Sharon McMahon, a teacher known for branding herself as “America’s government teacher,” is slated to speak at Utah Valley University, the very institution where Charlie Kirk was tragically killed. McMahon had previously criticized Kirk following his assassination.

Utah Valley University announced McMahon as the commencement speaker at the end of March and plans to honor her with an honorary doctorate.

The decision sparked outrage among conservatives and the university’s Turning Point USA (TPUSA) chapter. They pointed to past tweets by McMahon, which were deleted, that she posted in the aftermath of Kirk’s death on September 10, 2025.

McMahon commented, “Millions of people feel they were harmed, and the murder, which was horrific and should never have occurred, doesn’t erase the words or actions previously taken.”

She added that to many Americans, particularly those who are Black, LGBTQ, or Muslim, Charlie Kirk was not merely someone who participated in good-faith discussions on college campuses.

Pictured: Sharon McMahon.

Outrage as university invites critic after Kirk assassination

Although McMahon has removed those specific tweets, she continues to frequently share content critical of Trump and conservative ideologies on her social media platforms.

Utah Senator Mike Lee made a post furious at the university that was retweeted by Elon Musk. 

‘What if Charlie Kirk had been a beloved figure on the left, rather than among conservatives?’ Lee said. 

‘And what if Sharon McMahon were a conservative – one who had defamed Charlie Kirk immediately after his horrific assassination at UVU? Would UVU have scheduled her to speak at commencement? Not in a million years. Not in ten million years.’ 

‘So why does UVU think this is okay? It’s not,’ he added. 

Utah Valley University TPUSA chapter president Caleb Chilcutt slammed the decision in an interview with Fox News Monday.

‘They could have brought any other speaker. If they liked Charlie, didn’t like Charlie — I honestly don’t really care. But the fact they brought someone who was so critical, literally days after the assassination on my campus, is just shameful for me,’ Chilcutt said. 

Ex-Congressman slams university over ‘liberal hack’ invite

Jason Chaffetz, a former Utah Congressman and a commentator for the network, called McMahon a ‘liberal hack’ who should be disinvited.

‘Look, there’s still time to correct this. This hasn’t happened. And if the university is gonna step up and do the right thing, they’re gonna cancel her and put in somebody like an astronaut or an athlete or somebody, anybody, But this person, this partisan hack, she should not be addressing the students, not at the commencement.’ 

The school’s President Astrid S. Tuminez praised McMahon in a statement announcing she would speak. 

‘Sharon McMahon is an original. She is a force of nature and a force for good. As a former history teacher, she understands that education can inform, inspire, and instigate courageous action,’ Tuminez said. 

She added that ‘our graduates are very lucky to have her as commencement speaker!’ 

‘I am deeply grateful for this honor from UVU, whose work reflects the very best of what education can do: expand opportunity, strengthen communities, and prepare people to serve the world around them,’ McMahon said. 

‘It is a privilege to be recognized by an institution with that kind of impact.’ 

The Daily Mail has reached out to both McMahon and Utah Valley University for further comment. 

Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at the university on September 10, 2025. 

Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old who did not attend the university, was arrested in connection with the shooting. 

Robinson, 22, is facing capital murder charges and a potential death sentence for Kirk’s murder. 

Opinion: The uncomfortable questions surrounding Charlie Kirk’s murder

It was not surprising to see Joe Kent settling into a chair in Tucker Carlson’s podcast studio in the woods of rural Maine just one day after he resigned from the Trump administration in a blaze of publicity.

Kent, 45, dramatically quit as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center on Tuesday, becoming the first senior Trump official to decamp over the Iran war. He alleged in his public resignation letter that the President launched Operation Epic Fury ‘due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.’

Indeed, that’s right up Tucker’s alley.

But what was surprising, to some, is what Kent – a former Green Beret and CIA paramilitary officer – had to say about his alleged final conversation with Charlie Kirk and the circumstances of the conservative activist’s assassination.

‘The last time I saw [Kirk] on this earth was in June in the West Wing, in the stairway,’ Kent claimed. ‘I said hi to him, and he looked me in the eye and he said very loudly… and it’s a tight space… and he said ‘”Joe, stop us from getting into a war with Iran.” Very loudly. And he walked off, I believe into the Oval (office)…’

As Kent recounted the story, he did not wink or nudge Carlson, but he might as well have.

‘One of President Trump’s closest advisors was vocally advocating for us to not go to war with Iran and for us to rethink, at least, our relationship with the Israelis,’ Kent continued. ‘And then he’s suddenly publicly assassinated and we’re not allowed to ask any questions about that? It’s a data point. A data point we need to look into.’

That certainly piqued Carlson’s interest. Before long, they were deep into discussing conspiracy theories regarding Israel and whether unseen hands could have had something to do with Kirk’s death.

Speculation over the ‘truth’ of Kirk’s assassination on the campus of Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025 – suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, is charged with aggravated murder – has in recent months become a kind of litmus test for prominent right-wing fringe voices.

First commercialized by podcaster Candace Owens – who has floated theories that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the First Lady of France and even Kirk’s widow, Erika, were involved in the murder – wild conjecture has become a sort of morbid parlor game on the right-wing fringe.

Kent, it appears, is establishing his bone fides.

Though, as with many conspiracy theories, his brave pronouncements were not voiced outright but advanced with vague references, allusions and accompanied by caveats.

‘We don’t know what happened with Charlie Kirk,’ Kent told Carlson. ‘By no means am I saying the Israelis did this or any of that. But I’m saying there’s a lot of unanswered questions…’

Kent went on to say that the National Counterterrorism Center, an office of the Director of National Intelligence which he headed until his resignation on Tuesday, had been ‘stopped from continuing to investigate’ Kirk’s death by the FBI. But there were things too ‘sensitive’ to discuss publicly, according to Kent.

‘We’ve been told that this individual, (Tyler) Robinson was a lone gunman, and maybe he is,’ said the former intelligence official. ‘But there was still a lot for us to look into that I can’t really get into…’

Of course he can’t, but speculative minds on X will come to their own vicious conclusions.

Read the full story here