Brutal MAGA Civil War Over Charlie Kirk’s Legacy
Podcasters, pastors, and plutocrats duking it out.
WHAT DID CHARLIE KIRK really think of Israel?
That question might seem beside the point now, a week after the conservative activist and media star was assassinated.
But even as the Trump administration looks to use Kirk’s death as a pretext to put new pressures on television networks, liberal NGOs, and regular Americans it takes to have spoken out of turn about the right-wing activist’s murder, Kirk’s grieving allies are tearing into one another over what their slain friend would have wanted.
The fight features the kind of outsized public theatrics, business incentives, and leaked direct-message screenshots that typify MAGA media feuds. But the stakes in this one are much higher than usual: The outcome could determine how Kirk’s legacy is interpreted, and who controls the multimillion-dollar politico-media behemoth he left behind. The conflict has become so serious that members of Congress, Vice President JD Vance, and at least one billionaire are now involved.
The internecine fight centers on Kirk’s views in the final months, weeks, and days of his life, and the main question in play is whether the historically pro-Israel conservative was about to make a dramatic turn against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The infighting has been turbocharged by the paranoia that has become part of the right’s DNA, with many Republicans already expressing incredulity over the assassination narrative. Among the conspiracies getting the most play in these circles is one that holds Israel ultimately responsible for Kirk’s murder (something Netanyahu has already had to deny).
The main protagonist of this struggle so far, as you might expect, is
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