STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
People influenced by Charlie Kirk include our next guest, Joe Mitchell, who was a former Iowa state representative and founder of Run Gen Z, a group with the goal of electing young conservatives. Mr. Mitchell, I know you've described Charlie Kirk as a kind of mentor, so I should begin by saying I'm sorry for your loss.
JOE MITCHELL: Thanks, Steve. I think it's an overestimate to say how sad of a day it was yesterday in America...
INSKEEP: Yeah.
MITCHELL: ...How terrible of a day it was and tragic. And you'd hope we never have a day like it ever again.
INSKEEP: What role did Charlie Kirk play in moving you into activism?
MITCHELL: Well, Charlie was a friend, and he was a mentor. And, you know, Charlie was a God-fearing man, and he was a father and a husband and a patriot and friend to many. Charlie inspired me to start a group called Run Gen Z, where we help young conservatives run for state and local office. And Charlie gave me seed money for that organization and was a partner in that. And he's played a tremendous part in my life and had a huge impact on my life over the last six years. Yesterday, to date, was the first time I met Charlie Kirk in Des Moines, Iowa, on September 10, 2019. So it was a particularly rough day.
INSKEEP: Yeah, thank you for sharing that. I'm interested in founding this organization. Did he come to you and say, this is a thing you should do, or do you go - did you go to him and say, this is my ambition, and he helped?
MITCHELL: Well, when I met Charlie, I was the youngest state legislator in the state of Iowa on that day, six years ago yesterday. And I told him. I said I wanted to start an organization, help young conservatives run for office like I did. And he immediately, you know, understood what I meant and brought me to Turning Point events to speak and eventually gave me the money and, you know, really the political will and, you know, the people behind me to start the organization. And so, you know, again, can't overstate how huge of a impact Charlie had not only in my personal life, but also professionally - Run Gen Z.
INSKEEP: I'm thinking his public persona - Charlie Kirk's public persona is very well known at this point. He was in public so much. He was in front of people or on camera so much. He made a lot of polarizing remarks about people who were different from him or had different views from him, but he also stood in front of people who disagreed with him and engaged with them and took their questions and criticisms and responded. I'm just curious. Having known him over a number of years, do you think that he learned or evolved in any way from his interactions with so many different kinds of people?
MITCHELL: Steve, what remarks? What are you guys talking about? Because here's what happened, Steve, is that he was called a Nazi and Hitler and a fascist for so many years, and that's what led to the shooting yesterday. And it's despicable. What the news media is doing right now is saying that he was so decisive. He said these things. Charlie was the most kindest person in the entire world that I knew. He believed in civic debate more than anybody else that I knew. And so the rhetoric that's been spewed out in the last 24 hours is what led to the shooting yesterday and the execution and the assassination of Charlie Kirk. And it makes me just sick to my stomach what's happened. And so people need to get ahold of the rhetoric. They need to understand that what they say has implications. And that's what happened yesterday.
INSKEEP: OK. Well, we're going to have to leave it there. We'll continue the discussion another time, I hope. Joe Mitchell is the founder of Run Gen Z and is a Republican candidate for Congress in Iowa. Thanks so much.
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