Adam Schiff Slammed For Comments After Charlie Kirk Tragedy
California Sen. Adam Schiff wasted no time politicizing the tragic assassination of conservative leader Charlie Kirk, using the moment to launch into a tirade against Republicans and President Donald J. Trump’s administration.
Speaking Thursday, less than a day after Kirk was gunned down at Utah Valley University, Schiff pivoted immediately to a looming government shutdown, accusing Republicans of trying to “shut the whole thing down” and making “unlawful” cuts to spending.
“So, in 19 days, the government funding runs out, which means if there is not an agreement between Democrats and Republicans on a spending bill, the government will shut down. Now, maybe that’s what the Republicans want,” Schiff claimed. He went on to allege that GOP lawmakers are gutting the VA, NIH, and CDC, and cutting Medicaid funding.
Schiff even went so far as to predict Americans could see health care premiums increase by 75 percent, a number many critics dismissed as fearmongering. He further accused Republicans of pushing hospitals into closure and stripping millions of health care.
Then came the rhetoric that drew the most attention — Schiff comparing today’s America under President Trump to a “dictatorship.”
“This is the road to dictatorship,” Schiff warned, before accusing the administration of abusing the Justice Department, silencing media, and coercing universities. He concluded by threatening to withhold his vote on any government funding bill unless Democrats’ demands on health care and spending were met.
Schiff’s heated remarks came just hours after the nation was rocked by the shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk — a husband, father, and one of the most influential conservative organizers of his generation.
Meanwhile, investigators continue piecing together the motives of 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who was arrested for the murder. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox confirmed Robinson had become “more political” in recent years and told relatives he despised Kirk, calling him “full of hate and spreading hate.”
The juxtaposition was hard to ignore: while conservatives were grieving the murder of one of their most effective grassroots leaders, Schiff and his Democratic colleagues were ratcheting up partisan rhetoric and framing Republicans as an existential threat to the country.
Kirk’s death has already galvanized the conservative movement — a movement that sees in Schiff’s rhetoric the same kind of hostility and demonization that radicalized Robinson and fueled this climate of hatred toward the right.