On Tuesday, Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray announced the charges being pressed against suspect Tyler Robinson and what drove him to murder. During Katy Turs Reports coverage, MSNBC contributors Ken Dilanian and Chris O’Leary were reluctant to connect Robinson’s left-leaning ideology to his motive for allegedly murdering Charlie Kirk.
In the week following the tragedy, the left had admitted to there being a heated political climate and the existence of political violence coming from both sides, and now they could no longer deny that Robinson’s alleged actions may have been politically-charged. But they continues to doubt if his politics were a definitive motive for the killing.
Dilanian acknowledged the disconnect between Robinson’s personal beliefs and lifestyle compared to those of his family’s, but frames it as an incomplete story:
But—and we also learned, of course, that, we got to read between the lines a little bit here, but he's in this same-sex relationship, and he explains to us, or explains that his father is MAGA. His family is conservative and traditional. But there's a lot more, I think, that the authorities know about that dynamic that they haven't put in here.
It’s hard to tell exactly what strategy was being employed here, but it’s clear the intent was to seed doubt and muddy the waters. Sure, the Robinson family’s full background wasn’t entirely known, but that didn’t disprove any reasonable conclusions being made about Robinson’s reasons for what he’s accused of doing.
Dilanian went on to, somehow, brazenly denied the obvious:
So, at the end of the day, we're not really left with a clear motive. We're left with clear evidence that this was political, that he targeted Charlie Kirk because of Charlie Kirk's statements and beliefs that he disagreed with. But so much else is left unsaid here.
Like what, Dilanian? Was there a specific TikTok you were looking for that finally pushed Robinson over the edge?
Prosecutor Gray also revealed that the suspect’s mother claimed Robinson was “over the last year or so […] becom[ing] more political and started to lean more to the left, becoming more pro-gay and more trans-rights oriented.”
MSNBC doesn’t want its audience to believe their own eyes: the suspect was, according to his mother, leaning further into liberal ideology and there is evidence the murder was politically-charged. Yet there is no clear motive to be found!
O’Leary repeated Dilanian’s misdirect, suggesting authorities might unveil more information on that front in the future: “Well, they certainly didn't lay out any clear cut ideology, and they might have more of that.” If Utah State prosecutors do or will have more information on Robinson’s personal values, it’s hard to believe it will reverse any leading theory or prosecution strategy.
Further, O’Leary attempted to connect the recent incident with an overall doom-and-gloom trend facing male youths: “I will say, one of the things we're seeing is this, this kind of theme of nihilism […] Hopelessness, frustration, depression, coming out of COVID or brought on by other things.”
Who knows. Maybe it contributed, maybe it didn’t. Regardless, Robinson felt strongly about Kirk, and allegedly chose to act on those feelings in a violent manner. Without a motive, apparently!
Anchor Katy Tur pushed back on O’Leary, but not hard enough:
TUR: I want to ask Brandy about nihilism, but I just want to focus on for one more second. I mean, he does say that he wants to kill Charlie Kirk because of the evil and the hate that he spreads. Would that not be considered a pretty clear-cut motive?
O’LEARY: It's certainly a motive, but is it necessarily clearly an ideology and part of a broader, you know, movement and political violence or terrorism? And statutorily it probably wouldn’t get us there.
O’Leary was forced to admit that the suspect’s wish to kill Kirk was “a” motive, but questioned if it could be directly connected to liberal ideology. This was what the left has resorted to. They couldn’t deny A, B and C, but they will deny A plus B equals C.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
MSNBC’s Katy Tur Reports
September 16, 2025
2:55:12 p.m. Eastern
(…)
KEN DILANIAN: It's pretty clear the roommate had no idea this was happening. And that's buttressed by the fact that that they're not charging the roommate. So, the roommate is incredulous. And the roommate asked why he did it, and he says, he answers, “I've had enough of his hatred. Some hatred can't be negotiated out.”
But—and we also learned, of course, that, we got to read between the lines a little bit here, but he's in this same-sex relationship, and he explains to us, or explains that his father is MAGA. His family is conservative and traditional. But there's a lot more, I think, that the authorities know about that dynamic that they haven't put in here.
So, at the end of the day, we're not really left with a clear motive. We're left with clear evidence that this was political, that he targeted Charlie Kirk because of Charlie Kirk's statements and beliefs that he disagreed with. But so much else is left unsaid here.
But again, the fact that this Tyler Robinson just appears completely rational and lucid—and thought he could get away with it. Talked about trying to hide the evidence and retrieve the gun, and then only later it became clear to him that that he was caught and then negotiating his surrender. And we're not really giving the information about what the calculus was. He’s suggesting at one point he would rather take his own life than be brought into custody. Apparently his parents and a family friend talked him out of that. We don't—they didn't tell us whether he's talking now, whether he has expressed remorse. But we know from the other Discord chat, that was reported on by the New York Times, that initially, when he was confronted by some of his friends, he joked and played it off and just expressed no remorse whatsoever. And then in the Discord chat that the Washington Post is reporting on, he acknowledges that he did it, but—and says he's sorry to the to those members, but does not express remorse for the killing whatsoever. So this is a really chilling picture we're getting of this alleged shooter, Katie.
KATY TUR: Chris, is that how you see this suspect as well, as a rational and lucid actor?
CHRIS O’LEARY: Well, they certainly didn't lay out any clear cut ideology, and they might have more of that. But what we've seen in the last couple of years is—we call it salad bar ideology, where people are taking different pieces of different things. But it's not anything that we saw historically in terrorism and political violence, which is why you see some of these groups like 764 and O9A, Order of Nine Angles, which are really weird hybrids of different things. Ken laid it out perfectly.
I will say, one of the things we're seeing is this, this kind of theme of nihilism. So, if you look back on the shooting in Minnesota, the Catholic school, even back to the first Trump assassination attempt, that's probably the one thing you can pull out of it. Hopelessness, frustration, depression, coming out of COVID or brought on by other things. People have talked about violent video games—that's not in and of itself the driver. But essentially your only socialization is you are on Discord, in the gaming community, and that's not real personal interaction. So, all of these things are contributing factors to some of these acts of violence. And some of these young men are looking at society and saying, “Well, what for?” So, that doesn't mean he's not a rational actor, but there might be underlying issues.
TUR: I want to ask Brandy about nihilism, but I just want to focus on for one more second. I mean, he does say that he wants to kill Charlie Kirk because of the evil and the hate that he spreads. Would that not be considered a pretty clear-cut motive?
O’LEARY: It's certainly a motive, but is it necessarily clearly an ideology and part of a broader, you know, movement and political violence or terrorism? And statutorily it probably wouldn’t get us there.
(…)
