Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) admitted Sunday that right‑wing activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot at a university in Utah on Wednesday, had “said some very inflammatory things, and some corners of the web that’s all people have heard.”
During an appearance on CNN Sunday morning, Cox told host Dana Bash, "But he also said some other things about forgiveness. He said some amazing things about when things get dark, putting down our phones, reading scriptures, going to church, talking to our neighbors. He said that we have to engage and that's what I appreciate most about Charlie Kirk."
The governor said there are elements who benefit from radicalizing the nation, and added, "I'm not one of those."
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"We need to find out how this happened and we need to stop it from happening."
Cox made these remarks in response to Bash's question about MAGA commentator Steve Bannon calling the governor "a national embarrassment in a time where we need action."
Bannon and other conservative activists have also been critical of FBI Director Kash Patel's handling of the investigation into Kirk's murder.
"He tells us to sing Kumbaya and hold hands with Antifa. This is a time to declare Antifa a domestic terrorist organization and have the FBI go kick down some doors," Bannon said of Cox during his recent podcast.
Reacting to his comment, the governor said, "Well, again Mr. Bannon is angry and rightfully so. And I'm not saying we have to just sing Kumbaya and hold hands. What I'm saying is we actually should disagree. I think Charlie represented that better than anyone."
Cox has kept a notably measured tone in public remarks since the killing of Kirk, resisting the rush to assign blame even as tensions soared. From the outset he called for unity and responsibility rather than inflammatory rhetoric, urging people to think deeply about how political discourse has deteriorated.
At a news conference Friday, after authorities announced that a suspect was in custody, Cox acknowledged his own sorrow and anger, but repeatedly emphasized the need to “turn down the temperature.”
Meanwhile, conservative social media accounts are criticizing the governor for his Sunday remarks. Liberal commentators, on the other hand, pointed out that MSNBC contributor Matthew Dowd was fired for making a similar remark.
Some MAGA accounts went on to call the Utah governor a "closet liberal."
RedWave Press, a conservative digital platform, wrote on the social platform X: "PATHETIC: Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R): 'Charlie [Kirk] said some very inflammatory things and some corners of the web that’s all people have heard.' How is preaching Biblical values 'inflammatory?' This makes my bl00d boil!"
Author Shannon Watts wrote: "Matthew Dowd was fired for saying this."