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Utah Governor Spencer Cox Turns Heads With Charlie Kirk Address

Bonisiwe Shabane
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utah governor spencer cox turns heads with charlie kirk address

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks at a press conference flanked by FBI Director Kash Patel following the fatal shooting of political activist Charlie Kirk on Friday in Orem, Utah. Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images hide caption When Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced there was a suspect in custody for the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Friday, he delivered another message directly to young Americans. "You are inheriting a country where politics feels like rage.

It feels like rage is the only option," Cox said to a crowded room of reporters at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Cox, a Republican, encouraged young people to "choose a different path," referencing a comment Kirk made before his death about how society has to get back to having "reasonable agreement where violence is not... Watch Cox from Friday's press conference: Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s campaign to turn down the nation’s political temperature has long stood out as a rarity in a Republican Party led by President Donald Trump. But Cox’s commanding role as the nation grapples with the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk gives his calls to end the cycle of violent division a new prominence.

It also laid bare a sharp divide within the GOP over the way forward, even as prominent Democrats and some Republicans praised Cox’s performance before a national audience Friday. Cox said Americans faced a decision: “Is this the end of a dark chapter of our history, or the beginning?” Among those who count Cox as a close friend is Wes Moore, Maryland’s Democratic governor. Moore said he thought Cox had shown “the importance of being authentic.” September 28, 2025 / 7:32 PM EDT / CBS News A lonely voice rose above the rancor after the murder of Charlie Kirk.

Spencer Cox, the Republican governor of Utah, may not have been familiar to many, but after the assassination in his state, he asked whether we could all "stop hating our fellow Americans." We wanted... Cox is asking Americans to respect our differences, which, at this moment, is not universally admired in his own party. Gov. Spencer Cox: I get accused on the right all the time of-- I just want people to have a "kumbaya" moment. I want people to hold hands and just hug it out. And we're done with that.

We're done holding hands and hugging it out. I'm not asking anybody to hold hands and hug it out. I'm not asking for that. I'm trying to get people to stop shooting each other. That's it. And I think what I'm doing and what I'm saying is the best way to do that.

Some people will disagree with that and that's OK. We should have these debates as a society. I'm not always right. I've made mistakes. Other politicians, I think, are making mistakes right now in trying to elevate the temperature. But, but I'm going to just keep having these conversations.

Scott Pelley: In this moment, what's at stake? Gov. Spencer Cox: Scott, I, I, I-- don't think it's hyperbole to say that the, the future of our country is at stake. This grand experiment that we embarked on 250 years ago, can we hold together? Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he is "angry as I have ever been."

After a suspect was arrested in the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, an emotional Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said he is "as angry as I have ever been" and that this shooting marks a "moment" in the nation's history. "This is our moment. Do we escalate or do we find an off-ramp?" Cox told reporters during a press conference on Friday. Cox confirmed that 22-year-old Tyler Robinson was allegedly the person who shot and killed Kirk on Wednesday while the conservative activist was speaking at a campus event at Utah Valley University in Orem, about... The governor said he could not confirm that the suspect was cooperating with law enforcement and does not believe there are any more suspects.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox made a plea to young Americans, asking them to reject violence in the wake of the killing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk after authorities announced that 22-year-old Tyler Robinson was arrested in... Speaking at a Sept. 12 news briefing in which he named Robinson, a Utah resident, as the shooter, Cox called Kirk's killing an "attack on the American experiment." In a news conference that took on the mood of a sermon or a eulogy for the slain conservative organizer, Cox all but begged his countrymen to turn away from angry division. "To my young friends out there, you are inheriting a country where politics feels like rage, it feels like rage is the only option," Cox, a Republican, said.

Through Kirk's encouragement of "reasonable agreement," Cox said, "we have a reminder that we can choose a different path." 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.

President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meet at the White House. OREM, Utah (KUTV) — Utah Governor Spencer Cox addressed the fatal shooting of political activist Charlie Kirk. He called it a "dark day for our state" and a "tragic day for our nation" in a press conference at Utah Valley University. "I want to be very clear that this is a political assassination," he said. Gov. Cox said that first and foremost, Kirk was a husband and father to two young children.

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Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks at a press conference flanked by FBI Director Kash Patel following the fatal shooting of political activist Charlie Kirk on Friday in Orem, Utah. Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images hide caption When Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced there was a suspect in custody for the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Friday, he delivered another message directly to young Ameri...

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We're Done Holding Hands And Hugging It Out. I'm Not

We're done holding hands and hugging it out. I'm not asking anybody to hold hands and hug it out. I'm not asking for that. I'm trying to get people to stop shooting each other. That's it. And I think what I'm doing and what I'm saying is the best way to do that.