BURSTSen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said Sunday the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk had “every right” to be speaking on the Utah Valley University campus when he was assassinated on Wednesday.
“Charlie Kirk and I didn't agree on much politically. I'm a Democrat. He's clearly a Republican. He was one of my constituents,” Kelly said in an interview on NBC News’s “Meet the Press.”
“The one thing we did agree on is his right to be out there speaking about issues on college campuses like he was last Wednesday,” the moderate Democrat continued. “He had every right to be there.”
Kelly also praised Kirk for listening to people who disagreed with him.
“And I will give him a lot of credit: He gave people a platform. And he would listen to people across the aisle,” Kelly said. “I had a difference of opinion from him."
Kelly said he thinks Kirk’s assassination will be “one of those moments” that “people remember.” He said he hopes people become more aware of the sources of their information and start seeking out those who bring people together.
“I think it's going to have a long-term impact. I hope it can be a positive one. I hope people go and start to think about: Are they getting their information from people who are trying to exploit us or people who are trying to unify us?” Kelly said.
Kelly praised Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) and Utah Sen. John Curtis (R) for their responses in the wake of the Kirk assassination.
“We’ve seen the governor of Utah, who I got to give a lot of credit to, who has tried to bring this country together. We have not seen that from the president of the United States, and I don't think we can expect to,” Kelly said.
“I've seen it from my Senate colleague in Utah, John Curtis, who is very thoughtful about how he's approaching this,” he continued. “So my hope is that people go to those individuals that are not trying to exploit this tragic event.”