Why is Charlie Kirk now being hailed a "martyr"?

American flags are flying at half mast today to honour the memory of Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and MAGA influencer shot dead at a university event in Utah.

It is hard to state how influential Kirk was in attracting younger voters towards the Republicans. Donald Trump has said he was influential to his 2024 election campaign.

In a White House video, Trump said the “radical left” were "directly responsible" for the "terrorism" now present in America, by comparing “wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers”. He pledged that it would be put to a stop. Other MAGA commentators have gone further, claiming that the US is at war and that American conservatives cannot co-exist with liberals. What does Kirk's death mean for American politics now? And why are some British politicians claiming that Kirk spoke "common sense", when his views were so out of kilter with public opinion?

Later, how damaged is Keir Starmer by Peter Mandelson's resignation as our man in DC - less than a week out from Trump's state visit?

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