Obama Warns of Unprecedented Crisis

Former President Obama warned that the US faces a "political crisis of the sort that we haven't seen before" following the recent killing of rightwing activist Charlie Kirk, the BBC reports. Speaking at an event in Pennsylvania Tuesday, Obama called Kirk's death "horrific" and a "tragedy," despite saying he does not share Kirk's political views. Obama criticized President Trump's responses to political opponents and contrasted them with the unity-focused approaches of prior Republican presidents during times of national tension. He urged Americans to respect free speech, even when they disagree with others' views, and praised Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro for their measured responses in times of crisis.

The White House responded by labeling Obama the "architect of modern political division," accusing him of fueling discord during his presidency. The administration is signaling a crackdown on "hate speech," though there is no specific law in the US addressing it. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance has called for public identification of those who condoned or celebrated Kirk's death. Obama warned the country is "at an inflection point," the Guardian reports.

He referenced past crises, including the 2015 Charleston church shooting and the 9/11 attacks, pointing out that presidents used those moments to emphasize unity rather than target political opponents. He argued that current rhetoric from Trump's camp—referring to political opponents as "vermin, enemies"—marks a dangerous escalation and called for a reconsideration of how Americans engage in political debate.

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"We're going to suggest that somehow that enemy was at fault, and we are then going to use that as a rationale for trying to silence discussion around who we are as a country and what direction we should go. And that's a mistake as well," he said. "What you're seeing, I think, is the sense that through executive power, many of the guardrails and norms that I thought I had to abide by as president of the United States, that George Bush thought he had to abide by as president of the United States, that suddenly those no longer apply. And that makes this a dangerous moment."