Victor Davis Hanson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, told Newsmax Wednesday that the killing of Turning Point USA founder and CEO Charlie Kirk marked a political turning point, saying it had "crossed the Rubicon."
Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, was shot and killed Wednesday at a Utah college event in what the governor called a political assassination carried out from a rooftop.
"It was something that we don't see in the United States. And that is Charlie Kirk wasn't just a brilliant political activist and organizer, but he was also a journalist and media figure," Hanson said during an appearance on "Finnerty."
"We see people take out media figures and journalists in Mexico and Europe, but we've crossed the Rubicon. This was an effort to silence somebody who was a commentator, was a writer, was a podcaster.
"And if you think about all of the various skills that he had in speaking and writing and organizing and registering people to vote, there really was no one under the age of 35 in the United States on the conservative side that are any side that had that ability," he said.
Hanson said Kirk was a "happy warrior" that the left wanted to destroy.
"And they did. And it was quite ironic, because I had just talked to him a few days earlier and I'd been on his podcast and afterwards we talked, and he was a happy warrior," he said.
"He was sort of like William F. Buckley. He wanted to meet and engage in people he didn't agree with. He didn't lose his temper, but he was very effective.
"And that's when he came to campus. I can't think any other conservative young person could get that many people at a campus, whether it's in Utah or anywhere else," Hanson added.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now
BEST OFFER:
Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.
Even get Jon Voight’s special series and President Trump’s comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app.
Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!
Start your FREE trial now: NewsmaxPlus.com