CBS's Burleson Asks Is This a Moment for Republicans to Reflect on Political Violence

Thursday on “CBS Mornings,” co-host Nate Burleson asked Kevin McCarthy, the former Republican Speaker of the House, if it was time for his party to reflect on political violence while discussing the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder.

Burleson said, “Mr. Speaker, I want to get back to you. As Tony mentioned, not everyone took to his words or his rhetoric. You know, at times, they were offensive to specific communities. But with that said, this is not the time to focus on that. We are focused on this tragedy. Speaking of this tragedy, is this a moment for your party to reflect on political violence? Is it a moment for us to think about the responsibility of our political leaders and their voices, and what it does to the masses as they get lost in misinformation or disinformation that turns in and spills into political violence?

Co-host Gayle King said, “I say both parties.”

McCarthy said, “I don’t even say parties, I say a nation.”

King said, “Ok even better.”

McCarthy added, “If there’s a moment in time you want to look to, and I looked back and I watched this again when Robert F. Kennedy is running, he’s in Indianapolis, and he just got the news that Martin Luther King was killed. And he has to tell the crowd because we don’t have social media at that time. And it was remarkable the words he said. He said, we have to ask as a nation, who are we? And how do we want to move forward?”

Follow Pam Key on X @pamkeyNEN