In the 12 days since Charlie Kirk’s killing, right-wingers have frantically accused anyone on the left who dares to criticize him of disrespecting the dead. But yesterday, at Kirk’s memorial, the president flew in, walked up to the podium, and talked about… himself.
“I would argue no one has shown more contempt for Charlie Kirk in death than Donald Trump, again and again,” Mehdi says. Yes, when the president is asked to speak about Kirk, he seems to prefer talking about the White House’s new ballroom, or to go on about tariffs. Sunday’s memorial in Arizona was less of a tribute to a dead man than a political rally for MAGA. Instead of speeches from Kirk’s parents or childhood friends, Mehdi points out, the crowd heard from JD Vance and Stephen Miller denouncing ‘the left’.
“This was a political rally. They want us all to shut up and show respect, while they politicized the hell out of it,” Mehdi says. “Trump turns up and starts talking about tariffs and starts doing his usual stump speech. I would argue that is more offensive to Charlie Kirk's memory and death.”
This is the third episode of ‘Ask the Editor,’ a weekly Q&A where Mehdi answers your questions, live, every Monday at 11am ET on Substack and YouTube, moderated by our very own Prem Thakker. And this week, the pair had no shortage of alarming things coming out of the Trump administration to discuss.
Mehdi and Prem also react to Jimmy Kimmel’s “cancellation by the government,” as Prem puts it. “A country where comedians can't make fun of the ruling party is not normally a country where those of us who believe in democracy want to live,” Mehdi responds.
Watch the full video above to hear Mehdi and Prem discuss the US’s descent into authoritarianism at “breakneck speed,” how the media could help raise the bar on Trump, and why Mehdi thinks we’re living in a timeline so bizarre and so seemingly unrealistic that it’d be thrown out from a Netflix writers’ room.
We’re not paywalling this new series for any of our subscribers. But if you believe in the work we do and want to see more of it, do consider becoming a paid subscriber. And if you’re already one, then a donation to Zeteo also goes a long way.
Missed it live? All subscribers can tune in next Monday morning at 8am PT / 11am ET / 4pm BST on Zeteo.com, on the Substack app, or on YouTube. Bring questions!
See you next Monday for another episode of ‘Ask the Editor!’
In case you missed them, here are some of our latest stories:
