He was no mere pundit or activist, but a valued capo in the Trump political machine. Wood was not alone in the press, as much of the coverage has framed the murder as a moment where the United States crossed the Rubicon when it comes to political violence. The president and his allies in right-wing media not only provided the rhetoric that inspired an enormous amount of political violence, but worked actively to normalize it. Political violence is of course nothing new in American culture; deadly extremism, coming mainly though not exclusively from the right, was rampant both before (Extra!, 3–4/95, 7–8/95; Extra! ‘Bring a gun with you’Charlie Kirk was a central actor in the right-wing hate machine that fomented violence.