Gov Spencer Cox Says Death Of Charlie Kirk Was A Nbc News

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 18, 2025, 8:10 PM

gov spencer cox says death of charlie kirk was a nbc news

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gov. Spencer Cox makes remarks during a news conference announcing an arrest of a suspect in the Wednesday shooting death of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in Orem, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025. During a news conference Friday in which he announced a suspect in Charlie Kirk’s assassination had been taken into custody, Gov. Spencer Cox pleaded with Utahns and Americans to choose discourse over violence and to maintain hope. Police arrested a 22-year-old Washington County man, Tyler Robinson, in connection with the shooting on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem.

In his closing remarks, Cox — known for his “Disagree Better” slogan — urged people to choose a route other than violence. Here is a lightly edited transcript of his comments: The nation’s spotlight shined on Utah this week when it became the site of one of the most public political assassinations in U.S. history. On Wednesday, Charlie Kirk, a well-known conservative youth organizer, was shot to death in front of a crowd of 3,000 at Utah Valley University, with videos quickly circulating across the country and around the... The horrific murder of Kirk, who left behind his wife, Erika, and two children under 4, embodied the spiraling political polarization that Utah Gov.

Spencer Cox has used his platform to call out and condemn for the past four years. “My whole hope is that this is a catalyst to help us find that off-ramp that we desperately need,” Cox said in an interview with the Deseret News on Friday. “And I think Utah is showing the way.” As chair of the National Governors Association from 2023 to 2024, Cox led a “Disagree Better” initiative modeling healthy dialogue between members of opposing political parties. If the nation did not turn down the rhetorical temperature, Cox warned, political violence would increase. Gov.

Spencer Cox speaks at a press conference at Utah Valley University after Charlie Kirk, CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed during a visit at the university in Orem, Utah,... 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP) Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, left, speaks with Utah Valley University Chief of Police Jeff Long, right, at a press conference at the Keller Building on the Utah Valley University campus after Charlie Kirk was shot and... 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah.

(AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum) Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, right, speaks at a press conference at the Keller Building on the Utah Valley University campus after Charlie Kirk was shot and died during Turning Point’s visit to the university, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum) Utah Gov.

Spencer Cox had consistently called for civility in a polarized country where it feels increasingly rare. And then the political violence came to his own backyard. Hours after conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was gunned down at Utah Valley University, with partisan reflexes kicking into gear, the Republican stood before cameras and offered a prayer for a different path as the... approaches its 250th birthday. Gov. Spencer Cox talks to media after conservative political commentator Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept.

10, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) Hours after conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, a morose Utah Gov. Spencer Cox took the podium at a news conference alongside state and federal law enforcement officials. Cox — a Republican who has devoted a large part of his political career trying to encourage bipartisanship in an increasingly politically polarized world — did more than condemn Kirk’s killing, calling it a... “This is a dark day for our state,” the governor said.

“It’s a tragic day for our nation.” Though Cox has tried to combat polarization in favor of civil discourse through his Disagree Better campaign, his home state made worldwide headlines for the very thing he’s tried to discourage. Politico’s headline put it this way: “Utah is now the epicenter of the political divide its governor warned about.” Those were among the first words Utah Gov. Spencer Cox uttered as he faced the cameras soon after the young conservative activist Charlie Kirk was gunned down in his state while engaging in a conversation with college students. The Republican governor has long championed civility in public discourse and has been an outspoken critic of political polarization.

He toured the nation to foster healthier disagreements and once appeared in a campaign ad alongside his Democratic opponent. But this week, Cox, dressed in a dark Utah Department of Public Safety polo shirt, found himself describing the unthinkable, what he called the "political assassination" of Kirk. “We mourn as a nation. If anyone in the sound of my voice celebrated even a little bit at the news of this shooting, I would beg you to look in the mirror and to see if you can... “I don't care what his politics are. I care that he was an American.”

Cox listed other recent incidents of political violence aimed at individuals across the political spectrum. He pointed to killings in Minnesota, where a state Democratic lawmaker and her husband were killed, the arson attempt against Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro − and the attempts on the life of Republican President Donald Trump. Charlie Kirk, a political activist and close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, was shot and killed Wednesday at a Utah college event in what... A person of interest was in custody earlier, officials said, but FBI Director Kash Patel said they had been released after interrogation. “This is a dark day for our state.

It’s a tragic day for our nation," said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox during a press conference. "I want to be very clear that this is a political assassination.” In his remarks, shown in full in the video player above, Cox emphasized the significance of Kirk being shot on a college campus, calling debates "fundamental to the foundation of the country." "Charlie believed in the power of free speech and debate to shape ideas and to persuade people," he said. "Historically, our university campuses in this nation and here in the state of Utah have been a place where truth and ideas are formulated and debated, and that's what he does."

Gov Spencer Cox Says Death Of Charlie Kirk Was A Nbc News

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