The Michael Knowles Show

Ep. 1839 – Pure Evil: Libs Celebrate Charlie Kirk's Murder At "No Kings" Protests
Air date: October 21, 2025
Host: Michael Knowles (The Daily Wire)
Featured Guest: Seth Gruber (from [39:14])

Overview

In this episode, Michael Knowles delivers a pointed and emotionally charged breakdown of recent "No Kings" anti-Trump protests, focusing on disturbing reactions from left-leaning demonstrators to the murder of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Knowles explores the theme of rising left-wing tolerance for political violence, uses the episode as a springboard for broader commentary on generational trends—especially among "boomers" and "zoomers"—related to religion, loneliness, and social turmoil, and closes with a deep dive into the left’s history with eugenics and abortion as presented in Seth Gruber’s new documentary, "The 1916 Project".

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The "No Kings" Protests and Left-Wing Political Violence ([02:06]–[17:20])

• Knowles describes the "No Kings" anti-Trump rallies as “unbearably boomy” events, mocking the age and out-of-touch energy of attendees.
• He asserts the protests have no substantive critique of Trump, so participants "go to this level of abstraction, monarchy versus democracy...because they got nothing on Trump on the substantive issues." ([05:25])
• Knowles highlights the reluctance of protestors to wave American flags. Flags spotted included Palestinian, Ukrainian, Pride, and even a Jolly Roger (“the symbol of illegitimate violence”), with only a few hesitantly displayed American flags. ([07:28])
• A protestor wore the same shirt as the individual who murdered Charlie Kirk, which Knowles states is "an overt endorsement...of the left murdering a guy who just wanted to debate and speak it out." ([08:30])
• George Conway, a prominent Republican-turned-liberal, wore an “I am Antifa” shirt. Knowles stresses Antifa is now “formally identified as a terrorist organization by the US government” and such behavior tacitly endorses political violence against conservatives. ([09:20])
• Knowles cites surveys showing liberals, especially younger ones, are far more likely to justify left-wing political violence.

2. Celebration of Charlie Kirk’s Murder and Societal Consequences ([12:25]–[17:20])

• Knowles describes a viral incident in Chicago: a schoolteacher was identified mocking Charlie Kirk’s murder by miming being shot in the neck as a car drove by with a Kirk sign. He calls for her permanent exclusion from education.

  • Notable quote:

  "She should never be employed ever again by anything even relating to the education industry. Maybe she can get some job in some dark private corner of the economy where no one has to look at her or hear from her. Maybe, maybe. But that's it. Have to be firm consequences to these things." ([14:10])

• He warns that celebration/acceptance of violence is not just fringe or among radicals, but spreading across mainstream left-leaning society.

  • Knowles:

  "All of the available evidence says that this is widespread on the left…this is a widespread problem." ([17:20])

• Argues leaders and employers must fire/prosecute people who endorse such violence, or "they got blood on their hands." ([18:00])

3. Boomers vs. Zoomers: Church Attendance, Shame, and Divided Generations ([18:30]–[36:40])

• Knowles cites new reporting showing Gen Z and Millennials now attend church more often than Boomers ("Isn't that weird?"). ([22:45])
  • Gen Z: 23 times/year
  • Millennials: 22
  • Gen X: 19
  • Boomers: less than 17
• Proposes theory: the high post-war divorce rate among Boomers led to political and cultural disorder. Zoomers and Millennials, witnessing this dysfunction, are seeking stability and meaning through traditional religion.
  • "I think the reason that the zoomers and millennials are going to church is the same reason the boomers don't go to church. And it's because the boomers got divorced." ([24:24])
• Suggests "shame keeps them away from church," arguing that personal and societal sin—especially divorce—has alienated Boomers from traditional faith communities.
• Offers advice to Boomers:

  "Just admit you're wrong…Every generation does something wrong. They do a lot of things wrong. Just admit it." ([29:25])

• Reflects that "the devil" both tempts people to sin and then tries to convince them repentance is impossible.

4. The Fear of Dying Alone, Family Breakdown, and Social Consequences ([36:40]–[39:13])

• Cites a Washington Post piece on loneliness among older Americans, many without spouses, children, or close family.
• Sees current loneliness as potential motivation for a return to larger, more traditional families:

  "In a way, I think it draws people to the ultimate consolation, which is even if you have 100 kids, it's going to be you and God…you're never alone. But you have to come to that truth." ([39:00])

5. Seth Gruber Interview: "The 1916 Project" and the History of Abortion as Eugenics ([39:14]–[55:56])

a. The 1619 Project and Its Connection to the Left's Internal Culture Wars

• The "1916 Project" documentary title is a play on the New York Times’ "1619 Project," pushing back with a history of Margaret Sanger, eugenics, and Planned Parenthood.
  • "America systemically racist, root and branch...and the white man's knee killed George Floyd—then everything is explained by systemic racism...this is the spirit of 1619 manifesting in our streets." ([40:30] – Seth Gruber)
• Highlights how even leftist activists eventually attacked Margaret Sanger for her racism, leading Planned Parenthood to stop giving out the "Margaret Sanger Award" and remove her name from buildings. ([41:46])

