NYT Reporter: Charlie Kirk Became ‘A Symbol Of The Toxic Culture We’re In’

New York Times White House Correspondent Peter Baker said that the late conservative commentator Charlie Kirk has become “a symbol of the toxic culture we’re in.”

Baker joined a panel discussion moderated by The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, and while he did concede that Kirk was often willing to walk into places where conservatives were not often welcomed, he also suggested that riling people up was a part of Kirk’s “style.”

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NYT’s Peter Baker: Charlie Kirk Said A Lot Of Things That Riled People Up, “A Symbol Of The Toxic Culture We’re In”

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Goldberg began the discussion by introducing Baker and the rest of his panel, and then jumped right into the conversation.

”Let’s start at the beginning. Peter, and I want everybody to jump in this, let’s talk a little bit about Charlie Kirk, who he was and what role he played in the broader Republican ecosystem and the broader political ecosystem.”

”So, Charlie Kirk was a 31-year-old we call influencer, I guess, these days, provocateur would be another word, he — out there galvanizing young voters, particularly on the right, to support Trump,” Baker began. “He actually was not originally a Trump supporter, but became one of his most —“

“That’s not unusual,” Goldberg interrupted.

“That’s not unusual in modern conservative politics,” Baker agreed. “But at age 31, he had become, you know, a pretty significant force in young people’s politics. And he became a friend not only of Trump, but Donald Trump Jr., J.D. Vance, in particular. J.D. Vance was so moved by this event that he ripped up his schedule, flew out to Utah to personally have the casket brought home on Air Force Two to Arizona.”

Baker went on to note the scope of Kirk’s influence — saying that despite never having run for or held any elected office, the TPUSA founder had certainly made his mark among young voters and Republicans.

“Now, he said a lot of things that got a lot of people riled up, right? And that was part of his style about race, about gender, about affirmative action and Islam and things like that,” Baker continued. “But he also enjoyed going to college campuses like the one he was at. Even though he knew an audience there might include people who didn’t agree with him, and he liked to mix it up. And he’s, you know, become in this last few days, I think, a symbol of the of the toxic culture that we’re in right now, [in] politics.”