A political assassination in the United States of America is not a joke, Senator | Opinion
Surely one reason we use time-tested phrases in difficult circumstances — “May his memory be a blessing” to a grieving person, for example — is that when left on our own to come up with something, we humans are capable of setting free some pretty unhelpful thoughts. When my 16-year-old brother died in an accident while I was in college, a friend of my mom’s told me at the funeral home, “You run around all over the world and nothing happens to you, and your poor little brother stays home and gets killed!” Not, I hope, what she was going for. That same day, I heard another well-intentioned adult tell Mom that she could always have more children, and a third say that there are worse things than death. Ever since, I have stuck to, “I’m so sorry for your loss.” But not all U.S. senators seem to know that this is the way to go.
Over the weekend, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah did something far worse than blurt the wrong words under stress in response to a gutting loss: He responded to a political assassination and ongoing manhunt in the United States of America with intentionally inflammatory and wrong information, and a joke.
“The left…kills a MN state rep and injures a Senator and his wife. The left has become a full blown domestic terrorist organization,” he posted. “This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way,” he said on X, leaning into zero evidence of the suspect’s Marxism. “Nightmare on Waltz Street,” he Xed, too, apparently laughing it up that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had just lost two close friends, Democratic state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark. They were shot and killed in their home by a man impersonating a police officer, and the same man wounded state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette at their home. This makes you smile, Senator?
Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio reposted the message of someone who seemed to be trying to tie the shootings to the teachers union, and showed photos of “No Kings” flyers found in the suspect’s car. “The degree to which the extreme left has become radical, violent, and intolerant is both stunning and terrifying,” Moreno wrote.
Elon Musk also blamed the “far left,” and President Donald Trump, who rightly called the shootings “horrifying,” said when asked if he planned to call Walz that while the shootings were terrible, “I think he’s a terrible governor. I think he’s a grossly incompetent person.” You know how Obama had that anger translator? Trump needs one working in the opposite direction.
The other 45 people on the shooter’s hit list were all Democrats, including Walz, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar. Abortion providers and advocates were on it, too. He stopped at the homes of two other lawmakers, police said, and obviously, the death toll could have been higher.
The roommate and lifelong friend of the suspect to whom he texted an apology told The New York Times that the man had voted for Trump last year and was particularly passionate about opposing abortion rights. The friend also said the alleged shooter had been having financial and mental health problems. But even if he had been the biggest Marxist since Karl, the real point is that whoever he was, and whatever he thought he was doing, we should stand together against.
Threats are flying against all public people — even baseball players — and the political response to acts of violence has become so callous and even celebratory that any expression of fellow feeling is a relief.
Kansas Republican Rep. Ron Estes posted this, which in normal times would be completely unremarkable: “The tragedy in Minnesota is heartbreaking. Our country mourns together for the victims and we pray for the survivors. We are still learning more details about the shooter and the circumstances, but it is absolutely critical to reiterate that there is no place for political violence in the United States.” Right now, it is so critical to say this normally mundane thing that I thank him for doing so.
Republican Missouri Rep. Mark Alford is also among those in his party who posted a simple, human message of support after the shootings, and I hope this return to basic decency catches on: “Devastated by news of the shooting of two state lawmakers and their spouses in Minnesota. … Leslie and I send our heartfelt prayers to the victims and their loved ones. We strongly condemn this political violence, which has no place in the United States of America.”
It has no place only if we say it doesn’t, and we need to tell those who think this is a time for us-versus-them disinformation and shameful attempts at comedy to stop making it worse. No matter who the victim is, and who the supposed avenger, it’s not funny.
This story was originally published June 17, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
