strategic advantages and certainly the air base there is enormously important. So we need to repeatedly stand up the alliance that we have there.

what they are sowing in this country at the root of anti-Semitism and the money they are giving to universities and colleges here to teach revisionist history regarding the Middle East is dangerous. And I dare say

A time bomb waiting to go off as generations learn lies.

That's Qatar. And these Hamas leaders who were targeted earlier this week.

⁓ It's unclear even now, but it appears that they escaped the bombing. Others were killed who were close to them, but they escaped the bombing. It appears.

They are targets.

And no matter how long it takes.

with the blood on their hands that they have.

calling out, helping plan, being involved, and carrying out the heinous acts of October 7th and the killing of Jews many, times over.

makes them a target, an appropriate target, a moral target to be eliminated.

for the sake of peace and security to be eliminated.

carrying out ⁓ this action in Qatar was not a violation of international law as the Qataris provide safe haven for these murders.

That is wrong.

There are multi-multi-millionaires who live in palatial hotels and even housing in Qatar. And if that is a safe haven, there will never be peace and security.

Again, these leaders of Hamas.

carried out, planned, executed. We're involved certainly in the heinous acts of October 7th.

⁓ must be eliminated and Israel will do so.

We'll talk a little bit more about that on our next episode.

In the meantime, go to theandrewparkershow.com, theandrewparkershow.com. Subscribe, follow, ⁓ like.

and send us a...

Send us a text.

You can send us a text at 952-522-2818. Let us know your thoughts. We received recently at the show an email, in fact.

and you can provide us with an email by going to the website, filling out the form. can provide us with...

your views, your opinions, agree or disagree, either way. This email came from Denmark to the show and a teacher of students studying the World War II and in part the Holocaust wanted to, had heard the show, had heard the episode involving the liberation of Dachau.

80 years ago this past April. As you know, if you have been listening, I traveled to Munich with my son to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp Dachau, which was the camp that my father was a part of the scout troop. In fact, was the lead sergeant in the scout troop ahead of the U.S. Army that came upon Dachau. And he wrote a nine-page letter

home to my grandparents, his parents,

We read that letter on the show.

So this teacher in Denmark heard this episode and wanted for me to share with him the letter in order that his students could read the letter and reflect on how that might have affected their lives had they been my father that fateful day when he was just 22 years old in

late late April 1945.

So ⁓ go to theandrewparkershow.com again and you'll be able to fill out such a form as well. Follow us, connect with us on the YouTube channel. For sure, make sure that you follow us on YouTube as we're going to be coming to you live in not too distant future. We will be joined ⁓ in just a few days.

by head of the Jewish News Service, JNS, Alex Traiman. He is returning to the show and always a great interview. He will have outstanding insights, much more than you read in the US news here about what is happening in Israel, what is happening in Gaza. By the way, Hamas,

has the gall to say that Israel attacked these leaders as they were sitting down to discuss the US peace deal. What an absolute outrage that statement is. Blatant, unadulterated lie besides the fact that it ignores the numerous times that Hamas has been presented with peace deals and ⁓ dragged them out.

further terrorizing the families of the hostages that they continue to hold, that if they release we will have an end to the war, they refuse. ⁓

They simply reject out of hand each and every ⁓ situation. And now it is ⁓ the last ditch effort. As President Trump stated earlier this week, this is your last chance. And then the next day, the Qatar bombing ⁓ occurred when they did not respond. ⁓ They are not going to accept

a peace deal, they will accept only one thing and understand only one thing and that is a brute force, sadly, because they hold precious hostages, the bodies of those dead but also several that are still alive. We pray for them. As do we for the loved ones of Charlie Kirk.

and strength to strength.

as Charlie Kirk may be a blessed memory to his family.

Thank you for joining me. Until next time, be kind to your neighbor.