CBS News is facing backlash after quietly deleting a social media post that downplayed the political motive behind the Charlie Kirk assassination. The now-removed clip featured CBS Evening News Plus anchor John Dickerson suggesting that the alleged assassin’s reasoning “remains elusive,” despite public statements from Utah’s Republican governor Spencer Cox.
“Five days after Charlie Kirk’s murder, the shooter’s motive remains elusive—no writings left behind, vague, secondhand testimony,” Dickerson said in the broadcast. He went on to speculate that the assassination “may share similarities with recent violence not driven by an obvious political ideology.”
That framing directly contradicted Cox, who told NBC: “There clearly was a leftist ideology with this—with this assassin.” FBI director Kash Patel echoed that assessment on Fox News, revealing investigators discovered explicit evidence of intent. “A text message exchange where [Robinson] specifically stated that he had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and he was going to do that,” Patel said.
Police say the suspect, Tyler Robinson, carried bullets engraved with the words “Hey fascist! Catch!” and lived with a transgender partner. Authorities are also investigating possible ties between Robinson and local left-wing and pro-transgender organizations, according to the New York Post.
Dickerson’s guest, Matthew Kriner of the Institute for Countering Digital Extremism, argued that Robinson’s actions might reflect “nihilistic violent extremism.” Still, Dickerson told Kriner to exclude Kirk’s murder from analysis, claiming, “we just don’t have enough data.”
For critics, the deleted CBS post underscores why many Americans question media bias.
