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A Democratic senator from Delaware is blaming the internet for “driving extremism in our country” following the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. He told host Major Garrett that Americans cannot let political violence drive the country further apart, calling Kirk’s assassination “brutal” while discussing “the importance of the First Amendment of free speech.”
“No matter how much I might deeply disagree with his political views, the idea that he would be killed in such a grotesque and public way has to bring all of us to reflect about how hard it’s getting because the internet is an accelerant,” Coons said.
“It is driving extremism in our country. It’s driving us apart left and right,” he continued.
FOLLOWING KIRK’S ASSASSINATION, LAWMAKERS REACT TO LETHAL POLITICAL CLIMATE: ‘VIOLENT WORDS PRECEDE VIOLENT ACTIONS’
Charlie Kirk speaks at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025 in Orem, Utah, prior to the assassination. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)
Kirk, 31, was gunned down at Utah Valley University on Wednesday during a stop on his “American Comeback Tour.” He was engaging in one of his signature debates with college students when a shot rang out. After being asked a question about transgender mass shooters, Kirk was shot in the neck. Authorities arrested suspected shooter Tyler Robinson on Friday after his father turned him in.
I’M A DEMOCRAT, AND CHARLIE KIRK’S MURDER MUST UNITE ALL AMERICANS AGAINST VIOLENCE
People hold candles and sing during a memorial and prayer vigil for Charlie Kirk at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., appeared alongside Sen. Coons on the show Sunday.
A memorial honoring Kirk at the Timpanogos Regional Hospital is flooded with “We love you, Charlie” posters, flowers and American flags. More signs and flowers have been placed for Kirk on Utah Valley University’s campus. (Fox News Digital/Deirdre Heavey)
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“The algorithm on social media is always pushing who’s the angriest, who’s loudest, who says the craziest thing,” he said. “So anytime that there is cogent dialog or an issue on something where people may disagree, but they’re having a civil conversation on it, that gets pushed aside towards someone that’s just angry and focused.”
Fox News Digital’s David Spector contributed to this report.