Obama says Trump deepened US divide in rush to ‘identify enemy’ after Charlie Kirk shooting

<p>Former president describes a ‘dangerous moment’ in the US, following White House response to shootings of Kirk and Melissa Hortman</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/barack-obama">Barack Obama</a> addressed the recent killing of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/charlie-kirk-shooting">Charlie Kirk</a> and told a crowd in Pennsylvania on Tuesday the country was “at an inflection point”, but that political violence “is not new” and “has happened at certain periods” in US history.</p><p>Obama added that despite history, political violence was “anathema to what it means to be a democratic country”.</p><p>This article was amended on 17 September 2025. A previous version misspelled the name of Melissa Hortman.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/17/obama-charlie-kirk-political-violence">Continue reading...</a>