Fact Check: Charlie Kirk called Martin Luther King Jr. 'awful'

Guno צְבִי

Guno צְבִי

We fight, We win, Am Yisrael Chai
Claim:

Turning Point USA CEO and co-founder Charlie Kirk said about civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.: "MLK was awful. He's not a good person."

Rating:


Rating: Correct Attribution
Context:

Journalist William Turton first reported on Kirk's comments in a January 2024 article for Wired. According to Turton's report, Kirk made the statement while speaking at America Fest, a political convention organized by Turning Point USA, in December 2023. Turton provided an audio recording to Snopes, which verified that Kirk said the quote about King.

social media users shared a quote allegedly in which the conservative pundit reportedly said civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. wasn't a good person. Posts on Facebook, Instagram, and X attributed the following words to Kirk: "MLK was awful. He's not a good person. He said one good thing he actually didn't believe." Snopes also received reader queries about the authenticity of the alleged quote.


We found that the quote about King was correctly attributed to Kirk.

Journalist William Turton first reported on Kirk's comments in a January 2024 article for Wired (archived). According to Turton's report, Kirk made the statement while speaking at America Fest, a political convention organized by Turning Point USA, in December 2023.

news.yahoo.com

Fact Check: Charlie Kirk called Martin Luther King Jr. 'awful'

The Turning Point USA co-founder and conservative commentator was fatally shot while speaking at a Utah college.
news.yahoo.com news.yahoo.com
 
During the same event, Kirk said, "I have a very, very radical view on this, but I can defend it, and I've thought about it. We made a huge mistake when we passed the Civil Rights Act in the mid-1960s."

Kirk was referring to the landmark federal law banning discrimination in public places, which provided for the integration of schools and other public spaces and made employment discrimination illegal. Title IX, which "prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance," was not part of the original 1964 Civil Rights Act but passed under the Education Amendments of 1972

"We note in our piece that Kirk describes King as, quote, 'A bad guy.'" That's true. "And Kirk described a 'very, very radical view' that the country made a mistake when it passed the Civil Rights Act." Also true. "As we note in the piece, Kirk has previously described [King] as a hero and a civil rights icon." That's true, I used to be wrong. "What inspired Kirk to shift his view on MLK? Why does Kirk think MLK is a bad guy?"

For further reading, Snopes has also investigated claims that Kirk said Jewish money was ruining U.S. culture, that empathy was a "made-up, new age term"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top