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Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah has called for politicians to tone down their rhetoric. The assassination of Charlie Kirk is challenging the limits of that high-minded approach.
Published Sept. 11, 2025Updated Sept. 12, 2025, 12:08 p.m. ET
Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah built a political brand as the Republican antidote for an age of anger, imploring a divided United States to “disagree better” through civil discussions and bridge-building service projects.
Then an assassin gunned down the outspoken conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah college rally on Wednesday. With the killer still on the loose that day and calls for revenge boiling across social media, an emotional Mr. Cox walked in front of the television cameras to make his highest-profile plea to date against the rising tide of political violence that had just crashed into his backyard.
“Our nation is broken,” Mr. Cox said, as he ticked off a growing list of political violence targeting Republicans, including President Trump, and, he pointedly noted, Democrats as well, including the assassination of a Democratic state lawmaker in Minnesota and the attempted assassination of Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.
For those who “celebrated even a little bit at the news of this shooting,” Mr. Cox said, “I would beg you to look in the mirror, and to see if you can find a better angel in there somewhere.”
On Friday, with a suspect under arrest, Mr. Cox repeated his entreaties to the nation, saying the United States stood at an inflection point. Which way the country goes, toward chaos or reconciliation, would be up to its citizens.
Even he seemed to acknowledge it is far from clear whether the country’s better angels can still be reached.
