CBS host asks Kevin McCarthy whether Republicans need to 'reflect' on their rhetoric after Kirk assassination

By Marc Tamasco

Published September 11, 2025

"CBS Mornings" co-host Nate Burleson asked former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy Thursday whether he felt Republicans need to "reflect" on their rhetoric after the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Kirk, a husband and father of two, was tragically killed by a gunshot to the neck while speaking at a TPUSA event at Utah Valley University Wednesday.

Burleson noted that the TPUSA founder's words were "offensive to specific communities" at times, and "not everyone took to his words or his rhetoric" before questioning McCarthy.

Nate Burleson asked whether it was time for Republicans to "reflect" on their rhetoric after Kirk's assassination. (Screenshot/CBS)

"Speaking of this tragedy, is this a moment for your party to reflect on political violence?" he asked McCarthy in a clip flagged by The Daily Caller. "Is it a moment for us to think about the responsibility of our political leaders and their voices and what it does to the masses as they get lost in misinformation or disinformation that turns in and spills into political violence?"

McCarthy responded by stating he doesn't see rising political violence as an issue within individual parties but rather as an issue that the entire nation is facing.

He recalled a speech given by Robert F. Kennedy following the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, comparing the speech to the immediate aftermath of Kirk's slaying.

"It was remarkable, the words he said. He said, ‘We have to ask ourselves as a nation, who are we? And how do we want to move forward?’ We have watched this political attack on both sides. … We’ve watched this on both sides," he said.

The former speaker continued, reiterating that this is "not a question about parties," but a "question of nations," referencing other recent tragedies like the Annunciation Catholic School shooting in Minnesota last month and the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump last year.

Charlie Kirk surrounded by a large audience, tosses hats to the crowd shortly before his assassination in Utah

Charlie Kirk appears at Utah Valley University Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. Kirk was speaking at his American Comeback Tour when he was shot in the neck and killed. (Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images)

Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk speaks during an Arizona campaign rally for President Trump in August 2024. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

"This is what happened in the '60s," he argued. "This is a moment in time for this nation to take this time to actually make a question about all of us."

Kirk's shocking death has been met with widespread mourning and outrage. Trump, who counted Kirk as a friend and close political ally, called him a patriot and man of deep faith.

"An assassin tried to silence him with a bullet, but he failed, because together, we will ensure that his voice, his message and his legacy will live on for countless generations to come," Trump said Wednesday from the Oval Office.

As of Thursday morning, Kirk's killer remains at large.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/cbs-host-asks-kevin-mccarthy-whether-republicans-need-reflect-rhetoric-after-kirk-assassination