2WAY Morning Meeting

Episode: Charlie Kirk's Murder: Major Update on the Investigation and Emotional Debate Over "Both-Side-ism"

Date: September 11, 2025
Hosts: Mark Halperin (A), Sean Spicer (C), Dan Turrentine (B)
Guests & Community Contributors: Call-ins from Celia, Matthew, Lisa, Logan, Mallory, Maureen (ex-FBI), and others

OVERVIEW

This somber episode convenes amid a national atmosphere of shock and grief the day after the assassination of conservative activist and movement leader Charlie Kirk. Although both the anniversary of September 11 and current political tensions weigh heavily, the central focus is the significance of Kirk’s death: what it reflects about America’s civic life, why it specifically rattles the political right, and whether the national response will deepen divisions or foster understanding.

The hosts guide an emotionally charged discussion with input from insiders, political actors, and listeners, delving into the movement Kirk led, the systemic roots of anger and mistrust, real and perceived asymmetries in how the left and right are treated, and the challenge of "both-side-ism" in national tragedies.

KEY DISCUSSION POINTS & INSIGHTS

1. Immediate Reactions to the Shooting

• Hosts share personal accounts of how they learned about Kirk’s assassination, expressing both heartbreak and a sense of disbelief.
  • Sean Spicer: “I probably had one of the least productive days that I've had. I mean, I just, I couldn't, I couldn't stop watching the Internet and had two TVs going.” [01:32]
• Parallel observations with 9/11 remembrances and the deep historical wound tied into the day's gravity.

2. Charlie Kirk’s Unique Role in the Political Right

• Emphasis on Kirk’s status as more than a pundit – he was a movement-builder and a symbolic leader.
  • Spicer: “What he symbolized was a movement. What he did in leading this movement...this violence in all its forms is wrong. But...they’re not just going after people who are active, they’re going after the leaders of movements and trying to stop them. Not just stop the people, but the movement.” [08:11]
  • Halperin: “There is no Charlie Kirk of the left… the bond he had with so many people is, I think, something the left, they need to acknowledge…” [10:36]

3. Media Coverage, Asymmetry & Both-Side-ism

• Hosts note perceived differences in how political violence is reported depending on the target's affiliation:
  • Halperin: “If there were a Charlie Kirk on the left… the statements wouldn’t be, we all need to lower the temperature… they’d be about the evil ideology that caused that person to be killed… That’s just a disparity, and it’s factual.” [05:25]
  • Dan: Suggests lack of personal connection explains, but does not excuse, less immediate outcry: “I don't begrudge the party and the real lives of real people not knowing who Charlie Kirk is. So, in terms of the immediate reaction…” [12:20]
• Lively debate over "both-side-ism": Listeners and hosts debate whether political violence and rhetorical dehumanization are equally distributed between right and left, or whether the right faces systematic silencing in institutions.

4. Anger and Alienation Among Conservatives

• Participants express deep frustration at feeling marginalized or at risk in academia, media, and corporate America:
  • Sean Spicer: “We have been told to shut up. We have been canceled, censored for decades.” [08:11]
  • Listener (Taylor): “I'd get fired if they knew I was conservative. Like, I cannot say anything at work. Now that I've spoken up, I might get fired…in the middle, you can't be middle conservative. You will get ostracized.” [54:14]

5. The Roots and Dangers of Political Rhetoric

• Recurring concern about the spiral of demonization between left and right:
  • Matthew (caller): “When I'm constantly told, well, both sides need to take down the rhetoric, I'm like, that's not where we are as a country.” [32:22]
  • Halperin: “Do not play this game, people, of saying one side has clean hands… if where we're headed now in the wake of Charlie's death is to ball up decades of anger and say we're going to destroy the left over this, it has to be mitigated by the left understanding… but it also has to be mitigated by you guys… If that's our attitude...that will not end well for America.” [38:30]
  • Lisa (caller): “You cannot dehumanize millions of Americans and say, hey, they're a problem. They're deplorable. They're extremists for years and not have something like this happen.” [41:31]
• Host and callers challenge each other to acknowledge real threats, violence, and bad acts from both sides, with repeated references to events like January 6th, the attack on Paul Pelosi, and campus hostility.

