In the aftermath of the shooting death of Turning Point USA co-founder and CEO Charlie Kirk, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt told Newsmax Wednesday that today's leaders need to teach the next generation that "we can have healthy debates."
"We have to calm down the rhetoric," Stitt said on "Carl Higbie FRONTLINE." "We should be able to have this debate of ideas in our country.
"Charlie Kirk tapped into these students all over the country. There were over 850 chapters with 250,000 students, members of his organization. He was giving them a voice."
Stitt said TPUSA members "were debating ideas of free markets and what does the future of our country look like."
"It's so unfortunate that people just can't handle an opposing set of views," he said.
Kirk, 31, was shot and killed Wednesday afternoon during a stop on his speaking tour at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, about 20 minutes after he began speaking on campus.
Stitt said that American leaders need to teach the next generation that "we can disagree with one another and that's what makes our democracy."
"There's evil in the world and there's people that are trying to silence an opposing viewpoint. I don't know if it's social media. I don't know if it's just ... the radicalization of different groups," he said.
"I've met all these people in the public eye now. And whether they're Republican or Democrat, they're still human beings, and we can talk to them and we can have conversations, and we can rise above that.
"And so we need our leaders teaching the next generation we shouldn't be hateful for one another. We can debate policy ideas, but we don't have to be disagreeable with each other to this level. It's just really disappointing."
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