Republicans Hoped Charlie Kirk's Death Would Spark a Conservative "Revival." Instead, They Got Candace Owens.

"Ross Douthat, the New York Times' resident wiggy Catholic and eternal Trump skeptic, entertained the idea that Kirk's death might serve as the "impetus for a genuine revival," borrowing the theological term for a spike in devotional fervor. (Douthat's thesis boiled down to the idea that Kirk's sanctification could pave over the gaping contradictions between scriptural doctrine and Trump's personal demeanor, which was quite the heat check in retrospect.)"

"Jack Posobiec-a dunce, a racist, and a guy whose face looks to have been recently blasted by a power washer-was invited to speak at Kirk's funeral. In his remarks, Posobiec predicted that the assassination shall be remembered as one of the "two or three pivotal moments that led to the saving of Western civilization," by "returning the people to Almighty God.""

"Three months have come and gone since these proclamations, and to put it mildly, none of them have come to pass. Instead, the exact opposite has happened. MAGA-dom has unraveled over the legacy of Kirk, in ways that are both wildly hallucinogenic and totally predictable. Generally speaking, mass galvanization requires, at bare minimum, a shared understanding of reality and what that reality means. In the realm of Trump-tinged grievance, that understanding was usually centered around the idea that authority figures are liars beguiling the public."

Charlie Kirk's assassination prompted some on the American right to predict a spiritual revival and political galvanization. Ross Douthat suggested Kirk's death might serve as the "impetus for a genuine revival," proposing sanctification could paper over contradictions between scripture and Trump's demeanor. Hard-line MAGA figures invoked Christian nationalism, with Jack Posobiec calling the killing a pivotal moment that would return people to Almighty God. Three months later, none of those outcomes materialized. Instead, MAGA has unraveled around Kirk's legacy, exhibiting hallucinogenic yet predictable factional conflict. Mass galvanization falters without a shared understanding of reality, previously premised on distrust of authority figures.

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