It has been a week since the assassination of conservative American political activist Charlie Kirk.
Speaking about the incident on September 16 local time, former U.S. President Barack Obama warned that the United States was facing a “unprecedented political crisis” while criticizing Trump and his allies’ instigatory remarks.
To the former president's accusation, the White House responded rudely, saying that Obama "seized every opportunity to create division".
On September 10, local time, Kirk was shot dead at the age of 31 during a speech at the University of Utah Valley in Olom, Utah. Kirk's death has intensified political conflict in American society and has also raised concerns about escalating political violence in the United States.
According to foreign media reports such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the U.S. Congressional Mountain Journal, Obama said on the 16th that he did not know Kirk and disagreed with many of his views, but "no matter where you are in the political spectrum", Kirk's encounter is a "scandalous" tragedy.
Obama said that people have the right to have "controversial debates", but should not resort to violence. He urged Americans to "respect the right of others to express views that we deeply hate".
“Of course, that doesn’t mean ignoring those very real differences, ignoring those serious and profound contradictions,” Obama said, “these differences will always exist, and we can also talk about some of them, and why I think this country is now experiencing an unprecedented political crisis.”
After Kirk's death, Trump and other Republicans close to Kirk blamed the "radical left" for it. US Vice President Vance recently called for those who "celebrated" Kirk's assassination to be held accountable, "finding them out and calling their employers."
Obama said on Tuesday that the Trump administration’s instigatory remarks were bringing the United States into a “turning point,” urging the White House not to back down for “extremist views.”
“I think one of the duties of the president at such a time, when tensions escalate, is to unite the people,” Obama said.
Obamaly praised Republican Utah Governor Spencer Cox, saying he showed that “we can communicate in accordance with the basic norms of public discussion, despite our differences.”
Obama also mentioned that after the 2015 shooting in Charleston, South Carolina (a white supremacist who shot nine blacks in a black church) he did not use the case to attack political opponents.
"So when I hear not only our current president, but his aides, refer to political opponents as'pests, 'enemies that need to be'hit,' it speaks to a broader problem that we face in the moment and a challenge that we all have to deal with," Obama said.
For Obama's accusation on the 16th, the White House was not to be outdone. Its spokesman bluntly said in a statement to the BBC: "Obama seized every opportunity to create division and put Americans against each other."
“His discourse has inspired generations of Democrats to denounce their opponents as ‘deplorables’, ‘fascists’ or ‘Nazis,’” the White House spokesman said.
The BBC noted that U.S. presidents tend to avoid criticizing successors as much as possible after leaving office, but in recent months Obama has frequently criticized Trump's initiatives against U.S. colleges and judges, and has also criticized Democratic leaders for failing to counter the White House's policy more vigorously.