Ta-Nehisi Coates Trashes Charlie Kirk As a ‘Hate-Monger’ Who Was ‘Actively Destructive to Humanity’
Ta-Nehisi Coates is doubling down on bashing Charlie Kirk, just weeks after the conservative activist was murdered, with the famous author ripping Kirk as a “hate-monger” who ran a “haven of hatred” at his organization, Turning Point USA.
“Hate” and “hatred” were terms that came up a lot during Coates’ appearance on The Ezra Klein Show on Sunday. Coates used the word eight times to describe Kirk during the conversation, which came together after Coates blasted Kirk in a recent Vanity Fair piece, as well as those in the media who were mourning his death and what it means for the U.S., like Klein did in The New York Times.
Coates made it clear he was not interested in softening his stance:
I’m putting aside your piece, but I’m just thinking about the moment we’re in. When I hear or see people who are honored and commemorated in such a way that they almost become a national religious figure, and then I see their content, and I see that their content is actively destructive to humanity, I have to draw a line there.
A little earlier, the Between the World and Me author made a similar comment, saying: “I’m all for unifying, I’m all for bridging gaps. But not at the expense of my neighbor’s humanity. I just can’t.”
Kirk, Coates added, was merely interested in “harvesting” hatred from “racist” Republican voters who were not fans of Barack Obama.
Klein, early in the podcast, said he was uneasy about Coates or anyone else ripping Kirk, so soon after he was killed.
“Going to people when they’re grieving like that and saying, ‘Listen, I want to tell you want I really thought of your friend — just feels like not what you do in a community,” Klein said.
Coates, in his VF story, said Kirk “held disagreeable views,” including being anti-abortion and being “unconcerned” with the “humanity of Palestinians.” He also said Kirk “reveled in open bigotry.”
Based on his hour-long conversation with Klein, it does not sound like Coates regrets a word he wrote about Kirk. You can watch the full interview via the YouTube video above.
