In a powerful moment on her podcast, Next Question with Katie Couric, Thursday, Democratic Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman declined a direct request from journalist Katie Couric to criticize the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was recently assassinated.
During the interview, Senator Fetterman discussed the political violence that led to Kirk’s death, saying he found it “entirely appropriate to allow people to grieve and give people that respect and the space to do that.”
Couric pressed Fetterman on the government’s response to Kirk’s death, asking if he had any issue with the posthumous honors and suggested that some felt Kirk’s language was “over the top.”
“Do you think that flag should have been flown at half staff, do you think his body should have been flown on Air Force 2, do you think he should have been given the Presidential Medal of Freedom?” Couric asked.
Fetterman refused to take the bait, stating that the decision on honors was the former president’s “choice and his prerogative.”
When asked if he had issues with the rhetoric Kirk used during his life, Fetterman emphasized the tragedy of the situation rather than the political history.
“I just chose not to take the opportunity to argue his views after… after children lost his father in the most violent public way,” Fetterman explained, adding that while he disagreed with much of Kirk’s past statements, such violence is “unacceptable”.
He asserted that debate should be handled in a way that doesn’t “solve it by shooting people.”
The interview segment underscored Fetterman’s broader message of restoring political civility, a theme he explores in his new book, Unfettered, and one he believes requires lowering the temperature on extreme rhetoric.
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
