CNN Host Plays Cut GOP Clips Saying ‘We Are At War’ — Gets Corrected By Senator

Republican Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford corrected CNN host Kasie Hunt on Thursday’s “The Arena” after she played cut clips of Republicans saying “We are at war” in reaction to Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination.

Since Kirk’s murder Wednesday afternoon, Republicans have condemned Democrats online who appeared to cheer or celebrate the death of the 31-year-old TPUSA founder. During the segment, Hunt aired clips of Republican commentators Alex Jones, Steve Bannon and Fox’s Jesse Watters before asking Lankford if he believed Kirk’s death was “part of a war.” (RELATED: House Dems Shout ‘No’ When Boebert Requests Spoken Prayer For Charlie Kirk)

“So I would say a couple things. One is, one of those particular clips, I actually saw the full statement on it, and it said, ‘We are at war,’ and then ended with ‘We need to be able to fight this the same way Charlie Kirk did. Charlie Kirk did it with words and spoke out against issues and challenges, not with violence,’” Lankford said. “So some of those clips aren’t actually consistent with the whole context of the clips, but we are as a nation struggling with each other, no doubt.”

“This feels like 1968 in some ways with the violence on campuses, with assassinations and things that happened during that time period. We as a nation turned around and looked at each other and said, ‘How does this actually get better?’ That’s what we’ve got to be able to do is to be able to do that, but we should have strong opinions,” Lankford added.

On Wednesday, Kirk had been speaking and debating with students at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, as he was known to do. About 20 minutes into the event, a fatal shot struck him, and security rushed him to the hospital. While Kirk was initially in stable condition, the TPUSA founder ultimately succumbed to his injuries.

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With some Democrats suggesting that Kirk was at fault for his death because of his political beliefs, others have blamed President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and Republicans for a surge in political violence.

Lankford said Kirk had been “outspoken” about his beliefs and continuously engaged with those who did not share the same political views.

“Charlie Kirk was outspoken and bombastic with conservatives, but when he spoke to liberals and progressives, he was humble, he was listening, he was intellectually engaging, he wanted them to be able to share his ideas and say, ‘Let me share my ideas with you,’” Lankford said. “He literally was going to people and saying, ‘We should as a nation talk about hard issues back and forth,’ and he did that. But many of the clips that are shown are his clips talking to other conservatives, being able to push them to say, ‘Let’s live what we believe.’”

“But with liberals and progressives, he was often very humble, very engaging, shared his faith freely and said, ‘Let’s talk about these issues.’ That’s really what we need to get back to. People that want to be able to honor Charlie Kirk, honor it by actually engaging with people you disagree with and to be able to actually have real dialogue with him. That’s what he did,” Lankford said.

Concerns about political violence have grown over the past year, particularly after the first assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. During the campaign rally, Trump was speaking to a crowd when 20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks fired multiple rounds, grazing Trump’s ear and killing volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore.

Just months later, on Sept. 15, 2024, a second attempt against Trump was uncovered when Secret Service agents found would-be assassin Ryan Routh hiding in the bushes at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., with an AK-47-style rifle.

In June, Democratic Minnesota state Sen. Melissa Hortman and her husband were fatally shot at their home. Additionally, a self-proclaimed socialist who supported the Black Lives Matter movement set fire to Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s official residence.

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