The Charlie Kirk show has responded after conservative political commentator Candace Owens released a screenshot of messages shared by Kirk in a group chat, where he had been discussing Jewish donors pulling funding over his links to Tucker Carlson.
“It is authentic,” Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet said in a video released on October 7. “I actually am really excited that the truth is out there. I first want to say, the reason I didn’t share that screengrab publicly is that it was a private exchange.”
Kolvet said Kirk’s feelings about Israel were “complicated and nuanced” and he wanted the war in Gaza to end.
Since Kirk’s death, Owens has been criticized by some over what she has posted, which has been described as rumors and conspiracy theories.
Newsweek has contacted Turning Point USA outside of regular working hours for comment via an online form.
Why It Matters
Kirk’s assassination at an event at Utah Valley University sent shock waves through the country, and there has been an outpouring of grief from his supporters, as well as President Donald Trump and his administration, and high-profile Democrats and celebrities.
Soon after Kirk’s death, supporters of the 31-year-old conservative activist began to grapple, publicly, with conflicting narratives about his stance on Israel. Prominent conservative commentators had said that though Kirk was a strong supporter of Israel, his views on their foreign policy were evolving.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and led to 251 being abducted. Since then Israel has launched a mass counteroffensive in Gaza. As of the beginning of September, more than 64,000 people had been killed in the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. A United Nations commission said in September that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Israel has denied this and said the report is biased and one-sided.
Israel and the war in Gaza have split both the MAGA contingent and America more broadly, while Kirk’s death has highlighted divisions in the country and raised concerns about political violence.
What To Know
The screenshots shared by Owens saw Kirk say that he had lost a $2 million donation from a Jewish donor, over his refusal to disinvite the conversative commentator Tucker Carlson from his upcoming AmericaFest.
In a 23-minute segment of the Charlie Kirk Show, which was uploaded to YouTube and titled “The Leaked Text Messages,” Kolvet and another of Kirk’s associates, Blake Neff, addressed the texts and spoke about Kirk’s thoughts on Israel more broadly.
Kolvet clarified that it was he who originally shared the screenshot of the texts, and that he had shared it with some people in government but not publicly because it was a private exchange.
“I did share it with some people in government, because it happened really quick. It was, you know, it took 33 hours for authorities to get their suspect. And in those first moments, we wanted no stone unturned,” Kolvet said.
Tyler Robinson, 22, has been charged with the aggravated murder of Charlie Kirk and other offenses, including felony firearm discharge, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering. Prosecutors have indicated that they will seek the death penalty.
Kolvet went on to say, “One of the criticisms we’ve received is that we don’t care. We’re not investigating every lead. We’re not looking under every stone. And that somehow, we’re just like sweeping things under the rug.”
“When I say that we want justice for Charlie more than anybody else, I really mean it,” Kolvet added.
Then speaking about hesitancy to share information publicly, Neff said, “The reason I haven’t weighed in on things is I am an eyewitness to events, and they’ve said don’t comment on things because anything you say, you can mess that up/ I don’t want to mess up any trial for the person who did this.”
Kolvet then specifically spoke about Israel, “I know there’s a lot of fascination,” he said.
“The text chain is consistent with public frustrations that he voiced many times,” Kolvet said.
“What is the truth about the way Charlie felt about Israel? Well, it’s complicated and it’s nuanced and it was a wrestle that was going on for months,” Kolvet said, adding, “Charlie was not hiding things from people.”
Neff then said, “If you want to know Charlie’s views on the Gaza war, he wanted the war to end. He didn’t want America to take Palestinian refugees. He was annoyed when people advocated that. He didn’t want American troops on the ground there or with any other war.”
He continued, adding, “He recognized Hamas started the war; Hamas could end the war.”
Neff continued and said, “He could tell antisemitism was rising in America. And that upset him. Charlie was public about this. He loved Israel, he cared about Israel.”
A snippet of an appearance Kirk made during an episode of Megyn Kelly’s podcast was included in the YouTube video, where Kirk had discussed Israel.
In the podcast, he said, “I don’t want to judge an entire group, because there’s been many people in the pro-Israel group that have been very sweet, very kind, very nuanced … however, and I will say this, the behavior by a lot—both privately and publicly—are pushing people like you and me away.
“Not like we’re going to be pro-Hamas, but we’re like ‘honestly, the way you are treating me is so repulsive,’ I have text messages, Megyn, calling me an antisemite,” Kirk said.
He reiterated his love for Israel multiple times in that podcast, but said that he feels he has “less ability to criticize the Israeli government without backlash than actual Israelis do.”
What People Are Saying
Turning Point USA spokesperson, Andrew Kolvet, speaking in the YouTube video, ‘The Leaked Text Messages,’ said: “Charlie said these things publicly and privately to us, like that he was frustrated. He would say something like that and then he would go in a public situation and he would strike a more moderate tone …. I looked at that moment as like he’s just blown off steam. He’s frustrated. He’s venting.”
“Charlie was wonderfully defiant. He was wonderfully independent and he would not, you know, he believed in the freedom of speech and he felt like he deserved as a friend of Israel over many years the right to speak out and have criticism.”
What’s Next
Robinson’s case has moved toward an October 30 hearing, where the court will review scheduling and whether to proceed with a preliminary hearing to test the evidence.