Sen. Markwayne Mullin on Thursday acknowledged that political violence has been stoked by rhetoric on both sides of the aisle but shifted blame to what he described as Democrats "gaslighting" their opponents during a CNN appearance after the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Mullin, R-Okla., appeared on "Inside Politics" with Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., a day after Kirk was shot Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University. Host Dana Bash recited a string of recent episodes of politically charged violence and asked whether both parties bore responsibility.
"It’s all of our faults, right? I mean, we stir up the base. If you stir up the base, what do you expect is going to happen? If you stir a fire, coals are going to come out of it. If you pour gasoline on a fire, it’s going to explode," Mullin said, adding, "And sometimes we gaslight the base." He later said Democrats bore more responsibility for inflammatory rhetoric, saying, "I am pointing fingers here because this happened to Republicans a lot lately, but it seems like Democrats are gaslighting this a lot more. And it goes from calling the president a dictator, from saying that we are Nazis, that it’s been an attack on Christian values." Mullin has recently defended Fox News against claims of bias.
Gottheimer agreed that both parties have contributed to a higher political temperature but criticized the president’s language. "[He] calls Democrats ‘vermin’ or ‘the enemy from within,’ you know the rhetoric," Gottheimer said. "The worst thing that could happen, to me, right now, is the president or any of our leaders coming out and saying, ‘It’s their fault,’ and going after the other side. What we need to do is take the temperature down and say none of this."
The discussion followed public reactions to Kirk’s death from conservative media and President Donald Trump. Fox News host Jesse Watters and Trump each blamed other forces for the killing, with the president saying Wednesday in an Oval Office address that "the radical left" is "directly responsible" for political violence. On Friday, when asked on "Fox & Friends" how the country could come together, Trump responded, "I couldn’t care less," according to the interview transcript.
The exchange on CNN came amid heightened concerns about politically motivated threats and plots in recent years, which have prompted lawmakers, law enforcement and civil society groups to call for de-escalation. Lawmakers on both sides have alternately blamed media coverage, social media amplification and inflammatory political language for contributing to real-world attacks and plots.
Mullin and Gottheimer both called for leaders to reduce inflammatory rhetoric, though they differed on where the greatest responsibility lies. The debate reflects broader partisan disagreement over whether recent violent acts are the product of a bipartisan climate of hostility or are driven more by one side's rhetoric and messaging.
Federal and local authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding Charlie Kirk’s death. As the discussion over blame and responsibility unfolds, several lawmakers urged a focus on concrete steps to reduce threats, including calls for restrained public language by political leaders and improved security measures at public events. The partisan split in assigning blame underscores ongoing challenges in achieving bipartisan consensus on preventing political violence.