6. Updates on the Investigation

• Live Law Enforcement Briefing (Utah Commissioner of Public Safety):
  • Authorities have tracked the suspect’s movements, have solid video, but have not released footage yet. “Through all that work last night, we were able to make a few breakthroughs. We were able to track the movements of the shooter… We do have good video footage of this individual…” [17:41]
  • The killer planned the attack meticulously, according to ex-FBI guest Maureen: “This was a planned event, make no mistake… This is someone that was familiar with the campus either from being there or because they wanted to kill Charlie Kirk.” [58:00]
  • On the killer’s psychology: “I don't think that's what we're looking at, Mark. I think we're looking at someone that just was hell-bent on this assassination, on stifling a whole movement.” [60:43]

7. Calls for Constructive Solutions

• Listener (Celia): “As someone who comes from the right, we're just begging to be heard… For the sake of this country, I really, really hope that we can get to a place where I'm not spending my morning deleting Facebook friends because it's just glorifying what happened yesterday.” [21:49]
• Proposal from Ari Fleischer (read by Halperin): Universities should honor Kirk by welcoming conservative speakers to campus, creating space for genuine dialogue. [25:47]
• Spicer: “But the idea that we're even close to being equal. The left controls every major institution in this country and shuts out anyone on the right who has a dissenting view. … This is not even close to being equal.” [49:54]

8. Emotional and Memorable Moments

• Mark Halperin (in a plea for understanding): “It will not honor Charlie's memory if the path forward is their injustices are so asymmetrically worse that we're just going to kill them – not literally, but politically. That will not end well.” [39:15]
• Spicer (on Kirk’s generosity): “Every one of [my texts with Charlie] was me asking him for something… every response was yes. That’s who he was.” [62:57]
• Mallory (caller): “It is important... to understand why the Republicans have gotten so upset and feel like they've been silenced. Because it is, I mean, in the media, in the movies, in Hollywood and academia, I see that and I think that does need to change. But I think Dan is also right in the sense that there is an insane amount of volatility between both parties and it's resulting in violence on both sides.” [50:20]

TIMESTAMPS FOR IMPORTANT SEGMENTS

• [01:32] – Sean Spicer’s initial reaction to the murder
• [08:11] – Spicer on why Kirk’s death resonates with (and angers) the right
• [12:20] – Dan addresses claims of asymmetric coverage and ignorance
• [21:49] – First listener call (Celia) on the need for better representation, empathy
• [25:47] – Ari Fleischer’s campus-dialogue proposal
• [37:58] – Mark Halperin urges against tribal vengeance in Kirk’s name
• [46:36] – Debate over whether “both sides” rhetoric fits the reality of campus, workplace silencing
• [56:40] – Ex-FBI agent Maureen analyzes the investigation and nature of the killer
• [62:57] – Spicer’s emotional anecdote about Kirk’s character

NOTABLE QUOTES

• “This is not one person, one thing, one month. This has been manifesting for decades. The left. Silencing, censoring, canceling. People didn't just happen with the rise of Donald Trump. Since I've been in college, my college commencement speaker was canceled because a group of people thought that his positions on certain issues were unacceptable.” — Sean Spicer [08:11]

• “I want [the left] to understand. Because if they understand, they'll be more respectful about what people on the right are going through.” — Mark Halperin [12:13]

• “Charlie wasn't just a commentator. He was a movement leader.” — Matthew (caller) [30:49]

• “You cannot dehumanize millions of Americans and say, hey, they're a problem. They're deplorable. They're extremists for years and not have something like this happen.” — Lisa (caller) [41:31]

• “You can't be middle conservative. You will get ostracized.” — Taylor (caller) [54:14]

• “Every one of [my texts with Charlie] was me asking him for something… every response was yes.” — Sean Spicer [62:57]

• “This isn't just someone on the right getting assassinated. It's a terrorist attack telling all of us to shut the up about what we believe. That's what this is.” — Maureen (ex-FBI) [57:02]

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION HIGHLIGHTS

• Frequent plea for empathy and good-faith engagement – Listeners from both right and center share stories of feeling misunderstood, silenced, or under threat.

• Challenge to "both-side-ism": Both listeners and hosts scrutinize whether violence and delegitimization are truly symmetrical, or if the right faces deeper, institutional suppression.

• Raw emotions on all sides: Multiple participants describe feeling unsafe, demonized, or unable to be open in their communities or workplaces.

CONCLUSION

The episode closes with unresolved tensions but a shared resolve to foster more honest dialogue and mutual respect. The hosts preview further coverage of the investigation, including expert analysis on political violence and tributes to Kirk’s legacy. Throughout, the tone is passionate, raw, and insistent: unless America can honestly reckon with its divides – and the grievances fueling them – Kirk’s murder risks becoming yet another catalyst for civic breakdown, rather than a moment of national reckoning and healing.

For more coverage, tune into further 2WAY programs and tonight’s special episodes delving into both the evolving investigation and the personal legacy of Charlie Kirk.