Erika D. Smith, Columnist

Spencer Cox Is a Lonely Voice in an Age of Rage

Utah’s Republican governor has called for restraint in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder. Is his party listening?

September 18, 2025 at 11:30 AM UTC

Erika D. Smith is a politics and policy columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. She is a former Los Angeles Times columnist and Sacramento Bee editorial board member.

A lonely voice.
Photographer: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

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Since the murder of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk last week, President Donald Trump has been throwing gasoline on the fires of partisanship, blaming the “radical left” for political violence. In contrast, Utah Governor Spencer Cox has (mostly) played the man with the fire extinguisher.

“We can always point the finger at the other side,” the governor said last week. “And at some point, we have to find an off-ramp or it’s going to get much, much worse.”