How Charlie Kirk criticised Australia and Anthony Albanese before he was shot dead

Slain U.S. political commentator Charlie Kirk frequently voiced criticism of the Australian government in the years leading up to his tragic death.

The 31-year-old conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA was shot dead during a speaking event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

While the motives of the alleged gunman have yet to come to light, authorities have described the killing as a “political assassination’.

Kirk’s death attracted tributes from the US President, the Israeli Prime Minister, the UK Prime Minister and a number of Australian politicians. 

It has also prompted the outspoken commentator’s past advocacy to resurface online, including his often bruising remarks about the Australian government. 

Over a period of several years, Kirk occasionally railed against Australia’s approach to a range of issues including free speech, Covid-19 restrictions and gun control. 

Among his more recent engagements, Kirk last year shared a Sky News story on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s criticism of Elon Musk for refusing to remove posts from X about the stabbing of a bishop in Sydney. 

‘This is a bloke who’s chosen ego and showing violence over common sense… other social media companies have complied,’ Albanese was quoted as saying of Musk.

Charlie Kirk is pictured moments before he was shot dead on Wednesday during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University for his ‘American Comeback’ tour

Kirk was an outspoken critic of the Australian government. Last year, he threw his weight behind X-founder Elon Musk in a censorship battle with PM Albanese (pictured)

Musk replied to Kirk’s post saying: ‘X is the only one standing up for the rights of Australians,’ to which Kirk replied: ‘We support you 100 per cent.’

On more than one occasion, he called on Washington to break economic ties with Australia over its handling of the pandemic.

‘The United States should immediately boycott and divest all trading with Australia until they end their fascist dictatorship,’ he posted to X in October 2021. 

It came amid a wave of backlash against Australia’s lockdowns by a number of conservative US commentators, including Tucker Carlson and Fox News host Laura Ingraham. 

Protesters marched in the streets of New York City that same month to oppose mask mandates, where some could be heard chanting ‘Save Australia’. 

Days before that event, Carlson devoted his opening monologue on his nightly Fox News program to Australia’s lockdowns, claiming the country ‘looks a lot like China did at the beginning of the pandemic’.  

Things boiled over again for Kirk the following year when unvaccinated tennis player Novak Djokovic was deported from Australia on ‘health and order grounds‘. 

Kirk characterised the ordeal as ‘human rights abuses’ and again called on Washington to ‘cease trade’ with the Australian government. 

Kirk is survived by a wife and two children. His death has attracted tribute from political leaders the world over

Following the tennis star’s 2023 win at the Australian Open, Kirk wrote: ‘Congratulations to Novak Djokovic for winning the Australian Open! 

‘This year he wins the trophy and will become the No. 1 men’s tennis player in the world,’ he said. 

‘Last year the Australian government deported him for not being vaccinated. Freedom is always worth fighting for.’

He also criticised Australia’s approach to gun control, suggesting its 1996 National Firearms Agreement buybacks was attracting false praise. 

‘The left loves to talk about Australian gun control,’ he wrote in an April 2018 post. 

‘From University of Melbourne study: In the Australian context, the high expenditure incurred to fund the 1996 gun buyback has not translated into any tangible reductions in terms of firearm deaths.’

Debate over a controversial ‘right to hunt’ bill in New South Wales boiled over in the wake of Kirk’s death, after critics labeled it a ‘Trojan horse’ for the gun lobby. 

Concerns the bill, defended as being about conservation and cultural recognition, could pave the way to more liberal gun laws reached a fever pitch on Thursday.

Kirk was a staunch supporter of US President Donald Trump, who marked the political commentator’s death as a ‘dark moment for America’

It was gun violence Kirk was discussing a the time of his death before a crowd of about 3,000 as part of his ‘American Comeback’ tour. 

Shortly after midday, he was asked by a member of the crowd how many transgender Americans had been mass shooters over the past decade. 

‘Too many,’ he replied, before the crowd member said there had been five in ten years and asked how many mass shootings there had been in that period. 

‘Counting or not counting gang violence?’ Kirk said, before a single shot was heard, killing the 31-year-old. 

Police have offered a $100,000 reward for information in their search and have released pictures of a ‘college-age person of interest’. 

FBI investigators have discovered a high-powered Mauser bolt-action rile in a wooded area close to the scene of the attack. 

Kirk’s criticism of Australia was not unreserved, however, including an apparently supportive post in April following the country’s decision not to join forces with China in opposing Trump administration tariffs. 

Trump said he was ‘filled with grief’ over the shooting in an Oval Office address, describing the incident as a ‘dark moment’ for the country. 

‘For years those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals,’ he said. 

‘This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today and it must stop right now.’  

Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika Frantzve, and two children.