‘Extraordinary’: Ex-Obama aide shares Kirk’s peace offering sent day before his killing

Key Takeaways:

• Van Jones and Charlie Kirk engaged in a heated dispute over the murder of a Ukrainian refugee.
• Kirk privately messaged Jones with an invitation for civil dialogue on Sept. 9.
• Kirk was shot and killed the following day, before Jones read his message.
• Jones discovered Kirk’s invite posthumously, calling it “extraordinary.”
• Jones now highlights Kirk’s stand against violence and censorship, praising his call for open debate.

The Public Dispute

Van Jones, a former advisor to the Obama White House, and conservative activist Charlie Kirk found themselves in a public feud after the killing of Iryna Zarutska. The Ukrainian refugee was murdered last month while riding light rail in Charlotte, North Carolina, reportedly by a Black suspect. Kirk claimed Zarutska’s death occurred “because she was white,” a statement Van Jones labeled “completely unfounded.”

Kirk’s Last Direct Message

The feud became intensely public, with Kirk issuing what Jones called a “firehose of tweets” challenging his analysis. Then, on September 9, Kirk sent Jones a private message on X (formerly Twitter). “Hey Van, I mean it. I’d love to have you on my show to have a respectful conversation about crime and race. I would be a gentleman, as I know you would be as well. We can disagree about the issues agreeably,” Kirk wrote.

A Tragic Turn

Less than 24 hours later, Kirk was shot and killed. Van Jones, busy with media appearances and handling threats sparked by the ongoing feud, only discovered Kirk’s private note after learning of the activist’s death. “We were beefing,” recalled Jones in an interview with Anderson Cooper. “And then after he died… my team called and said, ‘Van, he was trying to reach you, man.’”

Seeking Civility

Upon reading Kirk’s message, Jones was struck by how Kirk had chosen dialogue over the animosity that was playing out online. “So I’m sitting on this, and I’m watching the whole country talk about civil war, censorship, justifying murder about this guy? This guy is reaching out to his mortal enemy, saying we need to be gentlemen, sit down together and disagree agreeably,” Jones explained. While the two had never been friends, Jones acknowledged the importance of praising “the good” in someone’s memory.

Remembering Kirk

Jones decided to attend memorial events for Kirk, underscoring that he never desired harm to befall the conservative activist. “I wanted to beat Charlie Kirk in a debate. I didn’t want somebody to shoot him. That’s how we do it in America,” he said. Despite their sharp differences, Jones emphasized Kirk’s final message championed open debate and rejected violence. “He was not for censorship. He was not for civil war. He was not for violence. He was for dialogue… Even with me,” Jones concluded.