Cox snaps back at Bannon over Kirk shooting response

Utah’s governor is firing back at Steve Bannon and other Trump allies who are working to inflame passions and encourage rage among Republicans in response to the shooting death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Governor Spencer Cox appeared on CNN's State of the Union Sunday, where the Republican responded to criticism leveled against him by Bannon on his War Room podcast last week.

- John Bowden, The Independent

Formerly Donald Trump's chief White House strategist, Bannon remains an insider in Trump's orbit and continues to hold many connections to the White House. He's a fixture at the annual CPAC event in National Harbor, Maryland, and is a leader of the populist and strongman-friendly wing of the Trump-allied conservative movement.

This past week, Bannon derided Cox as a “national embarrassment” as the Utah governor — whose own ties to the GOP fall under more traditional conservative lines through the influence of Mormonism in the state — called for peace and respectful dialogue across the aisle in the wake of Kirk’s assassination on a college campus on Wednesday. A suspect turned himself in after a manhunt was launched.

On CNN, Cox labelled the War Room host a “conflict entrepreneur” and encouraged Americans not to listen to voices that profit off of division.