Dave Portnoy has fumed over the ‘insane’ rhetoric of America’s left wing following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, while claiming the divisiveness of Donald Trump played a part in his death.
Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of Trump, was shot and killed while hosting a Q&A event with students at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old’s murder has sent shockwaves across the globe after horrifying footage of it went viral online, with the suspect still at large despite an FBI manhunt.
Portnoy, an outspoken political commentator himself, spoke out on the devastating events in Utah during an appearance on Barstool Sports’ The Unnamed Show podcast.
And as well as branding the rhetoric of the left ‘insane’, the Barstool founder and president explained why he believes Trump’s polarizing nature contributed to Kirk’s death.
‘When I say Trump has a huge part in it, I don’t necessarily mean he’s to blame for it, but he’s so divisive [that] his face is divisive. People hate him so much,’ Portnoy said.
Dave Portnoy has fumed over the ‘insane’ rhetoric of America’s left wing following the assassination of Charlie Kirk
The Barstool chief also claimed Donald Trump’s divisiveness played a part in Kirk’s death
‘And the left and the right, the rhetoric – especially to me the left, is insane – and it just boils, boils, boils, boils.
‘This happened with Trump, when his assassination attempt [happened] there was like a three-hour period of “let’s tone down the rhetoric”, and then they’re right back to it.’
He then added: ‘If you sit there and you call people Nazis over and over and over, and say that they’re threatening Democracy and they’re fascist over and over… you can’t then be like, “What happened?”
‘That goes together, because if you truly think you’re killing a Nazi, or you truly think you’re killing a fascist, in your head you’re thinking “I did good for society.”‘
Kirk, a married father of two, was hit by a single bullet while speaking to a crowd at the public university in Orem. He collapsed immediately after and was rushed to hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
While two suspects were initially captured, it was later revealed that the shooter has not yet been found and a major manhunt has been launched by the FBI and Utah police.
Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve, with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months. The couple celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary in May.
Kirk, a close ally of Trump, was fatally shot at a Q&A event at Utah Valley University this week
Trump – who narrowly escaped death when he was shot in the ear at a campaign rally in Butler Township, Pennsylvania back in July 2024 – broke the news of the MAGA influencer’s passing on Wednesday.
‘The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,’ the President wrote on his Truth Social platform.
‘No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.
‘Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!’
