WASHINGTON – Tonight, Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL) joined a special edition of On Balance with Leland Vittert on NewsNation to discuss the assassination of Charlie Kirk alongside former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley.

Watch the full interview here.

"He [Charlie Kirk] is easily one of the most consequential political figures in America in the modern era. There’s never going to be another like him, and this is a really dark day for America":

"First I’ll tell you, Charlie Kirk was one of a kind. His impact on politics the last 10 years, but his impact really on America leading the conservative revival amongst young people in our country is unmatched, can never be duplicated. I think, and I think Chairman Whatley would probably would agree with me, I don't think we’re successful last November without the efforts of Charlie Kirk because it wasn’t just his ability to debate. It was his ability to debate while being respectful of everyone and engaging young people all across this country. That was his life’s mission. That was his vision. That was his passion and that’s what he did, and so I will tell you, he is easily one of the most consequential political figures in America in the modern era. There’s never going to be another like him, and this is a really dark day for America, because he lived by a simple ethos of standing firm on what you believe in which is the bedrock of America and his life was taken because of it. It’s a sad day for our country, and we need to look at this and decide to be more perfect union that our Founders wanted us to be."

"We have to respect the humanity of the people that we disagree with":

"No, that was a very sick statement by JB Pritzker, he should be ashamed of himself. Look, the reality is, is that elected Democrats seeking power have decided to treat conservatives as if we are the enemy of this great country and we are, we disdain this this great country and that is simply not true, and they know it is not true. And so yeah, they need to hold their side of the political aisle accountable. Both sides of them is simply not going to be good enough anymore. This man, Charlie Kirk, he left, he lost his life, he’s not going home to his wife, he’s not going home to his kids and the only reason why anybody would even choose to assassinate Charlie Kirk is because of his political views and his willingness to stand firm, on what he believed in. Anybody that knows the man knows him to be a gentleman, a class act through and through. Somebody that would give you the shirt off his back if that’s what you needed. That’s who Charlie Kirk was personally, but this assassin, let’s be clear, the reason why he took Charlie Kirk's life is because of his political views and his willingness to stand up for conservatism, for Western civilization, for Judeo-Christian values. And if JB Pritzker or any other Democrat can’t see that then, frankly, they’re not seeing what needs to happen in this country right now. People really need to take a look at themselves and understand we can disagree, that’s fine. That’s, that’s the American way of life, that’s politics, but we have to respect the humanity of the people that we disagree with."

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