Charlie Kirk’s message of forgiveness is essential to remember and uphold as America grapples with his horrific assassination and intensifying political divisions, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) said at a press conference on Friday.
Cox fervently recalled several quotes from Kirk that have “pulled me back…as anger pushed me to the brink.” Kirk, a conservative firebrand and devout follower of Jesus Christ, often emphasized the power of forgiveness, the value of human connection, and the importance of maintaining peaceful discourse. The governor made the impassioned and powerful speech during a press conference where he released details of the suspect in 31-year-old Kirk’s assassination.
“Over the last 48 hours, I have been as angry as I have ever been, as sad as I have ever been. And it was as — as — as anger pushed me to the brink. It was actually Charlie’s words that pulled me back. I’d like to share some of those. I’d like to share some of those and specifically right now, if I could. I need to talk to the young people in our state — in my state, and all across the country,” Cox said.
“As President Trump reminded me, he said, you know who — who really loved Charlie? The youths. He’s right. Young people love Charlie. And young people hated Charlie and Charlie went into those places anyway,” he continued. “And these are the words that have helped me. Charlie said: ‘When people stop talking, that’s when you get violence.’”
“He said ‘the weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive, welcome, without judgment, love without condition, forgive without limit,”‘ he continued. “He said, ‘always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them so much.”‘
“A few months ago — I referenced this last night — Charlie posted on social media: ‘When things are moving very fast and people are losing their minds, it’s important to stay grounded. Turn off your phone, read scripture, spend time with friends, and remember, internet fury is not real life. It’s going to be okay,”‘ he said.
“He again said: ‘When you stop having a human connection with someone you disagree with, it becomes a lot easier to commit violence,”‘ he said.
“He said: ‘What we as a culture have to get back to is being able to have a reasonable agreement, being able to have reasonable agreement where violence is not an option,”‘ he continued.
“Now again, to my young friends out there, you are inheriting a country where politics feels like rage,” Cox reflected. “It feels like rage is the only option but through those words, we have a reminder that we can choose a different path. Your generation has an opportunity to build a culture that is very different than what we are suffering through right now, not by pretending differences don’t matter, but by embracing our differences and having those hard conversations.”
“I think we need more moral clarity right now. I hear all the time that words are violence. Words are not violence. Violence is violence,” he continued. “And there is one person responsible for what happened here, and that person is now in custody and will be charged soon and will be held accountable. And yet, all of us have an opportunity right now to do something different.”
Cox concluded by saying that “while history will dictate if this is a turning point for our country…every single one of us gets to choose right now if this is a turning point for us.”
“We get to make decisions. We have agency and I desperately call on every American, Republican, Democrat, liberal, progressive, conservative, MAGA, all of us to please, please, please, follow what Charlie taught me,” he said.
“…I still believe in our country, and I know Charlie Kirk believed in our country. I still believe that there is more good among us than evil and I still believe that we can change the course of history. I’m hopeful because Americans can make it so,” he said.
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