'Knock it off!' MAGA rep snaps at reporter for questioning claim media’s 'at fault' for Kirk’s death

Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wisconsin) talking to reporters in Washington, D.C. on Thursday morning, September 11, 2025 (image via screenshot)

After MAGA activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in Utah on Wednesday afternoon, September 10, MSNBC and Fox News had very different tones. MSNBC fired conservative Matthew Dowd in response to criticism of inflammatory statements Kirk had made, but for the most part, its hosts and guests avoided even mild criticism of Kirk — whereas on Fox News, far-right host Jesse Watters angrily called for the right to "avenge Charlie's death."

Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan, in a post on X, formerly Twitter, made it abundantly clear that even though Kirk had said some ugly things about him, he wholeheartedly condemned the murder.

Hasan, originally from the U.K., tweeted, "Charlie Kirk called me a 'lunatic' and a 'prostitute' and demanded I be deported. Nothing, nothing, justifies killing him, or robbing his kids of their dad. We don't know the identity or motive of the shooter but murder can never be the response to political disagreements."

But when Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wisconsin) spoke to reporters on Capitol Hill the following day, he was quick to blame the media for Kirk's murder.

Van Orden, pointing his finger, told the journalists, "Every single one of you here, you're at fault."

When a reporter questioned Van Orden's claim, the far-right MAGA Republican responded, "You know what, knock it off…. You are responsible for that assassination yesterday. You should be ashamed of yourself."

Van Orden's attack on reporters is generating a lot of comments on X.

Cat Blanco, a student at Miami-Dade College in South Florida, tweeted, "Deflect- deflect- deflect!! Who's responsible for all the school shootings?! Someone hold this bum accountable!"

X user Jonny Little posted, "When was the last time any right-wing pigeon showed any concern for violence perpetrated on a Democrat?"

Another X user, Abe Bresn, wrote, "The proper response from the reporter to @derrickvanorden was 'who is responsible for the murder of Melissa Hortman and her husband? Donald Trump? JD Vance? Stephen Miller? You?'"

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