(NewsNation) — Debate raged during the “NewsNation Town Hall” about who is to blame for political violence across the United States.
Andrew Kolvet, Turning Point USA spokesman and EP of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” and Adam Mockler, MeidasTouch podcaster, debated the reasons for political violence and who is committing most of the incidents across America.
Kolvet lost his best friend, Kirk, in what many, including public figures, deemed a politically motivated assassination while the conservative activist was speaking at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. Kolvet said it is yet another moment of radical violence from progressives.
“My dear friend was just killed by left-wing violence, assassinated in cold blood. There have been how many ICE facilities that have been targeted… when you look at what’s happening right now, I agree with you on the radicalization, but you have to be honest about the fact that it’s progressives,” Kolvet said.
“What about George Floyd? What about that whole summer of looting and rioting? Listen, there has been a trend of, let’s be gracious and say, in the era of Trump, maybe it’s a reaction to Trump … but there is a justification for political violence.”
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Mockler rebuked Kolvet, criticizing President Trump for his chanting of “lock her up” in the 2016 presidential election campaign, referring to Hillary Clinton, and he president’s critiques of Chicago and former President Barack Obama.
“His claim to fame in U.S. politics was saying that Obama wasn’t born in America… [and] he tried to (overthrow) our government,” Mockler said.
“I have spent all of my formative years watching the president of the United States talk about the opposition party like they shouldn’t exist,” he added.
Chris Cuomo interjected, suggesting the argument of who is worse between the parties is what’s “killing us” as a country.
“Let’s just be clear about where the path is forward … as we started with the premise about Charlie [Kirk] it’s either wrong or it isn’t. If violence is wrong in politics, then you do everything you can to get on the other side of it,” he said.
