ON THE CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN TRAIL '26: NOTES FROM SEAN FORBES
DAY FIVE: September 10th, 2025
LOCATION: San Diego, CA
WEATHER: 75°F (Clear)
The death of Charlie Kirk weighs heavily on everyone's mind. There is no place in a civilized society for someone to come out and shoot a man in front of a crowdâespecially in front of a young family who witnessed itâover politics. His death should invoke universal horror and revulsion, not necessarily because of his passing, but because of what it signifies: a democracy teetering on the brink of collapse.
We, the living, will soon face a world where talk shows, politicians, and both paid and unpaid commentators will have to ask themselves if they are targets. With passions already inflamed by anger, there is no simple retreat or cooling off.
There is also no room in a thoughtful society to ignore the karmic repercussions that have now come home to roost for Mr. Kirk.
San Diego, California
Charlie Kirk was a figure who contributed to amplifying the ugliness of the Trump era. For someone who scoffed at rational debates, he offered a dangerous acceptance of gun violence as a necessary price for the Second Amendmentâa stance that dismisses the human cost. He spoke of "weaponized compassion" and "suicidal empathy" to justify exploitation and discrimination. He helped pollute the political environment to toxic levels that many Californians now find unbearable.
He showed little regard for due process when it came to immigrants and was a steadfast propagandist for the MAGA cause, bringing a form of street-level fascism to the forefront. He was a key voice in stoking hysteria against the transgender community. In fact, his last words were used to fuel more hysteria about trans mass shootersâdistorting facts and spreading lies until his final breath. The kind of world Charlie Kirk helped foster is a significant reason why many Californians now wish to leave the United States. He was just one soldier in a far-reaching and destructive campaign.
The killing of another human being is the greatest sin; it's all too common in today's worldâoften inflicted upon those who don't deserve it and rarely upon those who do. The certainty of those who choose to kill is terrifyingâthe old clichĂ© about villains believing they are the heroes is painfully true. "They know not of what they do," it is said. No person, regardless of political stripe, should ever see themselves as judge, jury, and executionerâsomething Kirk's assassin presumably believed.
Charlie Kirk did not deserve to die, but we should not celebrate his life or his cause. Mark my words: in the coming days, the MAGA movement will present him as a martyr for freedomâvenerated as a saint, cut down too young. From beyond the grave, his past will be wielded against California's present and future.