b. Margaret Sanger, Planned Parenthood, and Eugenics

• Presents Sanger as a unifier of multiple radical ideologies: socialism, sexual liberation, depopulation, and most notably, eugenics.
  • "She did not have any original ideas...she helped bring these intellectuals and movements together." ([47:20] – Gruber)
• Sanger’s original group, the American Birth Control League, was renamed in 1942 to Planned Parenthood to shed its "eugenics" connotations after WWII.
  • "The rebrand was in response to the Nazis. That I didn't know." ([45:52] – Knowles)
• Planned Parenthood founding board member Lothrop Stoddard was "the exalted cyclops of the Massachusetts KKK," whose books were lauded by the Third Reich and assigned in Nazi schools. ([46:15]–[53:36])
• Sanger's own words in proposals reveal an explicit focus on suppressing the birthrate of “the least intelligent and fit”—primarily targeting African Americans ("The massive Negroes, particularly in the south, are still breeding carelessly and disastrously..." – [52:22] – Gruber reading Sanger's words).
• Argues ideas and worldviews (like eugenics) have real and dire consequences (“ideas have consequences, bad ideas have victims” – [52:35])

c. The Core of Left-Wing Ideology

• Knowles: Abortion is not “just one issue among many...it's really at the heart of this whole left wing [movement].”

• Gruber:

  "If it's true that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. Then it's equally true that the hand that wrecks the cradle...ruins the world." ([54:55])

• For more, listeners are directed to watch "The 1916 Project" on Daily Wire Plus and to buy Seth Gruber's accompanying book at the1916project.com ([55:04]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

"I insist on doing my show. I hate being away from you. I love doing my show. So I dragged Mr. Davies all the way to Europe and we will be doing it at all kind of crazy hours. And especially, how could we fail to cover the no Kings protest? We're in the land of kings."
— Michael Knowles ([03:22])

"Any comment that minimizes or celebrates the murder of a peaceful debater who just wants to talk it out needs to result in immediate firing...You can't operate a school that way, where half the kids and the parents of those kids are going to wonder if the teachers are actively going to want to kill the kids."
— Michael Knowles ([14:10])

"If Charlie Kirk is Hitler, we're all Hitler. And she wants us dead too. ... The people who went on the establishment media the day Charlie was killed and minimized it or celebrated it... they're pundits, they're national political analysts, they're elected officials, they're elementary school teachers."
— Michael Knowles ([17:20])

"[About zoomers and millennials filling churches] — It's because all the boomers got divorced. That's why. I know it's psychobabble. I know it seems kind of like anecdotal or something, but the plural of anecdote is data, and the data back this one up."
— Michael Knowles ([24:24])

"Just admit you're wrong. Every generation does something wrong... The devil leans into your ear on the one hand and says, hey, that bad thing, that's no big deal. And then you do the bad thing. And then two seconds later, the devil says, yeah, that's the worst thing ever and you'll never be forgiven. Definitely don't seek forgiveness for it."
— Michael Knowles ([29:25])

"[Sanger] launched this thing called the Negro Project..."
— Seth Gruber ([44:38])

"The key to understanding Sanger...is that Sanger did not have any original ideas. What she was original for doing was helping unite and bring together the seemingly disparate aspects of what we might today call woke progressivism...She helped bring these intellectuals and movements together to really treat it as...one assault against the foundations of Western civilization..."
— Seth Gruber ([47:20])

“If it's true that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. Then it's equally true that the hand that wrecks the cradle...ruins the world.”
— Seth Gruber ([54:55])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:06] – Knowles opens discussion of "No Kings" protests and skewers the event’s tone
• [07:28] – Flags seen at the protest and their relevance
• [09:20] – Antifa, George Conway, Leftist violence
• [12:25] – Elementary school teacher’s obscene gesture regarding Charlie Kirk
• [14:10] – Knowles discusses “consequences” for leftist celebration of violence
• [16:30] – Interview segment: protestor openly celebrates Kirk’s murder
• [22:45] – Data on generational church attendance
• [24:24] – Knowles’ theory on boomer divorce and church trends
• [36:40] – Washington Post’s report on loneliness, Knowles’ reflections
• [39:14] – Seth Gruber joins show to discuss “The 1916 Project”
• [41:46] – Planned Parenthood’s removal of Sanger name, internal left-wing politics
• [44:38] – Sanger and the Negro Project – explicit eugenics targeting
• [46:15] – KKK and Nazi links to early Planned Parenthood
• [52:35] – “Ideas have consequences, bad ideas have victims”
• [54:55] – “Hand that rocks the cradle/hand that wrecks the cradle” quote
• [55:04] – Closing remarks and directions to watch documentary

In Summary

This episode blends sharp political commentary, cultural analysis, and historical context to make the case that the modern American left is not only becoming more accepting of political violence, but is also in moral and existential crisis—manifested in everything from protest behavior to changing patterns of faith and family life. Knowles argues that the acceptance of violence by both leftist radicals and supposedly “average” liberals is a phenomenon with mainstream consequences, not merely a fringe occurrence. He further claims this is interlinked with decades-long trends in family breakdown and declining religiosity, and that these conditions may now be prompting a turn to conservatism among younger generations. The Seth Gruber interview provides a historical look at abortion, eugenics, and “the 1916 Project,” tying these issues back to the ongoing American cultural divide.