In the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination, a political firestorm has erupted around Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, whose public comments and social media activity have drawn both fierce condemnation and staunch defense across the American political landscape. The controversy centers on Omar’s refusal to honor Kirk’s legacy, her unapologetic critique of his rhetoric, and her decision to share a provocative video that many interpreted as mocking his violent death.
Charlie Kirk, 31, co-founder of Turning Point USA and a prominent voice for the MAGA movement, was fatally shot last week at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, during a question and answer session. His death has sent shockwaves through conservative circles and reignited debates about political violence, free speech, and the boundaries of public discourse. According to Newsweek, Kirk’s influence extended beyond the right-wing echo chamber, commanding a massive social media following and hosting a popular podcast that made him a household name among young conservatives.
The controversy around Omar began almost immediately after Kirk’s assassination. On September 20, 2025, Omar defended her decision to repost a video that likened Kirk to Dr. Frankenstein, suggesting that he was killed by a ‘monster’ of his own creation. When pressed by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on The Source, Omar explained, “There were a lot of things in the video that I did agree with,” before adding that Kirk was a “reprehensible, hateful man.” She further claimed that Kirk’s views were inherently racist and that he did not believe people like her could be “smart enough” to be equal to white men, as reported by HuffPost.
Omar’s critics, however, were quick to accuse her of hypocrisy and selective outrage. “Ilhan Omar didn’t just make reprehensible comments about Charlie Kirk’s assassination. She shared a disgusting video claiming Charlie had it coming to him. People are losing their jobs for far less,” said GOP Rep. Brandon Gill, as shared on X (formerly Twitter). Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) went so far as to simply post, “Deport,” in response to Omar’s remarks, underscoring the vitriol that has marked the debate.
Omar’s explanation for sharing the video did little to quell the uproar. “Obviously, we share videos, won’t have to agree with every single word—but I do believe that he was a reprehensible, hateful man,” she told Collins. Omar pointed to what she described as Kirk’s long history of racist, misogynistic, and xenophobic commentary, including statements about Black women’s ‘brain processing power’ and the supposed ‘conquest values’ of Muslims. “He didn’t believe that we should have equal access to anything,” she said. “He also just didn’t even believe I could be smart enough, I could have thoughts that could be equal to a white man.”
During a church event prior to the CNN interview, Omar was even more blunt, calling Kirk a “hateful man” and telling those who sought to honor his memory, “You are full of s***.” These remarks, widely circulated on social media, only intensified calls from Republican lawmakers for her censure and removal from committee posts.
The House of Representatives narrowly rejected a censure resolution against Omar on September 18, 2025, with a vote of 214-213. The resolution, led by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), accused Omar of smearing Kirk and called for her removal from the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and the House Budget Committee. Four Republican lawmakers joined all Democrats in opposing the measure, as reported by Newsweek. The failed censure leaves Omar in her current committee positions for now, though GOP leaders have signaled that similar efforts could resume in the future.
Omar’s refusal to honor Kirk’s legacy has been consistent throughout the week. “I am not going to sit here and be judged for not wanting to honor any legacy this man has left behind. That should be in the dustbin of history and we should hopefully move on and forget the hate that he spewed every single day,” she told Collins. She did, however, express condolences for Kirk’s family: “It’s one thing to care about his life because obviously so many people loved him, including his children and wife. But… I cannot imagine what they are going through. But the reality is, his wife sat by him as he said those things.”
Omar’s defenders argue that her comments, though harsh, reflect a principled stand against what they see as Kirk’s divisive and harmful rhetoric. Democratic Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota weighed in, criticizing Rep. Mace’s censure attempt as a political stunt designed to raise money and vilify Omar. “It’s shameful the way she is vilifying my friend Ilhan Omar to raise money for herself. Honestly, what Representative Mace has been doing illustrates all that is wrong with our politics right now,” Smith wrote on X.
Meanwhile, the right has continued to push back. Former President Donald Trump, on Truth Social, launched a broadside against Omar, referencing her Somali heritage and making unfounded allegations about her citizenship. “All of this, and Ilhan Omar tells us how to run America! P.S. Wasn’t she the one that married her brother in order to gain Citizenship??? What SCUM we have in our Country, telling us what to do, and how to do it,” Trump posted, in remarks that were widely condemned as xenophobic and inflammatory.
The debate over Kirk’s legacy has spilled into legislative proposals as well. Oklahoma Senator Shane Jett filed two bills on September 17, 2025, that would require public universities in Oklahoma to build statues of Kirk and commemorate him with a holiday. Omar, for her part, dismissed such efforts as attempts to “rewrite this hateful man’s history.”
At the heart of the controversy is a fundamental question: Should public figures be honored for their influence, regardless of the divisiveness of their message? Omar’s answer is unequivocal. “It is one thing to care about his life, because obviously so many people loved him, including his children and wife,” she said. “But I am not going to sit here and be judged for not wanting to honor any legacy this man has left behind. That should be in the dustbin of history.”
As the nation remains polarized over Kirk’s death and Omar’s response, one thing is clear: the episode has laid bare the deep divisions in American politics over race, speech, and the boundaries of public commemoration. Whether or not efforts to censure Omar will succeed in the future, the debate over how—and whether—to honor controversial public figures is far from over.
