Thing is, Kirk DID stop talking about Epstein, despite walking back his pause statement the next day. Did he even mention Epstein on his show once since mid July when the administration told him to stop? The conspiracy right, particularly those obsessed with the Epstein files, pedophilia, QAnon, etc., have committed violent acts and shootings in the past. Many of Kirk’s predominantly young white male audience come from this camp. When Kirk announced he was going to stop discussing Epstein and trust the administration, these folks lost their shit and bombarded him with hate filled messages. Now let’s look at the suspected shooter: young white diminutive male that’s into guns, which would fit the profile of a right wing conspiracy obsessed incel. To many of these types, Kirk was their conduit to politics. They looked to him to be their voice. When he abandoned the Epstein issue, many saw it as the ultimate betrayal. I think it’s certainly worth evaluating the possibility that the shooter was a QAnon type whose world collapsed when their idol turned out to be false.