WASHINGTON, D.C.—Democratic U.S. House Rep. Bennie Thompson voted against honoring “the life and legacy” of Charlie Kirk on Friday, saying that the conservative activist “resurrected dangerous prejudices of a dark past.
“The fact is Charlie Kirk’s rhetoric was divisive, disparaging, and too often rooted in grievance,” the Mississippi congressman said in a statement first reported by The Magnolia Tribune. “The beliefs he evangelized normalized views on race, sex, and immigration.”
Kirk regularly drew headlines for controversial comments over the years, like saying in May 2023 that “prowling Blacks go around for fun to go target white people.” In July 2023, he said that some of the most accomplished Black women in the U.S. were “affirmative action picks” who “do not have the brain processing power to be taken really seriously.” In September 2024, he said that he would force a 10-year-old girl who was raped to carry a pregnancy to term.
Thompson was the only member of Mississippi’s congressional delegation to oppose the resolution honoring Kirk. The Republican members—U.S. House Reps. Trent Kelly, Michael Guest and Mike Ezell—all backed the resolution.
‘We Should Be Clear About Who Charlie Kirk Was’
The House overwhelmingly passed it on Friday, but a significant number of Democrats voted against it, highlighting the deepening political divide in the wake of his assassination.
The resolution, which praised “the life and legacy” of Kirk, passed the Republican-controlled House with 310 votes in favor. While 95 Democrats supported the resolution, 58 voted against it and 38 voted “present,” effectively abstaining.
Republicans had warned ahead of the vote that no one should oppose the measure, but many Democrats said they felt Kirk’s death had been politicized and that the resolution elevated views they disagreed with.
“Today’s resolution underscores the majority’s recklessness by choosing to author this condemnation and honoring on a purely partisan basis,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, a high-profile Democrat who voted against the resolution. “We should be clear about who Charlie Kirk was.”
Speaker Mike Johnson said that there was “no partisan language” in the resolution and that there was “no excuse” for anyone not to vote in favor of it.
“We are honoring someone who contributed greatly to the free marketplace of ideas and public discourse and who died in a disgraceful, horrific manner,” Johnson told reporters.
The vote capped a week of heightened tensions in Congress and across a nation grappling with Kirk’s assassination and the legacy he left behind. Many on the right have blamed the left for fostering a political climate that led to his death, pushing for more than condemnation and allowing little room for criticism of his views.
In the days since, backlash to such criticism has led to firings—ranging from teachers to journalists—as conservative activists have launched aggressive pressure campaigns. ABC pulled evening host Jimmy Kimmel off the air amid political pressure.
The University of Mississippi fired an employee last week for sharing a social media post that criticized Kirk’s views on race and child pregnancy. Mississippi College also suspended two employees over social media posts about Charlie Kirk, SuperTalk reported. Kirk’s organization ran a “Professor Watchlist” that targeted academics with liberal and left-leaning views.
“No single member of the House Democratic caucus, not a single member, condones political violence in America,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Friday.
Earlier this week, the House narrowly declined to punish one of its own over commentary in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. The Republican effort to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar came after she criticized Kirk’s views of gun ownership and race relations in the aftermath of George Floyd’s 2020 death in Minneapolis. After the vote fell short, President Donald Trump responded by calling Omar “terrible.”
‘A Statement About Political Violence’
While Friday’s resolution aimed to honor Kirk and denounce political violence, many Democrats took issue with its language. The text described Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, as someone who was “seeking to elevate truth, foster understanding, and strengthen the Republic,” and that he stood “as a model for young Americans.”
The resolution sparked intense internal debate among Democrats. While party leadership ultimately backed it, they did not push members to vote a certain way. Some lawmakers saw it as a political trap designed to force them into endorsing Kirk’s views.
“This Republican resolution was designed as a political ‘gotcha’—trying to force every member of Congress to lift up the views of Charlie Kirk rather than simply condemning his assassination,” said Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal in a statement. “I cannot do that.”
Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, who was among a few in the party to attend a vigil honoring Kirk at the Capitol earlier this week, said she supported the resolution “because his horrific killing, and this volatile time require all of us to reject violence, hate, and anger without hesitation.”
Rep. Sarah McBride, a Delaware Democrat who is also the first openly transgender member of Congress, also voted for the resolution—despite the fact that Kirk once referred to her as “a delusional man who wants to force all of society to change its laws to indulge his sexual fetish.”
Kirk vociferously opposed transgender rights. On his show in April 2024, he called for “a Nuremberg-style trial for every gender-affirming clinic doctor.”
“I disagree vehemently with so much of what Charlie Kirk said in his life. And I disapprove of parts of the resolution that I believe misrepresent his work and his words,” McBride said in a written statement that The News Journal reported on Friday. “But I chose to vote yes because I believe there must be no mistake that I condemn violence in this moment, and that is what the heart of this resolution is about. We could debate language, but at its core, it was a statement about political violence.”
Many Republicans in Congress are set to travel to Arizona on Sunday for Kirk’s funeral. Johnson, who plans to attend the funeral, gave a long tribute on the House floor on Thursday, saying the the best way to honor Kirk was to “advance the principles that he advanced, and to adopt his approach.”
National Republican Campaign Committee spokesperson Mike Marinella said that Democrats are “so consumed by hatred and political violence that they couldn’t even bring themselves to support a resolution condemning the assassination of Charlie Kirk.”
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Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking in Washington contributed to this report.