Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, says he is unable to “unsee” the video scene of the moment an assassin’s bullet struck and killed conservative leader Charlie Kirk.
Cox told CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Sunday that social media’s capacity to spread material worldwide can be harmful. “That terrible, awful video that I wish I had not seen. I hate, again, social media, that almost every person in this country, including our young people, have seen that video on a loop over and over and over again.”
Cox admitted the scene, at least for now, keeps replaying in his mind. “And I can’t unsee it. I can’t stop seeing it. Every time I close my eyes, that’s what I see.”
Charlie Kirk was murdered on Sept. 10 by a single rifle shot while he was speaking at a Utah campus. His alleged assailant has a court appearance scheduled on Monday, and he is charged with aggravated murder and faces the death penalty if convicted.
Video of the murder took only minutes to spread on social media platforms. Cox said the murder has increased political division in America, while impacting some liberals and conservatives to become more polarized.
Cox blamed social media for much of the polarization. “I do believe that social media is a cancer,” he said. “These dopamine hits that get our young people and our old people addicted to outrage and hate that serve us up on a regular basis are absolutely leading us down a very dark path.”
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, joined Cox in the interview and said, “We should be condemning at every chance we get, political violence. Our democracy falters when we don’t. This is an American. This is a person. This is a person who lost his life in free speech.”
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